The tourist train project in Mexico poses a threat to the delicate cenote ecosystem and popular tourist attractions

In Mexico’s Riviera Maya, a controversial new tourist railway project is causing concern among environmentalists as it threatens the delicate ecosystem of the region’s cenotes. The Yucatan Peninsula is home to approximately 2,400 of these underground caves and sinkholes, which are popular attractions for tourists who enjoy swimming and snorkeling in their crystal clear waters.

The construction of the Mayan Train, a flagship infrastructure project of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has raised alarms among campaigners who fear for the future of the unique geological system. Biologist and speleologist Roberto Rojo described the sight of a large drill breaking into a cave and damaging its ancient stalactites as their “worst nightmare.”

Despite a court-ordered suspension pending environmental studies, work on the railway project has continued, with plans for up to 17,000 steel columns to be installed along its 1,500-kilometer loop around southeastern Mexico. Environmentalists accuse the government of rushing to complete the project before Lopez Obrador leaves office in October.

Activists have labeled the construction work as “ecocide,” citing the lack of proper environmental impact studies and the irreversible damage done to the underground ecosystem. Concrete leakage from the steel columns has contaminated cenote water, posing a threat to the region’s aquifers and the Mesoamerican Reef.

While the government insists that the project will bring prosperity to the region and has created protected natural areas in compensation, critics remain skeptical of the long-term consequences. As tourists continue to flock to the area, unaware of the environmental concerns, the debate over the balance between development and conservation rages on.