In late 2021, work began on Section 5 of the Tren Maya, the railway on the Yucatán Peninsula, along Federal Highway 307 on the Riviera Maya. Hotel owners objected. In January 2022, the government moved the line away from the highway. Fonatur, the federal tourism development agency in charge of the project, described the new route as leading “a una zona selvática” (to a jungle area). (Video in Spanish.)
Efraín Olivares, Fonatur’s manager for the Tren Maya, told Expansión: “Fue un interés económico, para no afectar a los hoteleros ni al turismo” (It was an economic interest, so as not to affect the hotel owners or tourism). The environmental impact statement for the section was presented on May 18, 2022, after clearing had begun.