Mexico City Metro fully reopens Line 1, the most extensive work in 50 years

Mexico City. – After three years and four months of waiting, the Metro of the Mexican capital, the second largest in Latin America, fully reopens this Sunday line 1, a project that the Mobility advisor of the Collective Transportation System (STC), Guillermo Calderón Aguilera, described as the one of "greatest scope" in renovation in the last 50 years. "We have a fleet of 39 trains, 29 of these trains correspond to this contract with CRRC (Zhuzhou Locomotive) (...) They are the most modern in the country," said Calderón Aguilera about this relationship with the Chinese consortium, which was responsible for the rehabilitation work since 2021. This reopening, which includes the expected section from Juanacatlán to Observatorio and the operation of the 20 stations, will transport 851,000 passengers daily after the comprehensive rehabilitation of the tunnel, elimination of leaks, and waterproofing along its 20 kilometers (km).

In the track systems, the STC advisor highlighted that 240,000 meters of profiles were replaced between rails, running tracks and guide bar, as well as the disposal of 200,000 tons of ballast - the stone that supports the track - and the placement of 30,000 insulators and replacement of 64 track switch devices.

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In high and low voltage electrical energy, 336 km of trays and more than 2,000 km of wiring were installed. Another of the replacement blocks was the drainage and sump system, which had a change in its 40 km length. "A 200-kilometer fiber optic network with 46 strands and an 80 km LTE radiant cable network were installed (...) This means that the Metro will have its own cellular network," explained Calderón Aguilera. Among other additions are new turnstiles, LED-type luminaires, and CBTC-type control and tracking systems, the latter being among the most "innovative" to promote user safety and place the Metro "at the level of one of the best in the world". "The new line 1 will have 5,952 cameras, 2,808 are on board the trains and 3,144 are on platforms, lobbies and Metro entrances," he enumerated.

Regarding this renovation, which had an investment of 37,000 million pesos (about 2,021 million dollars), the Head of Government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, clarified that "it was not major maintenance, it was a total change. All aspects of the Metro were transformed and renovated, not a single screw remained from before."

Regarding the extensive working time - one of the users' major criticisms - he answered that it has been the "fastest renovation in the world, taking into account the lines that have been renovated in other countries." "Now we have a subway for another 50 years," said the head of the capital's Executive, who also recalled that the now-called "observatory complex," by the name of the station, will connect with the Insurgent Train coming from the city of Toluca, a terminal that will be incorporated with the foreign bus station where ten lines of this transport arrive. The Mexico-Toluca train will be inaugurated at the end of January 2026 by the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum. The also known as "pink line" of the Metro was the first to be built nationwide in 1969, its construction took 27 months, while its remodeling, promoted by Sheinbaum, took a total of 40 months.