Guadalajara light rail system

The Guadalajara light rail system (Spanish: Tren ligero de Guadalajara), which is operated by SITEUR (Sistema de Tren Eléctrico Urbano, Spanish for Urban Electrical Train System), is a light rail[1][2][4] system serving the municipalities of Guadalajara, Zapopan and Tlaquepaque, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It is owned by the state of Jalisco, and operator SITEUR is a state authority. Opened in 1989, the system currently has two lines: Line 1, running from north to south, with 19 stations, and Line 2, running from the city centre to the east, with 10 stations.

Guadalajara light rail system

Train at the Isla Raza station
Overview
Locale	Guadalajara, Jalisco
Transit type	Light rail[1][2] rapid transit
Number of lines	3
Number of stations	30
Daily ridership	240,000 (daily)[3]
Website	SITEUR
Operation
Began operation	1989 (Line 1) 1994 (Line 2)
Operator(s)	SITEUR
Technical
System length	24.0 km (14.9 mi)[3]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC, overhead[1]
System map Guadalajara's light rail network: Line 1 is shown in blue; Line 2 in green.

Lines

Line	Termini		Length	Stations	Year opened
	Auditorio	Periférico Sur	16.3 km	20	1989
	Juárez	Tetlán	8.5 km	10	1994
	Central Camionera	Arcos de Zapopan	21.0 km	18	Under construction

History

The history of urban trains in Guadalajara dates back to the 19th century, with the first trams pulled by mules, going from the Cathedral to the Templo de la Merced.

In 1974, several houses and streets in the city centre were demolished to make way for a new wide roadway, named Avenida Federalismo, and the construction of a new public-transport tunnel underneath. Avenida Federalismo (also known as Calzada del Federalismo) replaced what had been C. Moro (but with a much wider right-of-way) and is one of Guadalajara's most major thoroughfares. The 6.6-kilometre (4.1 mi) tunnel underneath the avenue was designed for future use by a rail system, but due to a lack of funding at the time, it was initially served by a new trolleybus system, which opened on December 15, 1976.[1] Several years later, work began to convert the trolleybus tunnel and stations for use by a light rail line. The tunnel closed for trolleybuses in early 1988,[5] but trolleybus service continued on other routes and is still in operation. The first light rail line, Line 1, opened on September 1, 1989.[1]

Line 1 runs at-grade south of the city center and has several level crossings.

A few years later, Line 2 was constructed, and it opened on July 1, 1994.[1] Because of the continuing heavy traffic congestion on the city's streets and the large numbers of users of the rail system, there are plans to extend Line 2 to the west and to build a third line.

Line 1 runs underground in the city center, but runs "at grade" north and south of the city center, and its surface sections include several level crossings, protected by crossing gates. The station platforms accommodate trains composed of no more than two cars. Line 2 is entirely underground except for a non-passenger section at its east end, connecting the last station to the maintenance facility. Its stations are long enough to accommodate trains of up to four cars.

The German company Siemens supplied the system engineering, signaling and telecommunication, power supply, and some components of the vehicles.

Unidad Deportiva station, on Line 1

SITEUR train at Juárez Station in central Guadalajara

Guadalajara light rail
3  Arco del Triunfo Belenes Mercado del Mar Periférico Norte  1  Zapopan Centro Dermatológico shops Plaza Patria Tetlán  2  Atemajac La Aurora Circunvalación San Jacinto División del Norte San Andrés Federalismo Cristóbal de Oñate Ávila Camacho Oblatos Normal Belisario Domínguez Santuario San Juan de Dios Mezquitán Catedral Refugio Plaza Universidad  2  Juárez Indepencia Sur Mexicaltzingo Plaza de La Bandera Washington Tequila Express to Amatitán Railroad Station CUCEI Santa Filomena Plaza Revolución Unidad Deportiva Río Nilo Urdaneta Tlaquepaque Centro 18 de Marzo Nodo Revolución Isla Raza Central Camionera  3  Patria España Santuario Mártires de Cristo Rey shops  1  Periférico Sur

Line 1

Line 1 runs from north (North Beltway) to south (South Beltway). It is 15.5 km (9.6 mi) long. Line 1 stations are:

• Auditorio (North Beltway)
• Periférico Norte
• Dermatológico
• Atemajac
• División del Norte
• Ávila Camacho (Connection with Line 3)
• Mezquitán
• Refugio
• Juárez (Connection with Line 2)
• Mexicaltzingo
• Washington
• Santa Filomena
• Unidad Deportiva
• Urdaneta
• 18 de Marzo
• Isla Raza
• Patria
• España
• Santuario Mártires de Cristo Rey
• Periférico Sur (South Beltway)

Line 2

Line 2 runs from downtown (Juárez) to east (Tetlán), and is 8.8 km (5.5 mi) long. Its stations are:

• Juárez (Connection with Line 1)
• Plaza Universidad
• San Juan de Dios (Connection with Macrobús)
• Belisario Domínguez
• Oblatos
• Cristóbal de Oñate
• San Andrés
• San Jacinto
• La Aurora
• Tetlán

Line 3

Line 3 under construction from (Central Camionera) in Tlaquepaque to west (Arcos de Zapopan), and is 21.0 km (13.0 mi) long. Its stations are:

• Arcos de Zapopan
• Belenes
• Mercado del Mar
• Zapopan Centro
• Plaza Patria
• Circunvalación
• Federalismo (Connection with Line 1)
• La Normal
• Santuario
• Catedral (Connection with Line 2)
• Independencia Sur
• Plaza de la Bandera
• CUCEI
• Plaza Revolución
• Río Nilo
• Tlaquepaque Centro
• Nodo Revolución
• Central Camionera

Fleet

The fleet consists of 78 articulated light rail vehicles,[6] each bi-directional ("double-ended") and powered from overhead lines. They have a top speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). Three of the models are the same general type (only the 18 Barcelona Metro 9000 Series units, who will operate on the future line 3, are different) three models were built in Mexico, and one model was built in Spain. The first 16 cars were built by Concarril,[1] and using propulsion equipment from Melmex (Mitsubishi Electric of Mexico).[7] For line 2, another 32 cars were ordered, and these came from Bombardier, which had acquired Concarril in 1992 and built this new batch in the same factory (in Ciudad Sahagún) as the earlier batch;[1] they have propulsion equipment from Siemens. In 2015 SITEUR ordered 12 more cars who were also from Bombardier for the line 1. Then SITEUR ordered 18 more cars from Alstom for the future line 3. The first batch were model TLG 88,the second were model TEG 90, the third were model TEG 15, and the fourth were Barcelona Metro 9000 Series.

Model	Manufacturer	Year Built	Operating Lines
TLG-88	Concarril-Melmex (Mitsubishi)	1988	Line 2
TEG-90	Bombardier-Siemens AG	1990	Lines 1 and 2
TEG-15	Bombardier	2015	Line 1
Barcelona Metro 9000 Series	Alstom	2002	Line 3

Expansion

SITEUR Line 3 Route

Construction of the new Line 3[8] began at the end of 2014. The 21.4-kilometre (13.3 mi) line will feature a combination of underground (5.3 km) and elevated sections (16.1 km) and serve 18 stations. It will cross the full length of the city, from Zapopan in the north-west to Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, in the south-east, via the city center.[9] It is expected to open on September 1, 2020.[10]

See also

• Trolleybuses in Guadalajara
• Guadalajara Macrobús
• Light rail in North America
• List of North American light rail systems by ridership
• List of Latin American rail transit systems by ridership

References

1. May, Jack (1994). "Mexico Says Sí to LRT: Light Rail South of the Border". 1994 Light Rail Annual & User's Guide. Pasadena, CA: Pentrex. pp. 5–7. ISSN 0160-6913.
2. Webb, Mary, ed. (2011). "Foreword". Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2011-2012. Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane's Information Group. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-0-7106-2954-8.
3. "Características Tren Eléctrico" [Electric Train Characteristics] (in Spanish). SITEUR. 2013. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
4. World Systems List: Mexico (with introduction and country index here). Light Rail Transit Association (UK).
5. Aberson, Gert (July–August 1993). "Guadalajara Update". Trolleybus Magazine. National Trolleybus Assn. pp. 87–92. ISSN 0266-7452.
6. "SITEUR - Sistema de transport electric urbano" [SITEUR - System of urban electric transport] (in Spanish). SITEUR. 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
7. Webb, Mary, ed. (2009). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2009-2010. Coulson, Surrey: Jane's Information Group. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-7106-2903-6.
8. "Line 3".
9. "Línea 3 del Tren Eléctrico de Guadalajara" (PDF). Línea 3 project website (in Spanish). Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, Jalisco. 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
10. https://www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/linea-3-guadalajara-inauguracion-1-septiembre

External links

• SITEUR (in Spanish)
• Guadalajara at UrbanRail.net
• Mapa del sistema en Google Earth (in English)