[13] Yucatán Governor Ivonne Ortega also proposed a Rapid Train and City-Rail project aimed at connecting Mérida with key tourist destinations within the state.

[14][15] In 2009, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) presented a proposal to operate an electric train connecting Cancún International Airport to Tulum.

[17] The Tren Maya project was announced in September 2018 by Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, following earlier proposals to build a shorter 900-kilometre (560 mi) line.

[22] On November 15, 2019, President López Obrador declared that a referendum on the Mayan Train would be held on December 15, 2019, in Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.

The Human Rights Commission also criticized the translations of the material used, the short period of time for the election, and low turnout, particularly among indigenous women.

[28] In June 2022 Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López Hernández announced a planned extension to Progreso and Umán in Yucatán.

[34] In March 2021 Fonatur general director Rogelio Jiménez Pons said that the military would own the entire route, not just the three sections, and would receive all of the profits.

[35] According to the government, "the use of Sedena [Mexico's Ministry of Defense] guarantees good administration and prevents the risk of privatization", in a country known for corruption.

[12] Pons stated in September 2021 that the cost of a single trip for locals, for the section that goes from Cancún Airport to Playa del Carmen, will be around 50 pesos.

They are also optimistic that the tourist train, in combination with improvements in energy, airports, and seaports, will make the region economically competitive with the North and the Bajío.

[44] In September 2020 Fonatur rejected a proposal of investment firm BlackRock for the 125 km (78 mi) fifth stretch of the project, including improvements to the Tulum–Cancún highway.

[45][46] In February 2021 Fonatur awarded a contract to Acciona and Grupo México for 60.3 km (37.5 mi) of electrified double rail tracks for section five between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.

[65] The Janal trains (from a Mayan term meaning "to eat") will add a dining car to the previous services, which will have aquatic landscapes on the outside, and an interior inspired by the work of Luis Barragán.

[19][20] On the 26th anniversary of its armed uprising, January 1, 2020, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation expressed its opposition to the project and declared that the consultation provided only positive information to voters prior to voting.

[73] Groups close to the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) plan to seek injunctions against the train project and other construction in the region.

He said the section from Escárcega to Cancún should be open for tourist, passenger, and freight traffic in 2023, but that the route will not pass through the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.

[76] In November 2020 the Regional Indigenous Council of Xpujil delivered a petition with 268,000 signatures to the Campeche Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources asking that the project be suspended because of environmental concerns.

[77] Residents of Chocholá, Mérida, and Izamal, in Yucatán obtained a temporary delay in construction in January 2021 until Fonatur and SEMARNAT report on an environmental impact assessment.

[83][84] A group of celebrities, including comedian Eugenio Derbez, singers Rubén Albarrán and Natalia Lafourcade, and actress Kate del Castillo, as part of the Sélvame del Tren ("Save me from the Train", a play on words between Sálvame meaning Save Me, and Selva meaning jungle) campaign, has expressed opposition to the train.

[86] However, according to Etienne von Bertrab, a specialist in political ecology at University College London (UCL) and co-founder of an interdisciplinary study group on the implications of the Maya Train, opposition to the project "is above all a media campaign, driven by a few collectives, but it is by no means a social movement.

[92] In March 2022, Greenpeace organizers tied themselves to heavy machinery as a protest against construction in Quintana Roo that involves cutting down the jungle without environmental studies having been made.

[12] The Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda), however, denounces a project which, in its entirety, has destroyed "2,500 hectares of tropical rainforest" and directly affected twenty protected natural areas.

[12] Residents of 130 localities directly affected by the railroad route will benefit from "388 worksites and social actions", including the rehabilitation of pavements and roads, public spaces, electrical, sanitary and productive infrastructures, and housing.