The derailment of a car from the Mayan Train was caused by the lack of fastening screws on the track. - Expat Community

The derailment of a car from the Mayan Train was caused by the lack of fastening screws on the track.

Apr 2, 2024 | Mexico, News & Articles | 0 comments

By MICAELA VARELA

A convoy derailed when it was traveling at 10 kilometers per hour and was just 50 meters away from stopping at the Tixkikob station due to a failure in the manual adjustment of a device that was not properly secured.

On March 25th, a new incident stained the reputation of the newly inaugurated Mayan Train in the Yucatan Peninsula, the flagship megaproject of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Upon entering the Tixkikob station, the fourth car of a convoy derailed and went off the track when it was traveling at 10 kilometers per hour and was only 50 meters away from stopping. The incident, which did not result in injuries and adds to other failures recorded on the train since its partial inauguration last December, has been investigated to determine if the failure was caused “intentionally,” as suggested by the president one day after the accident. This Tuesday in the morning briefing, the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy detailed that the incident was caused by the lack of mechanical fastenings of the screws that secure the track switch.

The device that controls the train’s trajectory distribution system on the track had to be kept in a position for the convoy to enter the station on the corresponding line. The mechanism, called clams, was not secured to operate. “It was found that the clam attachment was not adequate, it was not secured,” admitted Secretary of National Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval. It is a system that should be automated, but Sandoval acknowledged at a press conference that the system is not yet complete and that for the time being on the Mayan Train, it is done manually through personnel who adjust the device. Three train cars passed at 9:25 a.m. that Monday on their journey from Campeche to Cancun, and the last one incorrectly took the pass of the device, causing it to derail. Although there were no injuries, it did cause damage to the train that has not yet been quantified and is being processed with insurance and the construction company.

One day after the derailment, López Obrador hinted that someone might have intentionally caused the accident in the midst of the electoral campaign. “An investigation is being conducted because it is strange, there was human error at the station, there was no track change, and it is being investigated to see if it was intentional or if it was an error by those responsible for managing the tracks,” he told the media.

This incident adds to others that the project has accumulated since its rushed start, with unfinished works and amid controversy over the lack of environmental permits for its construction in a delicate area of ​​jungles and caves. Thirteen days after the inaugural trip, activity was suspended, and tickets sold had to be refunded. Shortly after, when the service resumed, users reported delays of up to two hours on some routes and failures in the air conditioning. Passengers had to be transported to Cancun by bus after waiting for about 6 hours. In early February, a containment wall on the railway route collapsed in section number 6, which connects the towns of Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Chetumal, in the state of Quintana Roo. This incident left three workers injured.

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