Mexico’s president on Friday inaugurated the first part of the pet project of his administration, a tourist train that runs in a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula.
The $20 billion, 950-mile line, called the Maya Train, is meant to connect beach resorts and archaeological sites. However, it is not finished yet. Officials pledged the rest of the line would be ready by the end of February. But it was clear from the unfinished earthworks and the existence of just a single lane of a planned double-lane track, even the first section has not been completed yet.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador opened a 290-mile (473-kilometer) stretch Friday between the colonial Gulf coast city of Campeche and the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun. That is about one-third of the entire project and covers the least controversial stretch.
It will take about 5 1/2 hours to travel from Campeche to Cancun at an average speed of about 50 miles per hour (80 kph), though officials have promised the train will be capable of speeds of up to 75 mph (120 kph).