San Juan, Puerto Rico - Tren Ubano: Names of stops.

 The Tren Urbano is the name of the public rail transportation system that runs daily throughout San Juan metro area. Trén Urbano is the only rapid transit system in Puerto Rico, which is an island with high proficiency in both Spanish & English and you can see some influences from both languages in the names of the train stops. Trén Ubano has 16 stops and the majority of the names have roots from the Spanish language. Here I list the train stops and their translation and or, of who the stop is named after. 

Sagrado Corazón - "Sacred Heart"

    In English, the name of this train stop translates to Sacred Heart. There is also a University within minutes from this train stop of the same name. Sagrado Corazon is where Tren Urbano commences. It is located in the neighborhood "barrio" of Santurce and is the closest stop to Old San Juan, Condado and Isla Verde.

Hato Rey - "Kings cattle farm"

    The English translation of "Hato Rey" is "king's cattle farm". Hato Rey is a "barrio"/ neighborhood of the City of San Juan is the first stop south of Sagrado Corazon. 

Roosevelt - Named after Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband.

   The name of this train stop derives from the name of a person, a "New Yorker", Eleanor Alexander Butler Roosevelt.  "Eleanor Roosevelt" is a sector of the barrio "Hato Rey" and also the name of the wife of former Puerto Rican Govenor Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

    Eleanor Alexander Butler Roosevelt was a traveler, philanthropist, writer, public speaker and a mother to four children. Her book is titled "The Day Before Yesterday" and she started the non-profit "Needlework Relief Fund" which helps Puerto Rican needle women earn a living wage. She was born in 1888 in New York City.

    Roosevelt you can find many shops and businesses and is the "Barrio Center" for Hato Rey.

Domenech - Is named after Manuel V. Domenech Ferrer

    Manuel V. Domenech Ferrer was the 109th Mayor for the Puerto Rican city of Ponce.

    Domenech is also Catalan surname. Catalonia has connections with Puerto Rico through history and their fights for independence. 

Piñero - "pine worker"

    The stop Pinero translates to "pine worker". This is the fourth stop south of Sagrado Corazon and you will find government buildings and courthouses along with some businesses.

Universidad - "University"

    The English translation of "Universidad" is "University". At this stop, you will find yourself on the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras campus. UPR-RP is the largest University of Puerto Rico and the largest in the entire Caribbean. You will find shops and place to eat with a college town feel.

Río Piedras - "Rock/stone River"

    The English translation of Rio Piedras is "Rock River". At this stop you will find yourself in the Barrio center of Rio Piedras. There are many options to shop with many locally owned business and vendors within walking distance from the train. There are places to eat and a nice place to experience.

    From this stop, the train pivots west towards Bayamon.

Cupey - The Cupey tree

     *It is named for the Cupey tree, sometimes spelled copey (Clusia rosea), which is indigenous to the Caribbean.

    This is the first stop that is southwest of Rio Piedras, as the train begins its path west, towards Bayamon. This stop is within walking distance to Ana G. Mendez Univeristy and has several corporate building within minutes. From this stop you can find busses that take you to Old San Juan, Carolina and Caguas. The barrio of Cupey has many options for eating and shopping but will require additional transportation as the stop is not located in the "barrio center".

Centro Médico - "Medical Center"

    The stop "Centro Medico" translates to "medical center" in English. Here you will many medical hospital and university centers.

San Francisco - named after the saint Francis

    At this stop, you will find some government buildings and a one of the few train stops with parking. The stop San Francisco on the Tren Ubano has 535 parking spaces and is the sixth stop east of the Bayamon terminal.

Las Lomas - "The Hills"

    Las Lomas translated to "The Hills" in English. The fifth stop east of Bayamon.

Martínez Nadal - named after Rafael Martínez Nadal

*Rafael Martínez Nadal was a Puerto Rican politician, senator, journalist, and businessman. He was the third president of the Senate of Puerto Rico, serving from 1933 to 1941.

The fourth stop from Bayamon terminal, boasting the most parking space on Tren Urbano with 1,200. Bordering the city of Guyanabo, which has many offerings within driving distance.

Torrimar - a surname of Scandanavian and British origin.

    This stop has 45 parking spaces and a retail shopping mall. The stop Torrimar is in the city of Guyanabo which is a separate municipality than San Juan and the feel of a Suburb with a lot of space.

Jardines - "Garden"

    Jardines translates to "garden" in English. This stop has 128 parking spaces and is the second Tren Urbano stop east of Bayamon.

Deportivo - "sports"

    Deportivo translates to "sports in English. This is the 1 stop east of the Bayamon station. This station will allow easy access to the Santa Rosa Mall and the courthouse of Bayamon. With another from of transportation, you can access streets filled with locally owned business. This station sits Northeast of Bayamon's city-center.

Bayamón - a local Indian chief named Bahamon.

    Bayamón is the second largest municipality in the San Juan Metro area and the train stop is located in the downtown area of Baymon with many places to eat and shop, mainly populated by locally owned establishments. The Bayamon station is where the train commences and provides a terminal with buses that can take you to destinations west of Tren Urbano.

Works cited

Roosevelt - https://www.nps.gov/people/eleanor-alexander-butler-roosevelt.htm

Domenech - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_V.

Cupey - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupey,_San_Juan,_Puerto_Rico

Martinez Nadal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Mart%C3%ADnez_Nadal

Bayamon - https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/caribbean-area/bayamon-the-representative-soil-of-puerto#:~:text=When%20Christopher%20Columbus%20discovered%20the,main%20cities%20and%20a%20river.

*The sources of research used to create this article come from the sources listed above, Wikipedia and with the help of an AI Google assistant.  The AI Google assistant pulls its information from various sources across the web. This article, in conjunction with related articles, is written to showcase different "rapid transit metro systems" across the world and to highlight a simple way to learn more about a culture through travelling that is carbon free.