Wikipedia

Tren Urbano

This article is about the rapid transit system in Puerto Rico. For the transit system in Lima, Peru, sometimes called "Tren Urbano", see Lima Metro. For the commuter rail in Santa Fe Province, Argentina, see Santa Fe Urban Train.
Not to be confused with Tren Suburbano.
"Urban Train" redirects here. For the Tiësto song, see Suburban Train/Urban Train. For urban trains in general, see Urban rail transit.

The Tren Urbano (English: Urban Train) is a 10.7-mile (17.2 km) automated rapid transit system that serves the municipalities of San Juan, Guaynabo, and Bayamón, in Puerto Rico. The Tren Urbano consists of 16 stations operating on 10.7 miles (17.2 km) of track along a single line. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,738,100, or about 16,200 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

Tren Urbano
Train arriving at Río Piedras station
Train arriving at Río Piedras station
Overview
OwnerPuerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works
LocaleSan Juan, Guaynabo and Bayamón
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of stations16
Daily ridership16,200 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[1]
Annual ridership2,738,100 (2023)[2]
HeadquartersGuaynabo, Puerto Rico
Websitetutrenpr.com
Operation
Began operationDecember 17, 2004; 19 years ago (2004-12-17)
Operator(s)Alternate Concepts
Number of vehicles74
Train length4 vehicles (two permanently coupled pairs) during peak hours
2 vehicles (one permanently coupled pair) during off-peak hours, weekends and holidays
Headway8 minutes (peak)
12 minutes (off peak)
Technical
System length10.7 mi (17.2 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail, 750 V DC
Average speed20.6 mph (33.2 km/h) (including stops)
Top speed62 mph (100 km/h)
System map

Legend
planned extensions
to Old San Juan and
Luis Muñoz Marín
International Airport
 Sagrado Corazón
Parking
 Hato Rey
Roosevelt
Domenech
Piñero
Universidad
Río Piedras
planned extension
to Caguas
 Cupey
Centro Médico
San Francisco
Parking
 Las Lomas
 
Hogar del Niño
Operations and
Maintenance Building
 Martínez Nadal
Parking
 Torrimar
Parking
 Jardines
Parking
 Deportivo
Bayamón
Parking
This diagram:

The Tren Urbano complements other forms of public transportation services in the San Juan metropolitan area such as the Metropolitan Bus Authority, the Cataño Ferry, taxis, and shuttles. The entire mass transportation system is operated by the Integrated Transit Authority (ATI), The Tren Urbano system is operated by Alternate Concepts, Inc. (ACI).[3] Tren Urbano is also the Caribbean's first rapid transit system.[4]

History

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Tramway in front of City Hall in Plaza de Armas, Old San Juan (circa 1902)
Further information: Rail transport in Puerto Rico

In the late 19th century, while the island was under Spanish rule, regional rail systems were begun in Puerto Rico. The railroad continued to be in use under American rule for most of the first half of the 20th century and played a key role in the transportation of people and goods throughout the island. The railroad systems of the period also played a vital role in the sugarcane industry.

From 1901 to 1946 San Juan had a street tramway network, known as the “Trolley” de San Juan, and was operated by the Porto Rico Railway, Light and Power Company[5] with more than 20 miles (32 km) of tracks and ran between San Juan and Santurce. During its heyday, it was the most modern electric streetcar system in Puerto Rico, rivaled New York and Toronto, and transported nearly 10 million passengers a year.

During the 1950s, an industrial boom, partly from development programs such as Operation Bootstrap, led to the downfall of agriculture as the principal industry on the island. Automobiles became more widely available, and more efficient roads and highways and the closure of sugarcane mills displaced the need for rail transportation. Soon, it was realized that an alternative means of mass transportation was needed to complement the public bus system to alleviate the severe traffic situation that was being created, especially in the San Juan metropolitan area.

Return of rail transit

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Proposals

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Passengers disembarking at Roosevelt Station

In 1967, proposals were made for the construction of a rapid rail transit system to serve the city of San Juan. In 1971, the major T.U.S.C.A. study, funded jointly by the Puerto Rico Planning Board and the US federal government, recommended an islandwide elevated transit system and new community development program. That proposal would have crossed and served the San Juan Metro Area by connecting it with the rest of the island without the necessity of highway construction. However, it was not until 1989 that the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works (Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas, or DTOP in Spanish) officially adopted a proposal to begin design and construction of a rail system for the San Juan metropolitan area. The ridership demand for such a system had to be forecast by using a mathematical model prepared by a team of transportation planners and engineers. By 1992, various alignments of the proposed system were considered, but the final design chosen served only certain parts of the metro area and not Old San Juan. The name "Tren Urbano" (Urban Train) was chosen for the system. In 1993, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) selected it as a Turnkey Demonstration Projects under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. In 1996 and 1997, seven design-build contracts were awarded for different segments of the Tren Urbano Phase 1 system.

A number of companies shared the tasks for building the Tren Urbano including Siemens AG, which was granted a concession to design and build the line and its rolling stock[6] and to operate it for the first five years. The company won a contract, which was a "first" for North America in the scope of the work that it involved; it was awarded in July 1996.

Construction

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Bayamón Station

The construction project was plagued by delays, contractual disputes between the government and companies involved in the undertaking, and investigations into possible mismanagement of funds. The project cost was US$2.28 billion.[7]

Free service

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The rail system was officially inaugurated on December 19, 2004 (2004-12-19). Free service was then offered on weekends until April 2005, when weekdays were added to the free service. Popularity grew quickly, and by the end of the free period, 40,000 people were using the train on a daily basis. By late 2005, however, ridership had fallen to 24,000, less than one third of the 80,000 projection and well below the projection of 110,000 for 2010.[8]

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Paid fare service started on June 6, 2005 (2005-06-06).[7] In 2006, average weekday boardings stood at 28,179 and in 2007, ridership decreased to 27,567.[7] By the third quarter of 2008, average weekday ridership had increased to 36,500.[9]

Issues and concerns

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The Tren Urbano has no service to Old San Juan, Santurce, the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport or to many other parts of Guaynabo, Bayamón, and San Juan, and it does not serve important suburbs like Cataño, Toa Baja, Toa Alta, Carolina, Trujillo Alto, Canóvanas and others, which helps to explain low ridership. Some question the viability of the system for additional reasons, such as the lack of an island-wide public-transportation system, such as the T.U.S.C.A. system proposed in 1971. The inner-city public bus transportation system, the Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA), which operates in the Greater San Juan Metro Area, is considered unreliable by most people, and it does not have a regular schedule. Integration with public mass transit systems, such as the AMA and the AcuaExpreso (an urban ferry), was initially poor and remains a challenge for the DTOP.

COVID-19 crisis

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During the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico, services on the Tren Urbano were halted by executive order to try to stop the spread of the virus.[10] Service has since resumed.

Route

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Main article: List of San Juan Tren Urbano stations

Tren Urbano is made up of a single rapid transit route. It consists of 16 stations, ten of which are elevated, four at grade or in open cuttings, and two underground. It goes mostly through suburban areas. All stations are designed to handle three permanently-coupled pairs (6 cars). The stations in the system are:

Each station boasts unique a artwork and architectural style.

A maintenance depot and operations control center are halfway along the route, between Martínez Nadal and Torrimar stations.

Fares

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Tren Urbano fare card in 2012

A single trip costs $1.50 ($0.75 if customers transfer from an AMA bus), including a 1-hour bus transfer period. If a customer exits the station and wants to get back on the train, the full fare must be re-paid; there is no train-to-train transfer period. Students and seniors (aged 60–74) pay 75 cents per trip. Senior citizens older than 75 and children under 6 ride for free. Several unlimited-ride passes are also available.

A stored-value multi-use farecard may be used for travel on buses and trains. The value on the card is automatically deducted each time that it is used. The system is similar to the MetroCard system used in New York City.

Rolling stock

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Tren Urbano maintenance and storage facilities

Tren Urbano's fleet consists of 74 Siemens, stainless steel-bodied cars, each 75 feet (23 m) long. Each vehicle carries 72 seated and 108 standing passengers. Trains have a maximum speed of 62 miles per hour (100 km/h) and average 20.6 miles per hour (33.2 km/h), including stops. All cars operate as married pairs, and up to three pairs run together at any given time. Tren Urbano operates 15 trains during rush hours, and the remaining cars stand at the yards or serve as spares if a train experiences problems. The rolling stock was assembled at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, California.[11]

Power is provided by AC traction motors, which were chosen over DC by containing fewer moving parts and requiring less maintenance. The trains share many characteristics with the stock built by Siemens for Boston MBTA's Blue Line route (700 series). The system is electrified by third rail at 750 V DC.

Air-conditioning systems have been specially designed to cope with the hot and muggy conditions that are commonly experienced in the metropolitan area.

A yellow powered flat car is visible at the maintenance facility. Some metro cars have been used to transport material when they are not in service.

Tren Urbano facilities

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Rolling stock for Tren Urbano metro cars are stored at the Hogar del Niño Operations and Maintenance Building, near the exit to PR-21 from PR-20 and a short distance from Martínez Nadal station.[12]

The metro cars are stored on outdoor tracks. Also, there is a large maintenance building for servicing the fleet.

Both Bayamón and Sagrado Corazon terminal stations have dead-end tracks at the end of their respective station that can store two train sets.

Bus terminals

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Main article: Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority

The bus system in the San Juan metropolitan area has been designed around the Tren Urbano. Five train stations also serve as bus terminals: Sagrado Corazón, Piñero, Cupey, Martínez Nadal, and Bayamón.

Expansion plans

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Map of the Urban Train, including future extensions planned by the Department of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico (DTOP)

The infrastructure of the Tren Urbano, with stations built for six–car train sets and a minimum headway of 90 seconds, has a maximum capacity of 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, compared to 3,000 passengers per hour per direction for the current peak hour 8 minute headway and 4-car trains and to an actual daily ridership of roughly 40,000 commuters. The train system is thus working at 13.33% capacity, also well under the 110,000 rail passengers planned by 2010.

 
Carolina Tunnel (1 of 2) at the Río Piedras subway station.

In addition, with a fleet of 74 rail vehicles in the local yard to cover at least double the 10.7 miles (17.2 km) system length and with all of the basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning in place, it is indispensable for the train to be extended, as it was originally intended to include higher-density areas of the central district for it to be operationally successful and sustainable.

The Puerto Rico's Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) plans include:

Phase 1A

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  • Phase 1A[13] of the project includes the extension of the original line westward from the current terminal at Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart) through a medium to high density corridor in two stations: San Mateo to a new terminal at Minillas at the heart of Santurce, a distance of 1,500 meters, with a possible transfer from Minillas to a future tram line from the historic district of Old San Juan to the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. Phase 1A was approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[14]
  • By the end of fiscal 2008, the legislature identified federal funds for the expansion of the train in its second phase. It was expected that during fiscal year 2009, the legislature would begin to issue bonds for that purpose. As of 2019, there are no plans to expand the Tren Urbano.

Phase 2

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  • Upon opening of the Tren Urbano, there were further proposals to extend the rail system to other municipalities such as Carolina. A two-way tunnel, 136 ft (42 meters) long, south of the Río Piedras Station is already built for a future expansion along the heavily-transited 65th Infantry Avenue.[15]
  • In 2012, the government informed that it had no plans to expand the Tren Urbano in the future and that it was moving to other alternatives to help alleviate traffic.[16]

Phase 3

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  • In 2016, Tren Urbano contracted ACI-Herzog, a joint venture of ACI and Herzog, to improve the reliability and performance of their propulsion system. ACI-Herzog then successfully collaborated with AmePower to achieve this goal by conducting a modernization of 74 Tren Urbano train cars using Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) technology. The project was completed in March 2017.[17]

Other projects

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There are several projects to improve public transport connectivity:

  • Also being considered (2008) is a tramway from Sagrado Corazón station to colonial Old San Juan in Puerta de Tierra, where many of Puerto Rico's state government buildings are located. It would run partially on an existing right-of-way on Fernández Juncos Ave.[18] The first line of the tramway would be built by the Municipality of San Juan (MSJ) and will be known as the Sistema de Asistencia, Transportación y Organización Urbana (System of Assistance, Transportation and Urban Organization) (SATOUR).
  • There is a proposal to build a second tram line to Carolina, possibly with a station at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
  • The extension of a line to Caguas by the existing Urban Train from the Centro Médico or Cupey stations is considered.
  • A second plan for the development of a line to Caguas with a new "Light regional railcar" network system would have future extensions throughout the island.[19]
Further information: San Juan-Caguas Rail

Network map

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "(home)". Alternate Concepts, Inc (ACI).
  4. ^ "Tren Urbano Rapid Transit System, Puerto Rico". Railway-Technology. 2002.
  5. ^ "Canadian Transit Interests Outside Canada". University of Manitoba.
  6. ^ "Projects Tren Urbano – Rio Piedras Section". kiewit.com. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) FTA – The Predicted and Actual Impacts of New Starts Projects – 2007
  8. ^ "Tren Urbano PR another way low transit ridership forecast". TOLLROADSNews. November 20, 2005. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
  9. ^ "Transit Ridership Report" (PDF). Heavy rail. December 4, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  10. ^ "Nueva orden ejecutiva suspende las operaciones del Tren Urbano y la AMA". El Nuevo Dia. July 17, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "San Juan Tren Urbano". Railway Technology.
  12. ^ "Showing Image 80652". nycsubway.org.
  13. ^ "Projects Tren Urbano – San Juan, Puerto Rico/Minillas Extension". fta.dot.gov. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  14. ^ "Environmental Impact Statement on the Phase 1A Extension of Tren Urbano". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  15. ^ "Tren Urbano". American Underground-Construction Association. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  16. ^ Ortíz, Joel (February 5, 2012). "Abandona el gobierno la era del Tren Urbano". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish).
  17. ^ Contreras, Luis (March 8, 2024). "Modernizing Puerto Rico Heavy Rail". AmePower. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "San Juan Tramway Proposal". enrieles.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 1, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  19. ^ "Proyecto de tren ligero entre Caguas y San Juan". oficinascomerciales.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
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  Rapid Transit Systems – San Juan – Photographs of the Tren Urbano

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