Private sector players interested in operating Mexico's Maya train

The Mexican government has already received offers to operate the 120bn-peso (US$6.3bn) Maya train project even though construction has not yet begun.

Several railway companies have approached national tourism board Fonatur, responsible for the construction of the project, about becoming the future operator of the 1,452km rail line, Fonatur director Rogelio Jiménez Pons said at the signing of an agreement with Unesco on Wednesday. 

The head of Fonatur said that companies such as Ferromex, Autobuses del Oriente (ADO) and Kansas City Southern have stated their interest in operating the yet-to-be-tendered train, which will connect five states in the southeast of the country. 

“Ferromex said ‘I’m already operating the [Chihuahua-Pacífico train], why can't I expand my spectrum? Even if ADO is associated with someone who handles cargo like Kansas City Southern, they're looking for alignments," Jiménez Pons said. 

Ferromex already operates more than 8,000km of railway in Mexico and has 50-year contracts on important tourism trains such as the 653km-long Chihuahua-Pacífico train, also known as “El Chepe”, that travels through touristic areas and indigenous communities in northern Mexico, and the Herradura Tequila train, which takes tourists through the agave region of Jalisco state.

Ferromex was also awarded a concession, along with Kansas City Southern, to operate the Celaya rail bypass, which is currently under construction in Guanajuato state, according to the BNamericas Project Database. 

ADO, meanwhile, was awarded a contract in 2013 to operate the Puebla-Line 2 bus rapid transit system in Puebla state. 

While concessions for the train are still to be determined, it has become clear that the federal government plans to build the ambitious project with federal funds and then award it to the private sector to operate. 

But before Fonatur starts assigning concessions for logistical topics, it needs to launch tenders for the construction and modernization of new and existing rail lines.

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Unesco is now a partner of the railway project that will transport tourists and residents of the southeastern Mexican peninsula through six cities that host important archaeological sites, and it will oversee the construction of the project to ensure no damage is caused to cultural heritage.

"It's not just about seeking prestige from international agencies, the importance of the region demands it, socially, environmentally and culturally," Jiménez Pons said.

He also added that the first tenders to kick off construction for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) most important infrastructure project will be launched in January. 

On Monday, the president announced during his morning press conference that the federal government would again change the financing model for the railway project and that his administration would now provide 100% of the funding. 

Of the 120bn pesos needed to complete the train by 2024, the government has secured 60bn pesos. The remainder, however, will come from “the collection of fees from tourism. That money was intended to be used to promote tourism, but it was shown that it was not spent on this and most of the money was instead used to pay for government advertising, according to AMLO.

The government collects 8bn pesos a year in tourism fees, he said. “That is why we talk about 60bn pesos already having been secured until 2024. The rest, the other 60bn pesos, will be financed with public funds. It will not be debt.”

Both AMLO and Jiménez Pons have also said that additional funds for the project will come from the government's fight against corruption. 

Last week, Fonatur carried out a public consultation on the Maya train in the Yucatán peninsula. The project was “approved” by 84 municipalities of the region despite concerns over the legitimacy of the referendum.

However, the government is still facing resistance from indigenous communities and groups who live in the five states where the rail line is expected to run – Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Yucatán and Tabasco. 

In an interview with ADN40 on Tuesday, Jiménez Pons said that despite the approval of the project in the referendum, there is still some resistance in parts of the southeast that are not even particularly close to where the rail line will be laid. However, he said this opposition is being taken into consideration regardless of their location and the government is trying to negotiate. 

Pictured: Fonatur and Unesco representatives sign agreement on Maya train.