page_title: Guadalajara light rail system
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Guadalajara light rail system / History
caption_attribution_description: A northbound light rail car at the Unidad Deportiva station of Guadalajara's SITEUR light rail system in 1990.
context_page_description: The Guadalajara light rail system, which is operated by SITEUR, is a light rail system serving the municipalities of Guadalajara, Zapopan and Tlaquepaque, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It is owned by the state of Jalisco, and operator SITEUR is a state authority. Opened in 1989, the system currently has two lines: Line 1, running from north to south, with 19 stations, and Line 2, running from the city centre to the east, with 10 stations.
context_section_description: The history of urban trains in Guadalajara dates back to the 19th century, with the first trams pulled by mules, going from the Cathedral to the Templo de la Merced.
  In 1974, several houses and streets in the city centre were demolished to make way for a new wide roadway, named Avenida Federalismo, and the construction of a new public-transport tunnel underneath. Avenida Federalismo (also known as Calzada del Federalismo) replaced what had been C. Moro (but with a much wider right-of-way) and is one of Guadalajara's most major thoroughfares. The 6.6-kilometre (4.1 mi) tunnel underneath the avenue was designed for future use by a rail system, but due to a lack of funding at the time, it was initially served by a new trolleybus system, which opened on December 15, 1976. Several years later, work began to convert the trolleybus tunnel and stations for use by a light rail line.  The tunnel closed for trolleybuses in early 1988, but trolleybus service continued on other routes and is still in operation.  The first light rail line, Line 1, opened on September 1, 1989.
  A few years later, Line 2 was constructed, and it opened on July 1, 1994. Because of the continuing heavy traffic congestion on the city's streets and the large numbers of users of the rail system, there are plans to extend Line 2 to the west and to build a third line.
  Line 1 runs underground in the city center, but runs "at grade" north and south of the city center, and its surface sections include several level crossings, protected by crossing gates.  The station platforms accommodate trains composed of no more than two cars.  Line 2 is entirely underground except for a non-passenger section at its east end, connecting the last station to the maintenance facility.  Its stations are long enough to accommodate trains of up to four cars.
  The German company Siemens supplied the system engineering, signaling and telecommunication, power supply, and some components of the vehicles.
caption: Unidad Deportiva station, on Line 1
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