Maya Train protects cenotes, caverns and underground rivers with elevated viaduct in section 5 South: Javier May

This is an automated translation of the original press release issued in Spanish by Fonatur

To protect the karstic soil, cenotes, caverns and underground rivers in section 5 of the Mayan Train , which goes from Cancun to Tulum, 75 percent of the track is located on an elevated viaduct, the general director of the National Development Fund informed the Tourism (Fonatur), Javier May Rodríguez.

"The Mayan Train advances to its inauguration in December of this year taking care of the archaeological heritage and natural wealth," he stated when presenting the comprehensive report of sections 5, 6 and 7, -which cover 621 km of Quintana Roo and Campeche-, in the morning conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador .

He specified that these sections cross eight municipalities of Quintana Roo and three of Campeche, with distances of 43.3 km from Cancun to Playa del Carmen, in section 5 North; 67.7 km from Playa del Carmen to Tulum, in section 5 South; 255.8 km from Tulum to Chetumal, in section 6, and 254.5 km from Chetumal to Escárcega in section 7.

He specified that in these three sections, the Mayan Train will have seven stations, four bus stops, a workshop and two garages for trains; a maintenance base for the road and 800 complementary works such as railway bridges, cross drainage and pedestrian, vehicular and wildlife crossings.

He recalled that archaeological zones are also being improved and work is being done on the new Paamul II site, to which the “Garra de Jaguar” cave, the Cueva de las Manitas and the “8 Balas” cave will be added.

In addition, he said, "in Tulum and Calakmul Mayan Train Hotels are being built, to live a better experience in this area where important natural sites are located such as: the Jaguar Park, the Laguna de los 7 Colores de Bacalar and the biosphere reserve of Calakmul”.

He said that, at the same time, the connectivity of the Cancun Airport with the new Tulum International Airport is being strengthened and the modernization of the Chetumal air terminal is being carried out.

In its sections 5, 6 and 7, the Mayan Train advances in the collection of the necessary inputs for this journey, which are four million cubic meters of ballast; one million 800 thousand sleepers and 121 thousand tons of rail.

Dependencies and consortia

The Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, María Luisa Albores González, reported that in the municipalities that cover sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Mayan Train, more than 400 forestry projects have been supported with training for conservation, studies to incorporate surfaces into the sustainable forest management and ecotourism projects, among other actions.

The general director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ), Diego Prieto Hernández, highlighted that section 7 has been richer in archaeological remains, for which reason a special device was used that allowed, in just 14 weeks, to obtain the go-ahead for the work to proceed. He also mentioned the finding of a Paaktzatz Modeled vessel, which, he said, is typical of southern Campeche and is associated with the presence of some prominent ruler.

The general resident engineer of the General Directorate of Engineers. Secretary of National Defense ( Sedena ), Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo Suárez, reported that the construction of the 553.6 km of sections 5 North, 6 and 7, both embankment and elevated viaduct, registers a general progress of more than 20 percent with 19 work fronts and more than 31 thousand jobs created, while the "Felipe Carrillo Puerto" International Airport of Tulum registers 40 percent progress with 10 construction fronts and nine thousand jobs created.

The head of the Mayan Train Operations Coordination Center, Blas Andrés Núñez Jordán, said that the Hotel Tren Maya Tulum, which is being built in the Parque del Jaguar, will be only one kilometer from the train station and three kilometers from the archaeological zone. and has an advance of 3.70 percent, while the Hotel Tren Maya Calakmul, 10 km from the archaeological zone, registers an advance of 5.50 percent and is built with the strictest environmental standards and state-of-the-art technology to minimize the ecological impact.

The governor of Quintana Roo, María Elena Lezama Espinosa, highlighted that the Mayan Train, which she defined as a social justice project, represents the opportunity for artisan work, and the most representative of the entity, to be known in Mexico and the world, generating a better economy and well-being for each and every Quintana Roo.

The governor of Campeche, Layda Sansores San Román, pointed out that in her state section 7 of the Mayan Train has been one of the greatest challenges and highlighted the participation of more than 2,500 people in archaeological salvage tasks, including archaeologists, students and public servants, in a job that -he stressed- required an enormous effort of coordination and commitment.

The president and executive director of Mota-Engil Latin America, João Pedro Parreira , highlighted that only the human talent in the Maya Train is making possible such a complex engineering work as the elevated viaduct in section 5 South, of approximately 20 km, to protect the environment and of which there is no other reference in many countries of the world.

The general director of Azvindi Ferroviario , Manuel Muñozcano Castro, in charge of subsection B of section 5 South, from Puerto Aventuras to Akumal, pointed out that the route includes 70 percent of the track on an elevated viaduct and a 300-meter-long cable-stayed bridge , where more than 1,400 workers work.

The general director of Empresas ICA , Guadalupe Phillips Margain, responsible for subsection C of section 5 South, from Puerto Aventuras to Playa del Carmen, explained that a general progress of 41.2 percent has been recorded on this route and includes 11 km of elevated viaduct to protect the karstic zone with an advance of 33.5 percent. He also said that the Playa del Carmen station registers 26 percent progress, mainly on the platforms.

The director of Alstom México , Maite Ramos Gómez , informed that, as part of the verification and validation test protocol of the railway systems -to guarantee the punctual and safe operation of the Mayan Train-, two series of tests have already been carried out on the systems of security and signaling with positive results, and announced that functionalities such as traffic monitoring will be tested in October.