Tren Maya Wildlife Crossings Questioned: Experts Call Them “Death Traps”

Quintana Roo, Mexico — Officials promoting the Tren Maya railway often highlight the construction of 571 wildlife crossings along its seven sections, including 271 in Quintana Roo. The crossings are presented as proof that the megaproject can coexist with nature. But on the ground, environmentalists paint a starkly different picture: they say the structures don’t work, were poorly designed, and in many cases don’t even exist. Instead of connecting ecosystems, critics argue, the railway is fragmenting them.

Problems and False Promises

José Urbina, better known as Pepe Tiburón and founder of the movement Sélvame del Tren, says the official claims don’t match reality.

“The ones they sold as wildlife crossings do not exist at all; they were insufficient to begin with and were not built. Now they are placing tunnels beneath the embankment or in the elevated parts of the tracks, which is absurd,” he said.

He added that the railway’s footprint is massive—60 to 90 meters wide with a service road running alongside it—making it nearly impossible for animals like monkeys to cross.

Wildlife management efforts have also stumbled. The government’s second tender to hire a company for wildlife protection was declared deserted after the only qualifying proposal exceeded the budget. That contract was supposed to include GPS monitoring, bimonthly reports, and rescue strategies for jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and tapirs—species already under severe pressure from habitat loss.

Highway Crossings: Still on Paper

In December, the Quintana Roo Secretariat of Ecology and Environment announced a 17-million-peso project to build wildlife crossings every two kilometers along Highway 307, in coordination with Semarnat. But nearly a year later, the initiative is still in its earliest stages.

Back in January 2021, federal authorities promised 70 wildlife crossings in Quintana Roo—64 at ground level and six elevated, stretching from Cancún to Tulum and from Tulum to Chetumal. Progress since then has been far less than advertised.

Experts Dispute Official Narrative

In January 2024, Tren Maya Director General Óscar David Lozano Águila claimed that jaguars, ocelots, tigrillos, tapirs, and deer had already been recorded in Section 5, where 17 wildlife crossings and six vehicle passages were built, along with a railway overpass near Leona Vicario.

But independent specialists are skeptical. Documentarian Raúl Padilla and hydrologist Guillermo D’Christy argue that many of the so-called crossings are nothing more than drainage culverts.

“Speaking with the project engineers themselves, they recognized that these are transverse drainage culverts, which are supposed to have a dual function, that of a wildlife crossing… They are concrete slabs, they look like real death traps. These transverse drains have nothing to do with the design of a wildlife crossing, they are not designed to be one. Even the Environmental Impact Assessment itself mentions that they are not very efficient, because it is not a specific design to try to provide a natural bridge for species to reconnect with the jungle,” explained D’Christy.

Lingering Damage and Unanswered Requests

Six months after Semarnat formally acknowledged damage to the jungle, the metal fencing along the elevated viaduct of Section 5 remains in place, blocking what was once a key biological corridor for jaguars.

D’Christy noted that on September 29, the environmental group Ocean Futures, founded by Jean-Michel Cousteau, submitted a formal request for the fences to be removed. So far, there has been no government response.

Broader Environmental Impacts

Beyond the wildlife crossings, scientists have repeatedly warned that the Tren Maya poses profound risks to the fragile ecosystems of the Yucatán Peninsula. The project cuts through karst limestone terrain riddled with cenotes and underground rivers, creating the possibility of contamination from construction and derailments. It has already required deforestation of thousands of hectares of jungle, further threatening endangered species like the jaguar, spider monkey, and tapir. Critics also warn that fragmenting habitats increases roadkill incidents, isolates animal populations, and reduces genetic diversity, pushing species closer to extinction.

For many environmentalists, the debate isn’t about whether crossings exist on paper, but whether they are truly capable of keeping the jungle connected. Right now, they argue, the answer is no.

Why Wildlife Crossings Matter

Wildlife crossings are not just symbolic gestures—they are essential tools for protecting biodiversity in areas fragmented by highways and railways. Properly designed crossings, whether overpasses covered in vegetation or underpasses wide enough for large animals, give species a safe way to move between habitats without being struck by vehicles.

In the case of the Yucatán Peninsula, the stakes are especially high. The region is home to Mexico’s largest jaguar population, along with other threatened species like ocelots, tapirs, and spider monkeys. These animals need vast ranges to hunt, breed, and maintain healthy genetic diversity. When habitats are cut off by infrastructure, populations become isolated, making them more vulnerable to disease, inbreeding, and eventual extinction.

Crossings also reduce the risk of collisions, which can be deadly for both animals and humans. In other parts of the world, like Canada and the United States, well-designed wildlife overpasses and underpasses have reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by as much as 80–90%.

For critics of the Tren Maya, this is why the difference between true wildlife crossings and makeshift drainage culverts is so critical. The former can help species survive in a changing landscape. The latter, they argue, are little more than window dressing.