MEXICO: The tourism-oriented tram-train service in Puebla ceased operation on December 31, with the local government announcing that it was no longer economically viable.
The 17·2 km route was launched in January 2017, using the Ferrosur freight railway including various rehabilitated sections to link the historic city centre and national railway museum with the Cholula archaeological site to the north-west.
The line had been criticised as being a point-to-point service without a significant use for the local population. It launched with a graduated fare structure with tourists paying more than locals, but travel had been for free since 2019. Passenger numbers were also hit by the pandemic.
Operating company Operadora de Ferrocarriles Mercurio has now closed. The two Citylink diesel tram-trains which were originally built by Vossloh España for the aborted electro-diesel tram-train project in León in Spain have been transferred to the state government and stored at the railway museum station.
The Puebla state government is now co-operating with the French Development Agency to study short, medium and long term options for the future use of the line for public transport services.
