Cancún to Playa del Carmen route of the Maya Train begins operations

March 18, 2024

A green and silver train at sunset — The star of Sheinbaum's proposed Maya corridor is the new Maya Train. (Maya Train/X)

The Cancún to Playa del Carmen stretch of Section 5 of the Maya Train — which was already inaugurated on Feb. 29 by President López Obrador — started operations last Friday, just in time for the long weekend in observance of Benito Juárez’s birthday.

Although both stations in Cancún and Playa del Carmen are still under construction, they are fully operational.

On Saturday, the newspaper La Jornada reported that at least 100 people boarded the train at the Playa del Carmen station for the first service of the day, at 10:30 a.m., arriving at the Cancún Airport station at 11:45 a.m.

According to the Maya Train’s website, departures from Cancún to Playa are at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 3 p.m., while departures from Playa del Carmen to Cancún are at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.

Economy tickets for residents of Quintana Roo are 98 pesos (US $6), 148 pesos (US $8) for other Mexicans, and 197 pesos (US $11) for international travelers.

First-class tickets start at 236 pesos (US $14) for Mexicans and 397 pesos (US $23) for international travelers.

Cancún Maya Train station — The Maya Train stations in Cancún (pictured) and Playa del Carmen are open to the public. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro.com)

All train tickets include a shuttle service to the Cancún International Airport (AIC) terminals, while buses to the city center cost $55 pesos (US $3).

Electric buses are set to be introduced for transfers between AIC and the Maya Train’s airport station.

According to news outlet Por Esto, the airport perimeter road has already been built while construction of a connecting passage that crosses Highway 180 is still pending.

Section 5 is still not fully operational. On Feb. 16, a federal court ordered the suspension of construction from Playa del Carmen to Tulum due to the negative effects of construction works on the subsoil. The court ordered a definitive suspension of the works until the responsible authorities have demonstrated that “geological, geophysical and geohydrological studies” have been carried out.

While sections 1 to 4 have been operational since the train’s inauguration in December last year, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged that the inauguration of all the Maya Train routes and stations would not take place until after the June 2 elections.

With reports from La Jornada Maya, Por Esto, and El Economista