Metro tragedy: Mexico City won't rule out tearing down elevated line
With multiple investigations underway into the fatal May 3 accident on line No. 12 of Mexico City’s metro system, city planners are being forced to consider costly solutions to the troubled line, including scrapping a huge stretch and starting over.
The idea of pulling down the 14.6km of elevated track running from Atlalilco station and ending at the Tlahauc terminal, 11 stations later, raised eyebrows earlier this week after being proposed by civil engineer Enrique Rodríguez Ramírez in an interview with local daily La Jornada.
The first 9.5km of the line from Metro Mixcoac to Atlalilco are underground and have been running with minimal interruptions
“My proposal is to dismantle that work [the elevated portion of line 12], place it in better soil for rail purposes and build the metro line as it was originally conceived: underground,” Rodríguez was quoted as saying.
The civil engineer with more than 50 years of experience added, “It’s not easy, but it is possible. Of course, there is a cost and it will be difficult for them to make that decision.”
Asked about Rodríguez’s proposal, Myriam Urzúa, head of Mexico City's civil protection and comprehensive risk management department, said in an interview with W Radio the city would not rule out the idea.
The Carso-ICA-Alstom consortium that built the line proposed in 2007 a fully underground version with a price tag of 19bn pesos (close to US$2bn at the time), with the elevated solution emerging after discussions with the administration of then-Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard, which brought the proposed cost down to 2bn pesos.
However, the elevated sections of line 12 have been plagued with problems almost from day one, with the span that collapsed, killing 26 people last week, coming as little surprise to Mexico City residents.
Rodríguez added that no amount of regular maintenance would be enough to guarantee the public’s safety on the elevated stretch.
Specifically, under his plan, the rebuilt line must be mapped out with careful attention in an area of the city marking the banks of the ancient lake that surrounded the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán – an area the engineer said covers an abrupt transition in the makeup of the underlying soil with major implications from the slow gradual sinking of the city and frequent earthquakes.
Adding to the soil problem, said Rodríguez, the columns in the elevated portion of line 12 also suffer from poor design, built in such a way that the concrete and steel, which expand and contract with heat differently, work against one another to compound stress on the structure.
Subscribe to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin America with different tools for Providers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance industries.
News in: Infrastructure (Mexico)
How Spain’s top infra players fared in LatAm last year
The country’s six biggest infrastructure groups posted combined 2023 earnings of around US$2.7bn.
AMLO remains determined to nationalize Toluca airport
Although the federal government and Mexico state hold 51% of the shares, they don't receive any economic benefits, according to President Andrés Ma...
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Infrastructure (Mexico)
Get critical information about thousands of Infrastructure projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Eastern Civil Hospital
- Current stage:
- Updated:
4 hours ago
- Project: New Culiacán general hospital
- Current stage:
- Updated:
6 days ago
- Project: Mante - Ocampo - Tula Highway (Tam-Bajío)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 week ago
- Project: Campeche Electric Train
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Uruapan Cable Car
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Culiacán Ring Road
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: México - Toluca interurban train (Insurgent Train)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: General Hospital in Torreón, Coahuila
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Line 4 - Guadalajara light rail
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 weeks ago
- Project: New Alvarado Port in Veracruz
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 weeks ago
Other companies in: Infrastructure (Mexico)
Get critical information about thousands of Infrastructure companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: INTEGMEV S.A. DE C.V.
- Company: Axpar Grupo Integral de Ingeniería, S.A. de C.V.  (Axpar)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Energía NN Consultores  (Ennergia Consultores)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Compañía Marítima del Pacífico  (Boluda Towage)
-
Boluda Towage main focus is tugboat services, essential for facilitating traffic flow in the port facilities. Its global operations also includes assistance to oil rigs, towing ...
- Company: Gobierno del Estado de Michoacán
- Company: Municipio de Torreón
- Company: Pablo Medina Zamora
- Company: Kypcon Ingenieros Civiles, S.A. de C.V.  (Kypcon Ingenieros Civiles)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...