Xochimilco Light Rail
Template:Short description Template:Infobox rail line
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 tramline had been in operation since 1910, but the Xochimilco tramway's section between Avenida Tasqueña and the city centre was replaced by a new metro line in 1970.<ref name="morrison-tramways4">Morrison, Allen (2003). The Tramways of Mexico City, Part 4. Retrieved 2010-05-05.</ref><ref name="LRA-1994">May, Jack (1994). "Mexico Says Sí to LRT: Light Rail South of the Border". 1994 Light Rail Annual & User's Guide, pp. 2–5. Pasadena, CA (US): Pentrex. Template:ISSN.</ref> With the subsequent Mexico City tramway closures that took effect in May 1979, the only tramlines left in operation were routes 53 and 54, running from Tasqueña metro station to Tlalpan and Xochimilco, respectively.<ref>Modern Tramway, October 1979 issue, p. 364. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. Template:Issn.</ref> These shared a common routing between Tasqueña and Huipulco, with the Tlalpan service branching off of the main line for only about Template:Convert to its terminus at Avenida San Fernando, in the historic centre of Tlalpan borough. On the common section, the tracks were located in the wide median of the Calzada de Tlalpan. The tracks between Huipulco and Xochimilco were also in a separate right-of-way. The separation from street traffic, except at crossings, made routes 53 and 54 more like what later came to be called light rail unlike Mexico City's other tramlines which were closed by 1979, but these lines still lacked other light-rail attributes such a full stations. Thus the decision was made in the early 1980s to convert these lines to modern light rail transit.
Both lines ceased operation in September 1984, for rebuilding as light rail. Changes to allow faster operation included replacing the simple tram stops with semi-enclosed estaciones (stations), which were spaced farther apart, fitted with high-level boarding platforms and set up as paid areas, so that all payment of fares would take place before boarding. In between the stations the work included installing new tracks set in concrete; putting fencing along the line's right-of-way and closing some street crossings; and installing overhead catenary designed for higher speeds.<ref name="LRA-1994"/><ref name="ty87">Saitta, Joseph P. (1987). "Down Mexico Way". Traction Yearbook '87, pp. 119–123. Template:Issn.</ref> The fleet of 1940s PCC streetcars was also replaced by a fleet of new articulated light rail cars built partially using components from the old cars, including their PCC bogies (trucks) and propulsion systems (see Rolling stock, below, for more details).<ref name="LRA-1994"/><ref name="mt1989">"LRT Developments in Mexico". Mass Transit magazine, June 1989, pp. 20–21. Cygnus Publishing. ISSN 0364-3484.</ref>
The Template:Convert section between Tasqueña and Estadio Azteca light rail station (Banorte 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.<ref name="ty87"/><ref name="mt1989"/> Service resumed in November 1986.<ref name="mt1989"/> Right-of-way work then shifted to the line's outer section, between Estadio Banorte and Xochimilco, with similar upgrading for higher-speed operation. This section opened on 29 November 1988.<ref name="mt1989"/> 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.<ref name="LRA-1994"/>
The Template:Convert branch from Huipulco junction to Tlalpan was also rebuilt, but in a different manner, changed from private right-of-way to street running (without separation from other traffic) in the middle lanes of Calle Ferrocarril (now known as Renato Leduc) and also shortened by about Template:Convert at its outer end, no longer reaching Avenida San Fernando. Three high-platform stops were built, one being at the new terminus, which was referred to simply as "Tlalpan" on the rail cars' destination signs. Service to Tlalpan was reintroduced on 13 March 1990, now running only as a one-car shuttle to and from Estadio Banorte, no longer through to Tasqueña.<ref name="mt-july1990">Modern Tramway, July 1990 issue, p. 244. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. Template:Issn.</ref> Patronage was low, and service was discontinued only one year later, in March 1991, after an accident damaged the one car (No. 000) normally assigned to the Tlalpan route.<ref name="LRA-1994"/> Service was reinstated on 13 December 1991, as STE began to place new cars into service on the Xochimilco line, but ceased again on 6 October 1992<ref name="LRA-1994"/> and has never resumed.
The overhead line voltage was 600 volts DC until around the end of 1995, when it was raised to 750 V.<ref name="janes2003">Webb, Mary; and Pattison, Tony (Eds.) (2003). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2003-2004, p. 244. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. Template:ISBN.</ref>
Route
The line runs between Metro Tasqueña and the town of Xochimilco, south of Mexico City. It serves the Coyoacán, Tlalpan, and Xochimilco boroughs, giving residents a fast link to the urban south of Mexico City. For the northern stretch of its run, it travels along the central reservation of the Calzada de Tlalpan, as does Metro Line 2 south of Metro San Antonio Abad – for this reason, it is sometimes seen as a continuation of that line, albeit on a more modest scale. The light rail line has 18 stations: two terminals and 16 intermediate stations. Three of these stations were built later than the others; Huipulco, Periférico and Huichapan stations opened in November 1993.<ref name="LRA-1994"/> The travel time from one end of the line to the other is approximately 37 minutes.
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 Template:Convert 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.<ref name="janes2003"/> 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 Template:Convert 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.<ref name="TAUT-mar2009">Template:Cite news</ref>
Rolling stock
The Xochimilco line's rolling stock currently consists of 24<ref name="TAUT-sep2014"/> articulated light rail vehicles (LRVs) built by Concarril or Bombardier/Siemens, between 1990 and 2014. Each car is about Template:Convert long and capable of carrying up to 300 passengers.<ref name="tren_ligero_artic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first 16 of these replaced older cars over the period 1991–95.
The line's original fleet consisted of semi-new articulated LRVs built by Moyada (Motores y Adaptaciones Automotrices, S.A.), incorporating the bogies (trucks) and some other parts from STE's large fleet of withdrawn 1940s-vintage PCC streetcars.<ref name="morrison-tramways4"/> STE originally intended to rebuild about 20 PCCs for the lines, a project well underway at STE's Tetepilco Depot when the workshop building collapsed during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, crushing the cars.<ref name=dsrpcc5>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The prototype LRV was numbered 000, and the remainder 001-016. The Moyada cars had all-new bodies and were equipped with pantographs instead of trolley poles to collect current from the overhead wires. Unlike the old streetcars/trams, they were also bi-directional, having operating cabs at both ends and doors on both sides. Perhaps because of their vintage running gear or electrical components,<ref name="mt1989"/> these cars were found to be unreliable, even after the refurbishment of six in 1989–91.<ref name="LRA-1994"/>
In 1989, STE placed an order with Concarril for 12 all-new LRVs with similar capacity, to the same design as LRVs Concarril had recently supplied to Guadalajara's light rail system. Numbered 017–028, the order's first cars arrived in January 1991 entered service on 6 December 1991,<ref name="LRA-1994"/> replacing all of the Moyada cars except on the Tlalpan shuttle service. When Tlalpan service was withdrawn again in October 1992, the Moyada cars were no longer used. However, in 1992–93 three Moyada cars (005, 010 and 016) were again fitted with all-new bodies, now to a design intended to resemble the Concarril cars, this work being undertaken by local firm Sintra S.A.<ref name="LRA-1994"/> The three "Sintra" cars, as they were known, the fleet's last to use PCC-type control systems, entered service on 1 June 1993.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They were withdrawn in late 1995, and shortly afterward the voltage of the line was raised from 600 V DC to 750 V.<ref name="janes2003"/> The newer cars had already been able to operate at the higher voltage.
Four additional LRVs of the same type as the Concarril units were purchased later, in 1995, numbered 029–032. These were built by Bombardier-Concarril S.A. de CV, a subsidiary of Bombardier, which had acquired Concarril in 1992,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but were built in the same factory (in Ciudad Sahagún) and were nearly identical to STE's 12 Concarril cars. (Several years later, in 2004, Bombardier-Concarril was renamed Bombardier Transportation México.) These four cars were originally ordered by the Guadalajara light rail system, but were resold to STE after Guadalajara decided they were excess to their fleet needs at that time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the mid-2000s, four more cars were purchased 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.<ref name="TAUT-mar2009"/>
After 2010
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.<ref name="TAUT-sep2014">Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, September 2014, p. 399. LRTA Publishing (UK). Template:Issn.</ref> Cars 027 and 031 both returned to service in autumn 2014.<ref name="TAUT-may2015">Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, May 2015, p. 207. LRTA Publishing (UK). Template:Issn.</ref>
Meanwhile, another four new LRVs were purchased from Bombardier in 2013–14, which would be assigned STE fleet numbers 037–040.<ref name="TAUT-sep2014"/> They were delivered in summer 2014 and entered service on 16 March 2015,<ref name="TAUT-may2015"/> increasing the size of the fleet to 24 cars (numbered 017–040).
In 2022, STE placed an order with CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Company, of China, for six new LRVs,<ref name="IRJ-2023Sep">Template:Cite news</ref> which was later expanded to nine cars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first car (no. 041) was delivered in November 2023<ref name="taut-2024jan">Template:Cite news</ref> and entered service in early January 2024.<ref name="taut-2024apr">Template:Cite news</ref> Additional cars in the series, which is numbered 041–049, began to arrive in February 2024.<ref name="taut-2024apr"/>
All 12 Concarril LRVs (nos. 017–028) had been withdrawn by the end of 2023. Car 018 has been preserved by STE.<ref name="taut-2025apr">Template:Cite news</ref> By the end of 2024, all nine CRRC cars had entered service, and in December 2024 three Bombardier LRVs (nos. 33, 35, 36) returned to service after refurbishment. The size of the active fleet then stood at 21 cars: Bombardier 029–040 and CRRC 041–049.<ref name="taut-2025mar">Template:Cite news</ref>
Stations
| CETRAM Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM) | Template:Rint Metro | Public buses Template:Lang (public bus) |
| RTP Red de Transporte de Pasajeros (RTP) | trolleybus Trolleybus |
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| Pictogram | StationTemplate:Efn | Date opened | Distance (km) | Connection | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between stations |
Total | |||||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Tasqueña Template:Rint | August 1986 | - | 0.0 |
|
Coyoacán |
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Las Torres | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Ciudad Jardín | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor La Virgen | 0.5 | 1.8 | |||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Xotepingo | 0.4 | 2.2 | |||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Nezahualpilli | 0.5 | 2.7 | |||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Registro Federal | 0.6 | 3.3 | |||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Textitlán | 0.6 | 3.9 | |||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor El Vergel | 0.6 | 4.6 | |||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Estadio Azteca | 0.8 | 5.3 |
|
Coyoacán and Tlalpan | |
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Huipulco Template:Rint | 0.7 | 6.0 |
|
Tlalpan | |
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Xomali Template:Rint | 1.1 | 7.1 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Periférico/Participación CiudadanaTemplate:Efn | 1.0 | 8.1 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Tepepan | 0.8 | 8.9 |
|
Xochimilco | |
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor La Noria Template:Rint | 1.6 | 10.5 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Huichapan Template:Rint | 0.8 | 11.3 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor Francisco GoitiaTemplate:Efn Template:Rint | 0.9 | 12.2 |
| ||
| {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} | Template:Anchor XochimilcoTemplate:Efn Template:Rint | 14 December 2008 | 0.8 | 13 |
| |
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See also
Notes
References
External links
Template:Mexico City transport network Template:Mexico City Metro navbox Template:Currently operating rapid transit systems in Mexico Template:North American legacy streetcar systems Template:MexLightRail