Tren Urbano
As Tren Urbano ( Spanish) or Urban Train (English ) refers to the fully automated metro line of Puerto Rican capital of San Juan. Opened in 2005, route is 17.2 km long and has 16 stations. The metro is the only rail transport system on the island of Puerto Rico and the first subway system in the Caribbean.
The Tren Urbano San Juan is since its opening part of the integrated Busystems the Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses. The entire public transport is operated by the Alternativa de Transporte Integrado.
- 2.1 Previous rail transport
- 2.2 Planning and construction
- 2.3 opening
Operation
Route
The Tren Urbano in San Juan currently consists of a single 17.2 km long standard gauge track and comprises a total of 16 stations. All stations are barrier-free, two railway stations (Rio Pedra and Universidad ) are underground.
- Bayamón
- Deportivo
- Jardines
- Torrimar
- Martínez Nadal
- Las Lomas
- San Francisco
- Centro Médico
- Cupey
- Carolina ( planned)
- Río Piedras
- Universidad
- Piñero
- Domenech
- Roosevelt
- Hato Rey
- Sagrado Corazón
- San Mateo (planned)
- Minillas (planned)
- Avenida Todd (planned)
- Miramar (planned)
Tickets
A single ticket costs $ 0.75 and includes in addition and change to an AMA bus for two hours. Pupils, students and seniors (60 to 74 years ) receive a discount and pay $ 0.35 per ride. Seniors over 75 years and children under 6 ride free. In addition, various season tickets are available, also rides with a rechargeable swipe card similar to the MTA in New York City can be paid.
Rolling stock
Siemens AG supplied to operating opening 74 cars, each 23 feet long. Each car is air conditioned and includes 72 seating and 108 standing places. The trains have a maximum speed of 100 km / h, and the cruising speed is 33.2 km / h The vehicles operate as a two-car train, and usually in triple traction. In the rush hour 15 trains for the operation are needed. The trains are electrically operated at 750 volts direct current, the power supply via a power rail is.
History
Previous rail transport
In the late 19th century when Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule, the first railway was built on the island, which resulted mainly along the coast. The railroad also played in the first half of the 20th century a major role, especially in sugar cane cultivation. In addition, there was 1901-1946 a tram network called Trolley de San Juan, Porto Rico, operated by the Railway, Light and Power Company. The network had a length of about 32 kilometers between San Juan and Santurce and carried about ten million passengers per year.
In the fifties there was by the operation bootstrap a major industrial boom on the island and the sugar cane industry lost its status as the most important industry of the island. Due to rising affluence and increasing industrialization and the motorization of the population rose sharply, so Railroads were deemed no longer necessary. Only towards the end of the 20th century it became apparent that to develop and resolve the traffic problems of the island and especially the capital, San Juan next to the bus system, a rail transport is needed.
Planning and construction
1967 saw the first proposals for a rapid transit system in the Puerto Rican capital. But only in 1989 was the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works plans to concrete. As part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the U.S. Federal Transit Administration chose the construction project as a turnkey Demonstration Project - construction and servicing should be done by a single company and consortium. The tender won the partner Siemens AG and Alternate Concepts, Inc. in July 1996, with many businesses served the company as a supplier. This was the first such competition process, which included both construction and maintenance, in North America.
The construction of high-speed railway started in 1997 and was marked by numerous delays, contractual disputes between the government and the company, as well as prosecutorial investigations into possible mismanagement. Construction costs totaled 2.28 billion U.S. dollars.
Opening
The express train from San Juan went on 19 December 2004 by running. From opening were weekend trips to April 2005 for free, it also weekdays. By the end of the free rides in June 2005, used every day more than 40,000 passengers to high-speed rail system. On 6 June 2005, the commercial operation began, then fell passenger numbers to about 24,000 passengers per day, less than a third of the projected 80,000 per day. 2006 use about 28,000 passengers on weekdays the Tren Urbano, 2007, about 27,500, about 36,500 per day in 2008. Since the other passenger numbers did not satisfy the government, she lowered the fares of $ 1.50 to $ 0.75.