Tren Maya Train Derails Near Campeche Station, 123 Passengers Evacuated

The Railway Accident Investigation Commission has assumed control of the track site outside San Francisco de Campeche to determine why a Tren Maya passenger convoy left the rails on Monday, holding the authority to mandate infrastructure repairs before the line can support its next phase of traffic. The state-owned operator must now implement any required technical adjustments before the planned launch of heavy cargo services later this year.[1][4]

The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. on August 31, as a train operating the Cancún-to-Palenque route departed the San Francisco de Campeche station. According to the railway operator, the convoy had advanced barely 50 meters when the rear car slipped off the rails.[1][2][4]

The train's engineer detected the track fault immediately and brought the heavy machinery to a complete stop, preventing the situation from escalating. Railway personnel kept the 123 passengers on board for approximately 30 minutes to assess the damage, distributing water and food in the afternoon heat.[1][5]

By 4:00 p.m., crews safely evacuated all passengers, reporting zero injuries. The travelers were loaded onto a fleet of shuttle buses and transported by road to the nearby Edzná station, where they boarded a replacement train to continue their journey toward Mérida.[1][4][5]

In its official communications, the state-owned Tren Maya company described the event strictly as a 'track-related incident' and stated that protocols for passenger care and service continuity were successfully activated. “In accordance with established technical procedures, the train driver brought the unit to a halt; no injuries were reported among the 123 passengers,” the operator said in a public statement.[2][3]

This marks at least the third derailment since the Tren Maya began carrying passengers in December 2023. Previous incidents included a derailment near Tixkokob in March 2024—attributed to a switch component failure—and another near Mérida in August 2025.[1][2][5]

The recurring mechanical issues add to the operational pressure on the military-run railway, which has also logged at least 25 electrical faults through July 2026. According to financial disclosures published by national media, the Tren Maya recorded losses of 5.013 billion pesos ($294.6 million) in the first half of 2026 alone, against just 1.060 billion pesos in total revenue since its inauguration.[1][2]

Government officials have consistently pointed to the planned freight service—connecting Mérida to the port of Progreso—as the key to making the massive railway financially sustainable. That cargo line is expected to begin operations by the end of 2026, raising the stakes for track reliability.[1][5]

For local environmental groups, the Campeche derailment serves as a warning sign ahead of those heavy cargo operations. Activists from collectives like Sélvame MX, who have long protested the railway's construction through fragile jungle and coastal ecosystems, argue that mechanical failures on passenger runs validate their fears about the much heavier freight trains scheduled to traverse the same routes.[5]

Service on the rest of the 1,500-kilometer line continued normally following the evacuation, though the operator warned that schedules could face minor adjustments as crews work to clear the affected track segment. The investigation commission has not yet released a timeline for its final technical report on the switch or rail failure that caused the rear car to detach.[1][4]