The Campeche Light Rail (Spanish: Tren Ligero de Campeche) is an under-construction Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) line which will connect the historic center of San Francisco de Campeche with its airport and its Tren Maya station.[2][3] It was originally planned to be a light rail line, but to save time and costs, it is now being built as an ART guided bus.[4]

Tren Ligero de San Francisco de Campeche
Overview
OwnerGovernment of the State of Campeche
Area servedCity of Campeche, Campeche
LocaleCampeche
Transit typeAutonomous Rail Rapid Transit
Number of stations14
Operation
Operation will startApril 2025 (planned)[1]
Number of vehicles5 vehicles
Technical
System length20.7 km (12.9 mi)
System map

Centro Histórico
Barrio de Guadalupe
San Francisco
Galerías
La Ermita
Santa Lucía
Gobernadores
Antigua Estación
Héroes Nacozari
Aeropuerto Campeche International Airport
Campus
Periférico
Siglo XXI
Terminal Tren Maya

The project was expected to be completed by August 2024,[5][6] although Blas Andrés Núñez, the head of the Operations Coordination Center of the Tren Maya (Spanish: Centro Coordinador de Operaciones del Tren Maya), announced that the start of operations of the Light Rail would be April 2025.[7]

History

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Planning

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On December 22, 2021, the governor of Campeche, Layda Sansores, signed a collaboration agreement with the director of the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency (Spanish: Agencia Reguladora del Transporte Ferroviario, ARTF) David Camacho. This agreement sought to promote the expansion of the railways in the state of Campeche.[8]

Through the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), 29 million pesos were requested to carry out the pre-investment studies of the project, which would consist of an extension of 20.7 km (12.9 mi) . It was expected that the construction of the light rail would use the existing railway infrastructure that corresponds to the FA and FL lines, which were in disuse.[9] Originally, it was expected that the project would be financed with resources from the National Infrastructure Fund (Spanish: Fondo Nacional de Infraestructura, FONADIN), but later it was announced that its financing will be carried out with funds from the Federal Government of Mexico.[9][10]

The project had an initial investment of 5 billion pesos and for its construction it was expected not to enable new tracks, since it would pass through the old railroad tracks, which would save money in the construction of the project.[10][11] On September 14, 2023, it was announced that the train would no longer be a light rail, but would be an ART guided bus, because all the railroad tracks that would pass through the city would be removed to build concrete roads.[4] The Light Rail project include stations at Ermita, the historic center of Campeche [es], Héroe de Nacozari Avenue, and the Malecón de Campeche.[3]

Construcción

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In April 2024, construction work began with the preparation of the land on Héroe de Nacozari Avenue, where sleepers and the railway track began to be removed.[12][13] Due to the magnitude, it was expected that a considerable number of trees and palm trees would be removed, although at the time there was no official information about it, reportedly due to election silence laws.[14] After a controversy over the lack of construction licenses and various permits such as the presentation of the Executive Project and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the construction work would be suspended.[15] This suspension would later be overturned after a resolution of the Court of Administrative Justice.[16]

After this, the head of the Mayan Train Operations Coordination Center of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), Blas Andrés Núñez, changed the start date of operations of the Light Rail to April 2025.[7]

Vehicle fleet

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It was initially expected that the trains that will be used for the project would be road-rail vehicles, which would allow them to go on railroad tracks and also on normal streets.[17]

However, after it was decided to build concrete roads instead of railroad tracks, it was decided to buy ART guided buses.[14] By the end of July 2024, CRRC brought a demonstration unit to Campeche that was previously tested on the Ecovía line in Monterrey, Nuevo León. This vehicle is similar to those that will be used on Metrorrey Line 5 in the same city.[18]

There will be five units, each of which will operate every 15 to 30 minutes.[19] The train will have a three-car design to carry 304 people,[20][19][21] while the service as a whole will have a total capacity of 1,200 passengers.[19]

References

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  1. ^ López Obrador, Andrés Manuel. "Ingenieros ferroviarios egresados del IPN trabajarán en Tren Maya. Conferencia presidente AMLO". YouTube. Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  2. ^ Osegueda, Rodrigo (2023-07-17). "Así lucirá el nuevo Tren Ligero de Campeche, ¡unirá el aeropuerto y el Tren Maya!". México Desconocido (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  3. ^ a b R, J. (2024-04-26). "Inician obras para el Tren Ligero en el malecón de Campeche". La i Noticias (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  4. ^ a b "Tren Eléctrico en Campeche: Reemplazarán antiguas vías por plataformas de concreto". www.poresto.net (in Spanish). 14 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  5. ^ "Tren Ligero de Campeche será inaugurado en agosto de 2024". www.poresto.net (in Spanish). 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  6. ^ "El nuevo Tren Ligero arrancará en 2024". Campeche HOY (in Mexican Spanish). 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  7. ^ a b "Posponen inauguración del Tren Ligero en Campeche hasta 2025". www.yucatanalamano.com. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  8. ^ "Proyecta Layda tren ligero metropolitano - EstamosAquí MX". estamosaqui.mx (in Spanish). 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  9. ^ a b Alejandro de la Rosa (4 January 2022). "Gobierno federal busca otro tren de pasajeros, ahora en Campeche". Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Así será viajar a bordo del nuevo Tren Ligero que unirá al Tren Maya con el aeropuerto de Campeche". Escapada H (in Spanish). 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  11. ^ "Tren Ligero en Campeche: Fonatur invertirá 5 mmdp para su construcción". www.poresto.net (in Spanish). 23 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  12. ^ Vásquez, David (11 April 2024). "Inician trabajos para Tren Ligero en Campeche". www.poresto.net (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  13. ^ "Tren Ligero en Campeche: Estos serán los paraderos que recorrerán la ciudad". www.poresto.net (in Spanish). 26 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  14. ^ a b "Se Prevé tala de árboles y modificación de glorietas por trabajos del Tren ligero - Tribuna Campeche" (in Mexican Spanish). 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  15. ^ Corresponsal, José Landa /. "Ayuntamiento de Campeche suspende obra complementaria del Tren Maya". El Sol de México | Noticias, Deportes, Gossip, Columnas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  16. ^ Magaña, Jairo. "Layda Sansores anuncia que continúan las obras por el Tren Ligero en Campeche". www.lajornadamaya.mx. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  17. ^ "Así será el Tren Ligero de Campeche, 'el hermano' del IE-TRAM en Yucatán: FOTOS". www.poresto.net (in Spanish). 12 July 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  18. ^ Martinez Leija, Luis (25 July 2024). "¡Adiós! Tren eléctrico se va de Monterrey a Campeche". Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. ABC Noticias. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Yerbes, July (2024-05-15). "¿Cuántas personas podrá transportar el Tren Ligero de Campeche?". Por Esto! (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  20. ^ "Layda Sansores comparte video que seria de las primeras pruebas del tren ligero de Campeche". poresto.net (in Spanish). 19 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  21. ^ Espinoza, Roberto (2024-08-21). "Tren Ligero de Campeche: Retiran palmeras del camellón en el malecón". Por Esto! (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-26.