MERIDA, Mexico, Dec 23 (IPS) – When he promoted the Maya Practice (TM) in 2019, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who dominated Mexico between 2018 and October this yr, acknowledged that the railway line could be an engine of improvement for the southeastern Yucatan peninsula.
The three states of the peninsula – Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan – have been provided areas for craftspeople and ecotourism within the stations, in addition to the switch of hundreds of vacationers, the promotion of other tourism and the creation of jobs.
However one yr after three of the 5 established routes started working, there’s little proof of the promised advantages.
It’s true that extra worldwide vacationers have arrived at airports in Merida, the capital of the southeastern state of Yucatan, or vacationer locations corresponding to Cozumel in neighbouring Quintana Roo, between January and September, in comparison with the identical interval in 2023.
Nevertheless, in Cancun, the peninsula’s vacationer hotspot, with one station, these arrivals fell 1.5%, making it tough for consultants to attribute the upper general vacationer arrivals to the TM.
Between December 2023 and final August, the TM carried 340,622 passengers, at a charge of 1,425 per day, in keeping with official figures. Cancun, Merida, Playa del Carmen, Valladolid and Palenque, which has an archaeological website, account for 80% of the passengers.
Mayan craftsperson Alicia Pech doesn’t know the railway, says she has no cash to journey, that extra folks haven’t arrived and that gross sales are low.
The practice, supposed for vacationers, curious customers and the native inhabitants, amongst whom it arouses little enthusiasm, is empty on the bigger stations, Merida or Cancun, and fares are low on the smaller ones.
As in different stations, Maxcanu, a part of part 3 that runs between Calkini (Campeche) and Izamal (Yucatan) has eight empty outlets with indicators corresponding to ‘Meals’, ‘Neighborhood Tourism’ and ‘Mayan Handicrafts’.
The identical factor occurs in Valladolid, a part of part 4 that connects Izamal with Cancun, and within the Merida-Teya station, additionally on route 3, there are two meals outlets, one that gives TM souvenirs, a automotive rental place, and one other one which advertises a future bakery.
José Rodríguez, initially from Cancn, was disillusioned as a result of the distinction in price in comparison with land transport is low and due to a one-hour delay he had on his commute to Merida.
Of the 34 deliberate stations, solely 26 are working, as Sedena remains to be tending the final two sections between Felipe Carrillo Puerto, in Quintana Roo, and Centenario, in Campeche.
To extend revenues and minimise losses, President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took workplace on 1 October, plans to develop it to Puerto Progreso, on the Yucatan coast north of Merida, to maneuver cargo.
The Mexican authorities has identified since 2022 that the mega-project would enhance the price range. The Price-Profit Evaluation Replace, ready that yr by a personal Mexican consulting agency, concluded that the price would go from two to 4 instances its authentic price.
However the TM will proceed to eat cash, because the 2025 price range proposal features a price range of US$2,173 million, added to the delay of the challenge and a complete price overrun that already exceeds US$15 billion.
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedAuthentic supply: Inter Press Service
