Mexico lawmakers want probe into Guadalajara light rail problems

Mexico's lower house has voted in favor of urging President Enrique Peña Nieto and transport and communications minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza to launch a probe into the alleged technical problems plaguing the third line for Guadalajara's light rail system.

The approved motion, which is aimed at identifying those responsible for the problems, also calls on the officials to make public all information related to the costs of fixing the problems and how long that will take.

The line should not be put into operations until all the construction faults are completely solved, according to the legislators.

The lawmakers are also calling on the federal superior audit bureau (ASF) to carry out an audit on the costs, installation and quality of the 700 neoprene elastomeric bearing pads that reportedly did not meet quality standards and will need to be replaced.

On Monday, Enrique Alfaro, governor-elect of Jalisco state, claimed in an open letter to Peña Nieto that the neoprene elastomeric bearing pads that limit the transmission of structure-borne vibration and impacts between the route's columns and beams were defective and had to be replaced.

According to Alfaro, fixing the failure - which resulted from a laboratory error due to faulty transport ministry studies - would involve disassembling the tracks and electric network that have already been installed in order to replace the parts.

Construction delays

Works on the line began in 2014, with the price tag having increased to 29.3bn pesos (US$1.43bn) from an initial estimate of 17.6bn pesos, according to official information.

According to federal legislator Juan Carlos Villarreal, all the construction contracts came with deadlines in 2016 and 2017.

The contracts to complete the three sections of the line have been amended several times to push back the deadline, according to an investigation by the ASF.

Peña Nieto is set to attend a ceremony to launch operational tests on the line on Wednesday.