Guadalajara, Mexico, May 22 (EFE).- The construction of metro Line 3 in this western Mexican metrópolis is 96 percent completed and should begin operations by October, the official overseeing the project for the Jalisco state government told EFE.
The line will link the municipalities of Zapopan, Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque, crossing greater Guadalajara and transporting up to 250,000 commuters per day.
“This is the metropolitan area’s most important corridor, as it will connect with Lines 1 and 2, with the Macrobus (a bus rapid transit system) and eventually with the Peribus and other planned metro lines,” Rodolfo Guadalajara said, who is the head of the Urban Electric Rail System (Siteur), a state government agency.
According to the official, most of the 18 metro stations on Line 3 are close to being completed, including the five underground stations, which represented a tremendous engineering challenge due the fact that the metro line crosses downtown Guadalajara, an area with hundreds of historical buildings.
“The underground stations were the most complex,” Guadalajara said during a tour of Line 3.
Some 400 people are working 24/7 to complete these stations, to lay the tracks and to construct the connections with Line 2 and with public spaces such as Guadalajara’s main square.
Rodolfo Guadalajara said that the project, which began four years ago and has required 25 billion pesos ($1.26 billion) in federal funds, should be completed by October.
“The most important challenge has been certifying and making sure that all of the systems are operational, including the trains’ security system,” the official said, who is coordinating several foreign companies and nearly 200 Mexican firms that are involved in the project.
Guadalajara said that Line 3 is just the start of a series of projects to improve public transportation that include the construction of the Peribus, a bus rapid transit system along the city’s ring road.