Former Train Station of Izamal
Izamal, Mexico
An abandoned railroad station remains a reminder of the region's industrial and transportation heritage.
The Sisal Fibre industry was once the most prominent on the Yucatán Peninsula. Its manufacture and transportation necessitated the construction of a vast rail network between haciendas, where the plants were grown, and the fibre was made, and ports from which the products were sent to the rest of the world.
The train station in Izamal was erected in 1883 as a simple wooden structure. It was eventually painted in the town's yellow-and-white colour scheme. The Izamal station was previously part of a significant passenger route between the town and Mérida, the Peninsula's largest city, so rail travel was not solely for freight. This station was operated by the business Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán (United Railroads of Yucatán).
With the fall of rail transit in Mexico, Izamal's station was closed down; however, the rails may still be seen nearby, often lost among the asphalt of the surrounding streets.
It had devolved into little more than a storage facility for the Municipal Police Department, which appears to be in command of the tower as of early 2022. Given that the Tren Maya (Maya Train) project has been under construction since December 2018 and that Izamal will be one of its destinations, the town's rail history is expected to continue.
