Streetcars in Mexico City
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/ZocaloMexicoCity1900.jpg/200px-ZocaloMexicoCity1900.jpg)
Mexico City once had an extensive network of streetcars. Most streetcar lines in Mexico City radiated from the city's central square, the Zócalo towards many parts of the city.[1] By the 1980s only one streetcar line survived, which itself was converted into the Xochimilco Light Rail line in 1986.
History
[edit]At the beginning of the 19th century, Mexico City was in need of new means of transportation. Since the 1830s efforts had been made to build a railway.[2]
In 1840, 1849, and 1959, various concessions were granted to build a permanent urban railway without any result.[3]
In 1856, an American Texan, George Louis Hammeken, was granted a concession to build an animal-powered street railway from the Zócalo, Mexico City's central square, to Tacubaya, now in the west-central part of the city. The Ferrocarril de Tacubaya opened on January 1, 1858.[3]
July 4, 1858, president Ignacio Comonfort opened the first railway line between Mexico City and Villa Guadalupe (La Villa).[2]
In 1868 the "Ferrocarril de Chalco" opened a second street railway to Tacubaya along Avenida Chapultepec. This network was extended to San Ángel and Tlalpan in 1869; however it never was extended to the line's namesake town of Chalco.[3]
The Ferrocarril de Tacubaya opened a second line to Popotla, near the Calzada México-Tacuba (Tacuba causeway).[3]
After these initial lines, different companies were created for the exploitation of street railways.[2]
The Compañía de Ferrocarriles del Distrito Federal, organized in 1878, began to install lines for animal-powered street railways including one in the Calzada de Tlalpan (Tlalpan Causeway),[3] and controlled street railway lines until 1901.[2] In 1882 it was reorganized and absorbed a large part of the street railway network in the city.[3]
In 1890 that company had 3000 mules, 600 cars, and 200 kilometers (120 mi) of rail line.[3] Lines ran north as far as Tlalnepantla, as far south as Tlalpan, as far east as Peñón de los Baños.[3]
Electric streetcars
[edit]In 1896 the then-municipal government of Mexico City (the Ayuntamiento de México) authorized the Federal District Railways to change from animal to electric power.[4] This order did not result in an immediate switch,[4] because an analysis needed to be performed of the benefits and issues that switching would cause. The advantages of switching to electric included:[4]
- Better conservation of the street paving
- Shorter trip times
- Increased frequency
The Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos (STE; translates as "Electric Transport Service") was organized in 1947, to replace the privately run Compañía de Tranvías de México ("Street Railway Company of Mexico").[5]
January 15, 1900, was the first day of electric streetcar service between Chapultepec and Tacubaya.[4] Animal-powered street railways would continue to operate in the city along with electric streetcars for another thirty years.[3]
March 1, 1901, the Compañía de Tranvías Eléctricos de México took ownership of the city's street railway network.[4]
In 1909 the first phase of the Necaxa Dam was completed, which allowed an expansion of the streetcar network.[4]
Decline
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Tranv%C3%ADa_2_Tetepilco_STE_Museo.jpg/200px-Tranv%C3%ADa_2_Tetepilco_STE_Museo.jpg)
February 21, 1953, two cars crashed on the La Venta line, which closed and never was reopened.[6] STE also closed the Coyoacán, Iztapalapa, Lerdo and Tizapán lines.[6]
In 1969, Mexico City Metro Line 1 opened, which replaced the streetcar line along Avenida Chapultepec.[6] In 1970, Mexico City Metro Line 2 opened, replacing the northern part of the Xochimilco streetcar line.
By 1976 the streetcar network measured 156 kilometers (97 mi), consisting of only 3 lines, due to the construction of the ejes viales, a grid of designated thoroughfares across the city, in conjunction with which it was decided to build new lines for trolleybuses rather than streetcars.[4]
Conversion of last streetcar line to light rail
[edit]The last remaining streetcar line, Tasqueña–Xochimilco, operated with PCC cars until 1984. During the 1985 Mexico City earthquake many cars were damaged. This system was upgraded to a modern light rail system, the Xochimilco Light Rail line, which opened in stages between 1986 and 1988.
References
[edit]- ^ "Los tranvías de la Ciudad de México". Mexico Maxico. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ a b c d Sistema de Transporte Colectivo. "Antecedentes del Transporte". Archived from the original on 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Morrison, Allen. "The Tramways of Mexico City-Part 1: Animals, Steam and Gasoline". Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Antecedentes". Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos del Distrito Federal. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
- ^ "Antecedentes (Past)" (in Spanish). STE. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ a b c d Morrison, Allen. "The Tramways of Mexico City-Part 4: The STE in color". Retrieved 2011-08-11.
External links
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