Construction of Guadalajara’s third subway, or light train (Tren Ligero), line has caused structural damage to at least 60 properties in the city center, it is alleged.
Property owners believe the damage is due to the tunneling currently taking place beneath Avenida Alcalde, although engineers from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) dispute this assertion, a senior official from the federal Transportation and Communications Ministry (SCT) said this week.
Most of the complaints involve fissures that business owners say have appeared on the walls, floors and roofs of properties since the start of tunneling last fall.
While officials from the Tren Ligero say they have registered 11 credible cases of possible damage as a result of the construction work, Guadalajara city hall has at least 60 documented cases.
The massive tunnel boring machine has advanced 1.7 of the five-kilometer, five-station underground stretch of the new Tren Ligero line. It is currently less than 200 meters away from the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Meanwhile, the Jalisco state government last week rolled out the first train that will be used on the new Tren Ligero line, which will traverse the metropolitan area for 28 kilometers, from Zapopan to the Tonala bus station.
Manufactured by the French company Alstom, the trains can travel up to 80 kilometers an hour, carry 700 passengers and are equipped with air conditioning, video surveillance and spaces for people with disabilities and special needs.