Line 3 of the Light Rail opens today. More than 6 years have passed since the work began, double the time expected when its construction was announced in 2014, with an extra expense of more than 13 billion pesos from was forecast.

The public work that the then-President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto proclaimed as one of his main commitments in terms of passenger trains, has 18 stations, 5 in Zapopan, 10 in Guadalajara, and 3 in Tlaquepaque, ranging from Los Arcos de Zapopan to the new bus Station.

The new section of the Light Rail has the capacity to transport 233 thousand users per day.

The structure is not one hundred percent finished. The roofs of four stations still need to be completed and, according to Bernardo Sáenz Barba, president of the College of Civil Engineers of Jalisco (CICEJ), there are some pending issues that can be resolved in parallel to the trains operating.

“This line is going to have a great positive impact, but it is also time to reflect. A work of this magnitude should have had a much more important executive project, with greater scope, so that there would not be a lag in cost and time,” he said.

He stressed that, if well planned, the construction would have lasted at most four years. Having more data would have saved time, money, and effort . The sinkholes and the presence of surface water could be avoided.

He explained that the Line 3 project was conceptualized, but was not precise in several aspects: “The issue of surface water in the tunnel caused the work to be slower. If the executive project had been done well, the time could have been reduced to 4 years. There was no flow of resources, and that was stopping everything.”

He questioned the fact that the work was contracted for Spanish and Portuguese companies, and executed, for the most part, by people from the state and the country: “These types of works have to be carried out by Mexican construction companies. We have Mexican technicians, specifically in Jalisco, who have all that experience. It is important that foreigners do not arrive, the resource is taken and the locals end up doing it. As in the case of the foreign company OHL, which is one of those that won important contracts, and it turns out that it is singled out for corruption.”

Line 3 of the Light Rail will be inaugurated today, at 4pm. From there, for nine days, it will be free for users.

See AMLO’s Line 3 inauguration video here.

There are 18 stations, 13 of them on the elevated track ,and 5 on the underground track.

In the south-east direction towards north-west:

In Tlaquepaque

  • 1.- New Central . (Elevated). It is the first station on Line 3 of the Guadalajara Light Train going south-east to north-west. It is located on Avenida de Las Torres in the area of ​​the main foreign bus station in Guadalajara. New Central Station. (Special)
  • 2.-Lázaro Cárdenas. (Elevated). Located on Avenida Francisco Silva Romero in Tlaquepaque at its intersection with República de Guatemala Street, near the road node where said avenue converges with Calzada Lázaro Cárdenas, from which it takes its name.
  • 3.-Tlaquepaque Downtown. (Elevated). On Avenida Revolución between Zaragoza and 16 de Septiembre streets that lead to the historic center of Tlaquepaque.

In Guadalajara

  • 4.-River Nile . (Elevated). At the intersection of Avenida Revolución and Avenida Río Nilo, just outside the Clinic 14.
  • 5.-Revolution . (Elevated). On Avenida Revolución, at its junction with Calle Ramón López Velarde, in front of the Plaza Revolución shopping center from which it will take its name.
  • 6.-CUCEI.  (High). Receives its name from CUCEI next to the UdeG university complex in the Olympic Zone; It is the last of Viaduct 2 from the east to the center of Guadalajara and is next to the southern ramp that connects with the Underground Section.
  • 7.-Plaza de la Bandera. (Underground). under the Avenida Revolución between Calzada del Ejército and Constancia (Aquiles Serdán), a few meters from the Plaza de La Bandera from where it will take its name.
  • 8.-Independence. (Underground). It is expected to be one of the busiest stations due to its proximity to the Macrobus.
  • 9.-Guadalajara Downtown. (Underground) It is the station where you can change with Line 2 of the System.
  • 10.- Sanctuary. (Underground). On Fray Antonio Alcalde avenue, between Juan Álvarez and Manuel Acuña streets; Its construction required the closure and diversion of vehicular traffic that circulated along this avenue, as well as digging the square next to the Sanctuary in order to install Milan Walls. Sanctuary Station. (Special)
  • 11.-The Normal. (Underground). It is at the north end of the railway tunnel with exit to the surface and towards the Guadalajara-Zapopan elevated viaduct
  • 12.-Ávila Camacho. (Elevated). It is the intersection station between Lines 1 and 3 of the Urban Electric Train System.
  • 13.-Country Beltway. (Elevated). On the median of Manuel Ávila Camacho avenue on the corner of Mar Egeo street, just 300 meters from the junction with the Circunvalación viaduct.

In Zapopan

  • 14.- Plaza Patria. (Elevated). On the central median of Manuel Ávila Camacho avenue in front of the park of the same name, a few meters from the municipal border with Zapopan and the Plaza Patria shopping center.
  • 15.-Zapopan Center. (Elevated). At the intersection of Juan Pablo II and Ávila Camacho.
  • 16.-Mercado del Mar. (Elevated). On Juan Pablo II avenue where José Parres Arias avenues and Pino Suárez Prolongacion converge.
  • 17.-Peripheral Nativity Scene (Elevated). On Juan Pablo II avenue (formerly Av. Laureles) at its junction with the Peripheral Ring.
  • 18.-Arcos Zapopan. (Elevated). On Juan Gil Preciado avenue (Carretera a Tesistán), at its intersection with Arco del Triunfo avenue in the Arcos de Zapopan neighborhood.

Line 3 has a connection with Lines 1 and 2 of Mi Tren and Mi Macro Calzada.