Mayan Train’s Management Shifts to SEDENA

As the construction of the Mayan Train advances, a presidential decree changed the administration of the Mayan Train from the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (FONATUR) to the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA). This move aims to ensure the project’s public nature and secure its success, says President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

During his daily morning press conference, López Obrador emphasized the need for a higher level of oversight and control over the project, leading to the decision to entrust its administration to SEDENA. General Óscar Lozano has been appointed General Director of the majority state-owned company in charge of the Mayan Train.

The president justified his decision to involve the military as military engineers of SEDENA arguing that the organization has contributed to several projects, including the fifth, sixth and seventh sections of the Mayan Train, the Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum, Quintana Roo, the Mexicana de Aviación airline, the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), hospitals, National Guard barracks and branches of the Banco del Bienestar.

The president also gave a report on Mayan Train’s progress, mentioning that the recent dynamic supervision tests of the first convoy were successful according to Maite Ramos, Country Managing Director, Alstom. The validation program oversaw sections two, three and four, representing more than 1,000km. The train was tested both for traction and braking at low-medium speed and for railway dynamics with passengers.

Furthermore, Javier May Rodríguez, former Director, FONATUR, reported that 100% of the 159km of section three of the Mayan Train have been completed, which cover from Calkini, Campeche, to Izamal, Yucatan. He adds that the three viaducts contemplated in section three are 99.5% complete, as are 150 of the 153 cross-drainage works. 

Manuel Muñozcano Castro, General Director, Azvindi Ferroviario, pointed out that the placement of ballast and sleepers, track assembly and electric welding have been completed and that the placement of track devices is 30% complete. The catenary, the electric power system that powers the Mayan Train, the foundations and pole assemblies and the fiber optic conduits for communication with the control center are 100%. The cabling is 40% complete.

The Mayan Train is set to be inaugurated in December 2023 as previously reported by MBN. In the months leading up to the inauguration, SEDENA will monitor its progress.