Xochimilco Light Rail

Xochimilco Light Rail
Overview
Type	Light rail
Status	In service
Locale	Mexico City
Termini	Tasqueña Xochimilco
Stations	18
Ridership	21 million per year (2007)
Website	Línea de Tren Ligero
Operation
Opened	1986 (reopening after upgrading from streetcar line)
Owner	Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del D.F.
Rolling stock	20 articulated light rail cars
Technical
Line length	12.8 km (8.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Minimum radius	30 metres (98 ft)
Electrification	750 V DC, overhead catenary
Route map Xochimilco Light Rail Tasqueña Las Torres Ciudad Jardín La Virgen Xotepingo Nezahualpilli Registro Federal Textitlán El Vergel Estadio Azteca former Tlalpan branch Huipulco Xomali Anillo Periférico Periférico Tepepan La Noria Huichapan Francisco Goitia Xochimilco

The Xochimilco Light Rail (locally known as el Tren Ligero) 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.

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. 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. These shared a common routing between Tasqueña and Huipulco, with the Tlalpan service branching off of the main line for only about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) 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 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.

In 1947 a single PCC was delivered to Mexico City from St. Louis Car Company and later second-hand cars:

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. 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 , below, for more details).

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Wikipedia