Politics · Mexico · 3 hrs ago
Environmental group says legal challenges to Maya Train face delays
Cemda says legal challenges to the Maya Train are being held up in courts in Quintana Roo and Yucatán, even as construction continues.
The challenges concern the original works and new freight terminals.
One case concerns a planned freight terminal in Cancún, projected to cover 261 hectares and managed by Mexico’s Defense Ministry.
Cemda says the site is in a conservation zone where this kind of infrastructure is prohibited, and that it lacks a forest land-use change permit.
The court has not decided which court should hear the case, despite an eight-day deadline under a 2025 law, Cemda says.
The group warns that a fuel spill could quickly reach underground water supplies because the peninsula’s karst ground is highly permeable and linked to cenotes and underground rivers.
Cemda says delayed rulings could come after construction is complete, limiting the chance to prevent environmental harm.
Cemda says legal challenges against the Maya Train and its new freight terminals face delays and obstacles in the courts.
The environmental group says some cases have remained unresolved since the project’s early construction stages while work continues.
It cites lost case files, rejected claims and disputes between courts in Quintana Roo and Yucatán over which court should hear cases.
One challenge concerns a planned 261-hectare freight terminal in Cancún, which Cemda says was built in a conservation area without a required forest land-use permit.
Cemda warns that a fuel spill at the terminal could contaminate the aquifer serving Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen.
- Who
- The Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda), represented by regional director Aarón Hernández Siller.
- What
- Cemda says court delays and procedural obstacles are holding up legal challenges against the Maya Train and its freight terminals.
- When
- Cemda says some cases have been unresolved since the early stages of construction. The article was published on November 3, 2026.
- Where
- The cases involve the Maya Train and freight terminals, including one in Cancún, Quintana Roo, and courts in Quintana Roo and Yucatán.
- Why
- Cemda says courts have lost files, rejected claims or disputed which court should hear them; it also says a terminal may pose environmental risks.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Cemda says legal cases against the project have remained unresolved while construction continued.
An environmental impact decision was issued for the Cancún freight terminal, according to the article.
Cemda’s challenge, case 26/2025, had no procedural activity from this point, the group said.
- Organization
- Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda)
- Terminal site
- 261 hectares in Cancún
- Case
- Amparo 26/2025 before the Third Collegiate Circuit Court in Quintana Roo
- Legal deadline
- Eight days to resolve jurisdictional conflicts under the 2025-reformed Amparo Law
- Environmental concern
- A spill could reach the aquifer serving Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen