To some, the 1,470km Tren Maya poses an unimaginable threat to the environment — to others, it's the first sign in decades that their government hasn't forgotten them.
'They don't want to recognise the fragility of the land'
If built badly, the railway risks breaking through the fragile ground, including into yet-to-be explored caves below, says Emiliano Monroy-Rios, a Mexican geochemist with Northwestern University who has extensively studied the area's caves and cenotes.Diesel, he adds, could also leak into the network of subterranean pools and rivers, the main source of fresh water on the peninsula.
Dozens of scientists disagree, writing in open letters that the assessments are riddled with problems, including outdated data, the omission of recently discovered caves and a lack of input from local hydrology experts."They don't want to recognise the fragility of the land," says Fernanda Lases, a Merida-based scientist with the National Autonomous University of Mexico .The names of the 70 experts who participated in the government study were redacted from the publication.
FONATUR says the project will have resources and follow-up care in the future, including programs established for environmental protection."The Mayan Train project is of course safe, monitored and regulated by the environmental authorities as has happened up to now," the agency says. In Xkuncheil, a small dusty town of about 140 people on Section 2 of the train that runs through Campeche state, Luz Elba Damas Jimenez, 69, owns a small store selling soda and snacks near the tracks.Many of her neighbours, especially the young men, are working on the project, she says. She also has more customers now."Sometimes there just isn't work in these small towns, but now they have jobs. The truth is that we have benefited.