Environmentalists have documented the sinking of the elevated viaduct of the Maya Train on Section 5, which runs from Cancún to Tulum. This highlights the risk of structural collapse.
In March 2021, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that Section 5 of the Maya Train would be elevated to avoid impacting existing buildings and roads, take advantage of the right-of-way, and create a scenic viewpoint for passengers. It was inaugurated at the end of February 2024.
However, just two years into operation, Guillermo DChristy, an environmental activist and president of the “Save Me from the Train” collective, shared photographs showing the sinking of the viaduct structure on which the Maya Train travels.
Currently, the project is registering losses of 7.1 million pesos per day and is only moving 30.17% of its daily target.
In a message posted on X, the water quality consultant, diver, and speleologist points out that “subsidence” is already being recorded—that is, the progressive and vertical sinking of the earth’s surface supporting the railway—and emphasizes that the freight train has not yet been incorporated.
The diver and speleologist explains what is happening with the still-recent construction, where reinforcement work is being carried out. According to the activist, this is a fight against nature involving a multi-million dollar investment.
“The limestone, with its slightly acidic rain (due to its passage through the atmosphere, absorbing CO2), dissolves slowly but constantly and irreversibly, forming cavities (caves, underground rivers, cenotes).
“Today, the construction of footings to ‘reinforce’ the elevated viaduct is already being observed. Let’s hope the engineers are aware that this dissolution will eventually lead to collapse.”
” “In fact, this is how cenotes are formed. How much money is still being spent trying to outrun nature? Imagine a freight train carrying hydrocarbons in the middle of the jungle and over the most important aquifer on the Yucatán Peninsula,” writes D’Christy.
The subsidence of the elevated viaduct of the Maya Train increases the risk of collapse in this section of the railway project. It’s worth remembering that last January, specialists questioned its structural safety after releasing videos of columns that had burst inside the cenotes.
In fact, these piles or columns are what pierce the aquifer to support the viaduct that crosses the Mayan jungle and is now showing signs of subsidence.
At that time, it was explained that the columns are filled with concrete material that doesn’t dissolve easily, and this, along with the rust on the metal cladding, is damaging the aquifer and the environment of the region.
In that context, they published the video of José Urbina, also known as Pepe Tiburón, diving deep inside the cenote. He filmed the water’s contamination caused by corrosion of the materials, in an area at risk of collapse due to the fragility of the soil, which is karst and contains cavities.
“At least eight more piles were driven in and footings were constructed. As if there weren’t cavities beneath the piles and footings, and therefore no risk of collapse,” they warned at the time. The sinking of the elevated viaduct of the Maya Train increases the danger and raises maintenance costs to prevent it from happening.
Source: yucatan
