Villages near Mexico’s Mayan Train say they’re seeing no real benefits – and few passengers

Deep in Mexico’s Maya jungle, brilliant white lights blaze improbably in the wilderness: a maintenance depot for a flagship multibillion-dollar train line. But just beyond the perimeter fence, an off-grid village lies in darkness. Mexico’s Mayan Train, spanning about 1,500 kilometres, was meant to bring development to the country’s impoverished south through improved infrastructure and increased tourism. But, two years after it was inaugurated, it is struggling. Ticket sales cover only a fraction of operating costs and hotels built along the route sit mostly empty. Meanwhile, despite governmen…