CREDITS: (MAP K. FRANKLIN/
SCIENCE
; (DATA Y. RAMOS, E. LILIAN CONTRERAS, P. SOTO, A. PADILLA,
AND H. OSORIO/SERENDIPIA; TREN MAYA/FONATUR/SECRETARY OF TOURISMSCIENCE science.org 21 JANUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6578 251(MIA), a report required by law and ap-
proved on 30 November 2020, 6 months
after construction had begun. They posted
a lengthy report claiming the MIA fails
to acknowledge the impacts of ecosystem
fracture, worsening air quality, noise, vi-
bration, and pollution. The government
has not responded to criticism, says Ana
Esther Ceceña Martorella, an economist at
UNAM’s Institute of Economic Research.
“It doesn’t seem like they want to listen.”
Fonatur officials say the plans include
mitigation strategies, including many un-
derpasses or overpasses allowing animals
to cross tracks or highways. But Shelley
Alexander, a landscape ecologist at the
University of Calgary, says that although
some animals adapt well to wildlife cross-
ings, large carnivores such as jaguars have a
harder time. The wildlife crossings planned
for the Maya Train are “a Band-Aid on a very
sensitive habitat.” Still, she says: “It’s impor-
tant not to completely condemn the project
based on the fact it might not be perfect,
because that can then stop any [mitigation]
from happening.”
The most important mitigation strategy,
Ceballos González says, is to expand and fur-
ther fund already-protected areas near the
train’s route, such as the Calakmul Biosphere
Reserve and Tulum National Park. Those
measures could constrain future develop-
ment and prevent further ecological damage.
As for the Bat Volcano, the train’s route
originally paralleled a highway only 10 me-
ters from the cave. Bat researchers said this
would put low-flying bats—already being
struck by cars on the highway—at risk and
disturb the cave with noise and vibration.
Fonatur says the train will now run behind
the cave, but official maps aren’t yet clear
on the exact route; scientists say the tracks
should be at least 700 meters away.
Elsewhere the train runs near famous
Maya archaeological sites such as Chichén
Itzá and Tulum, as well as thousands of
unexplored or undiscovered ruins. To doc-
ument sites that may be disturbed by the
train, 240 archaeologists and 1200 other
workers and specialists have explored
more than 800 kilometers of the route in
11 months, according to the National Insti-
tute of Anthropology and History (INAH)
and Fonatur. “It has been a challenge,” says
Fonatur’s lead archaeologist, Jesús Samuel
Hernández Hernández. So far, they have
recorded more than 19,000 Maya artifacts,
including stelae, monuments, and house
foundations, and more than 160 burials.
This will yield “more than 600 papers and
books for the next 10 to 15 years,” Hernández
Hernández predicts. He argues that by iden-
tifying unknown sites, the project will de-
crease looting.But Francisco Estrada Belli, an archaeo-
logist who studies Maya culture at Tulane
University, says the train will bring “inevita-
ble losses” to archaeology. He acknowledges
the salvage work but worries that because
the excavations are not led by a research
question, most of what is found will remain
in archives and not contribute to archaeo-
logical knowledge, as has happened in other
salvage work around the world.
One archaeologist working on the excava-
tions agrees. “It’s just an immense amount
of data,” she says, asking to be anonymous
because she is not authorized to talk to the
press. “I don’t think anyone is going to be
able to really do true research.” She says
managers pressure archaeologists to work
faster. When a burial is found, they log dataquickly and seal them by the next day with
little interpretation. “It’s like a formality so
that everything is checked off and the train
construction can start.”
Hernández Hernández and others insist
the digs aren’t rushed. “During salvage exca-
vations there are always time pressures,” says
INAH archaeologist Manuel Eduardo Pérez
Rivas, who leads the salvage project. “But we
have the technical and academic elements to
do things efficiently and carefully.”
At the moment, data on artifacts and loca-
tions are kept confidential to avoid looting,
Pérez Rivas says. But after sites are regis-
tered and protected, he says, the data willbe accessible to the scientific community.
Archaeologists also worry about the new
development the train will bring. The thou-
sands of tourists who already visit archaeo-
logical sites in the Yucatán Peninsula have
a detrimental impact on the ruins, Estrada
Belli says. Their numbers are expected to
skyrocket. The Maya Train is projected to
attract about 3 million visitors each year to
the ancient city of Calakmul, for example,
compared with 40,000 each year today. It
may also spur local population growth,
Medellín Legorreta says. “[This] terrifies
me.” The Yucatán Peninsula, now home to
some 5.1 million people, “cannot sustain an
increase in population.”
Pérez Rivas says INAH and Fonatur are
working together to create a strategy tomanage tourism responsibly and protect the
region’s heritage, species, and ecosystems.
Ceballos González is hopeful the train
can be built with little damage. “We have
to take advantage of the opportunity the
train brings to try and mitigate some of the
impacts already happening,” such as illegal
logging and hunting, and intensive farm-
ing, he says.
But many remain skeptical, including
Medellín Legorreta. “Academia and the
world are waiting to see what will happen
with the Maya Train.” jInés Gutiérrez Jaber is a journalist in Mexico City.NEWS0 200
kmMEXICOEl Volcán de
los MurciélagosCalakmul
archaeological
zoneCancúnTulumChichén ItzáIzamalEscárcega
Xpujil ChetumalPalenque TenosiqueMéridaChiapasCampecheYucatánQuintana
RooTabascoFederalProtected area
State
Train station
Maya Train phase one
Maya Train phase twoNo stopping this train
Construction has begun on the first phase of the Maya Train, which is expected to bring a flood of tourists to the
Yucatán Peninsula. Scientists worry a planned second segment will also slice across protected natural areas,
fragmenting the rainforest and opening up remote archaeological sites.