It is unlikely that Guadalajara’s third Tren Ligero (subway) line will be operating before the spring of 2019, Gerardo Ruiz, the federal Transport and Communications Secretary, said on a visit to the city this week to assess the ongoing project.
Confirming that construction was “98 percent finished,” Ruiz explained that between five and eight months of testing would be necessary. Trials are due to start mid-October, he said.
Although the new line is one of the most high-profile and expensive projects of Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s six-year terms, their successors will eventually bask in the glory when it finally opens next year.
Work on the new line began in April, 2013, and was originally scheduled for completion in March 2017.
Line Three runs for 23 kilometers (18 stops) and links the center of Zapopan with the downtown Guadalajara core, continuing on to Tlaquepaque and the main bus station in Tonala.