The Puebla–Cholula Tourist Train () was a diesel tram-train service that connected the city centre of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

with the tourist zone in Cholula in the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

. Operation began in January 2017 and ended in December 2021.

History

The project was announced in July 2015 by Puebla State Governor

Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas (30 June 1968 – 24 December 2018) was a Mexican politician affiliated at different times with both the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN). He was the governor of Puebla from F ...

. Construction began in November 2015 and was completed in early 2017 when it was inaugurated by President

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican former politician and lawyer who was the 64th president of Mexico from 2012 to 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he p ...

and Governor Moreno Valle. Initially budgeted to cost 800 million pesos, final project costs totaled 1,113 million pesos.

Route

The single-track route largely utilized existing rail rights-of-way to the north and west of the city of Puebla. The route began at the in Puebla's city centre. The first of the route operated as a tram line without any stops along city streets with mixed vehicle traffic. The remainder of the route utilized a dedicated at-grade right-of-way from Puebla to Cholula Station adjacent to the Cholula Archaeological Zone. An additional two intermediate stops, Mercado Hidalgo Station and Momoxpan Station, were constructed but have not been opened.

Operations

The Puebla-Cholula Tourist Train's rolling stock consisted of two three-car diesel-electric -long trains supplied by

Vossloh Vossloh AG is a rail technology company based in Werdohl in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The SDAX-listed group achieved sales of around €930 million in 2016 and, , had more than 4,000 employees. Vossloh can trace its origins ...

. The trains have a capacity of 284 people. Average train speed was 30 km/h and the approximate travel time between Puebla and Cholula was 40 minutes. There were three daily departures from each terminal on weekdays and nine daily departures from each terminal on weekends and holidays. Total passengers in 2019 numbered 161,377. Operations ended on 31 December 2021 due to a lack of profitability. The rolling stock was transferred to the

Tren Interoceánico The Interoceanic Train of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is a government-owned railway system in Mexico that has three lines. It seeks to become a global logistics network focused on the manufacture and movement of goods between the Pacific Ocean ...

in the states of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

and

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

References

{{commonscat Railway lines in Mexico Puebla (city) Light rail in Mexico Railway lines opened in 2017 Railway services discontinued in 2021 2017 establishments in Mexico 2021 disestablishments in Mexico