With 34 stations, routes that go through 46 archeological sites, and tracks that cover more than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) around Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Maya Train is set to debut this December with ticket prices of 4.35 pesos per kilometer traveled (about 26 cents) for international riders.
The goal of Tren Maya, or the Maya Train, is to connect tourist areas with historic Mayan sites, encouraging exploration and enhancing tourism throughout the peninsula, sometimes known as the Riviera Maya. Until this week, though, prices for tickets had not been announced.
Fares will be dependent on a variety of factors, including “if the passengers are local, if they are national, if they are international, if they are going to receive subsidies or not, if the season is regular, if it is high season, the distance and a kilometer factor per passenger,” explained General Lozano Águila, General Director of Maya Train, in an interview on Radio Fórmula Digital.
Maya Train will have stops in Mexico’s southeastern states of Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche. One of the certain-to-be-popular routes connecting tourist hot spots Cancun and Tulum will be 121 km and would cost about US$30 for international tourists. Similarly, the 257-km journey from Cancun to Izamal would cost US$66, according to The Cancun Sun newspaper.
The areas that the Maya Train will reach are currently more challenging for tourists to move between. A visitor landing at the airport in Cancun, for example, can get to hotels in the city but may have a harder time leaving the city to explore the region’s cultural and historic sites. To facilitate better access to the area, the tourist routes on the train are planned to begin and end at the Cancun Airport stop.
Lozano Águila said there are several planned options for tourists, including multiple-day packages that include stops at as many as 100 attractions like archeological sites and nature parks. The trains will have available business-class seats, dining options, and private sleeping areas with bathrooms. Residents who don’t plan to take advantage of these amenities can travel more inexpensively around the Yucatan area.
Under construction since 2020, the Maya Train is a popular project for politicians like Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who hopes to increase tourism and the economic boosts it brings along the Riviera Maya, a traditionally poorer area of the nation.