Xochimilco Light Rail
Xochimilco Light Rail | |
---|---|
overhead catenary[4] | |
The Xochimilco Light Rail (locally known as the Tren Ligero and known by the government as Tren ligero de la Ciudad de México) is a light rail line that serves the southern part of Mexico City. It connects to, but is not considered a part of, the Mexico City Metro. Rather, it is operated by the Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos (STE), the authority that operates Mexico City's electric trolleybus system and formerly operated the municipal electric tram system.
History
Many of Mexico City's original tram lines were abandoned in the 1960s and 1970s. The original Xochimilco
Both lines ceased operation in September 1984, for rebuilding as light rail. Changes to allow faster operation included replacing the simple
The 5.5-kilometre (3.4 mi) section between Tasqueña and Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium), just short of Huipulco junction (for the branch to Tlalpan), opened as light rail on 1 August 1986, but ran for only three days before poor reliability with the heavily rebuilt rail cars led to a decision to suspend service.[8][9] Service resumed in November 1986.[9] Right-of-way work then shifted to the line's outer section, between Estadio Azteca and Xochimilco, with similar upgrading for higher-speed operation. This section opened on 29 November 1988.[9] The old tram line 54 had included a long loop through the historic centre of Xochimilco, along narrow city streets, but this was not included in the upgrading to light rail, and was permanently abandoned when closed in 1984.[6]
The 1.7-kilometre (1.1 mi) branch from Huipulco junction to Tlalpan was also rebuilt, but in a different manner, changed from private
The
Route
The line runs between
Until 1995, the outer terminus was located just beyond Calle Francisco Goitia, at what is now named Francisco Goitia station; it was named "Xochimilco" station originally. In that year, the line was extended east by about 800 metres (875 yd) to a new terminus at the western edge of Delegación Xochimilco's centre, along a section of former tram line 54, closed in 1984. This new section was opened on 14 September 1995, and the new terminus was named Embarcadero.[11] However, as the new terminus was now located closer to the centre of Xochimilco than was the actual station bearing that name, STE eventually renamed Embarcadero station as "Xochimilco", and the original "Xochimilco" station—now the line's penultimate station—became Francisco Goitia station. However, the partly single-track segment from Francisco Goitia to Xochimilco limited capacity on the line, and so the Xochimilco station was rebuilt 200 metres (219 yd) to the west and equipped with two tracks and three loading platforms. The old Xochimilco station closed in November 2007 for the start of construction, and the new station opened on 14 December 2008.[12]
Rolling stock
The Xochimilco line's rolling stock currently consists of 24
The line's original fleet consisted of semi-new articulated LRVs built by Moyada (Motores y Adaptaciones Automotrices, S.A.), incorporating the
In 1989, STE placed an order with
Four additional LRVs of the same type as the Concarril units were purchased later, in 1995, numbered 029–032. These were built by Bombardier, which had acquired Concarril in 1992,[16] but were built in the same factory (in Ciudad Sahagún) and were nearly identical to STE's 12 Concarril cars. In the mid-2000s, four more cars were purchased later from Bombardier, numbered 033–036, and they entered service on the Xochimilco light rail line in September and October 2008, increasing the fleet size to 20 cars, numbered 017–036.[12]
On 30 August 2011, on its way to Huichapan station, car 031 was hit, while coming to a stop, at full speed by car 027. Twenty-nine people were injured. The two LRVs sustained heavy damage. One half of each two-section LRV was scrapped, and in 2013 STE hired Bombardier to supply two all-new half-car sections and to combine them with the undamaged halves of the two LRVs.[2] Cars 027 and 031 both returned to service in autumn 2014.[3]
Meanwhile, another four new LRVs were purchased from Bombardier in 2013–14, which would be assigned STE fleet numbers 037–040.[2] They were delivered in summer 2014 and entered service on 16 March 2015,[3] increasing the size of the fleet to 24 cars (numbered 017–040).
Stations
Denotes an accessible station | |
Denotes a connection with the Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM) system. | |
Denotes a connection with the Mexico City Metro system | |
Denotes a connection with the public bus system | |
Denotes a connection with the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros (RTP) system |
Pictogram | Station | Date opened | Distance (km) | Connection | Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Between stations |
Total | |||||
Tasqueña | August 1986 | - | 0.0 |
|
Coyoacán | |
Las Torres | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| |||
Ciudad Jardín | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| |||
La Virgen | 0.5 | 1.8 | ||||
Xotepingo | 0.4 | 2.2 | ||||
Nezahualpilli | 0.5 | 2.7 | ||||
Registro Federal | 0.6 | 3.3 | ||||
Textitlán | 0.6 | 3.9 | ||||
El Vergel | 0.6 | 4.6 | ||||
Estadio Azteca | 0.8 | 5.3 |
|
Coyoacán and Tlalpan | ||
Huipulco | 0.7 | 6.0 |
|
Tlalpan | ||
Xomali | 1.1 | 7.1 |
| |||
Periférico/Participación Ciudadana[b] | 1.0 | 8.1 |
| |||
Tepepan | 0.8 | 8.9 |
|
Xochimilco | ||
La Noria | 1.6 | 10.5 |
| |||
Huichapan | 0.8 | 11.3 |
| |||
Francisco Goitia[c] | 0.9 | 12.2 |
| |||
Xochimilco[d] | 14 December 2008 | 0.8 | 13 |
|
See also
- Light rail in North America
- List of rapid transit systems
- Transport in Mexico City
Notes
- ^ The following list was adapted from different websites and official maps.
- Accessibility obtained from the STE system map.[17]
- Metro () connections obtained from the official Mexico City Metro system map.[18]
- Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM; ) obtained from the official website of the Órgano Regulador de Transporte.[19]
- Public buses network (peseros) () obtained from the official website of the Órgano Regulador de Transporte.[20]
- Red de Transporte de Pasajeros () obtained from their official website.[21]
- ^ Formerly named "Periférico".
- ^ Formerly named "Xochimilco".
- ^ Formerly named "Embarcadero".
References
- ^ "Servicios. - Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del D.F." [Electrical transport service of the Federal District] (in Spanish). Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del Distrito Federal. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-07.
- ^ ISSN 1460-8324.
- ^ ISSN 1460-8324.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7106-2903-6.
- ^ a b Morrison, Allen (2003). The Tramways of Mexico City, Part 4. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ ISSN 0160-6913.
- ISSN 0144-1655.
- ^ ISSN 0730-5400.
- ^ a b c d e "LRT Developments in Mexico". Mass Transit magazine, June 1989, pp. 20–21. Cygnus Publishing. ISSN 0364-3484.
- ISSN 0144-1655.
- ^ ISBN 0-7106-2565-0.
- ^ ISSN 1460-8324.
- ^ "Ficha Técnica: Tren Ligero Articulado (Fact Sheet: Articulated Light Rail Vehicle)" (in Spanish). STE. Archived from the original on August 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
- ^ Craig, H. B. II. "THE P.C.C. ERA IN DETROIT – Part 5 (The Ending of an Era in Detroit and The México City Sale)". DETROIT TRANSIT HISTORY.info. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ISSN 0964-9255.
- Light Rail and Modern Tramway. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. August 1992. pp. 218–219.
- ^ "Mi Mapa STE 150222" [My STE Map 150222] (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ "Mi Mapa Metro 22032021" [My Metro Map 22032021] (PDF) (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Centros de Transferencia Modal (CETRAM)" [Modal Transfer Centers] (in Spanish). Órgano Regulador de Transporte. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Red de corredores" [Route network] (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Red de Rutas" [Routes network] (in Spanish). Red de Transporte de Pasajeros. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
External links
Media related to Mexico City light rail at Wikimedia Commons