Mexico City Metro

The first line opened on 4 September 1969 with 12.7 kilometres (7.9 mi) of route and 16 stations. The system was last extended in 2015 and now comprises 12 lines, 195 stations, and just over 200 kilometres (124 mi) of route. Ten lines use rubber-tired trains, a technology adopted in part because of Mexico City's unstable soils. The system remained largely operational following the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.

Of the system's 195 stations, 44 serve two or more lines as transfer stations. Many stations are named after historical figures, places, and events in Mexican history. All lines operate daily from 5 a.m. to midnight.

History

Concept of the Metro and early plans

By the second half of the twentieth century, Mexico City had serious public transport issues, with congested main roads and highways, especially in the downtown zone, where 40 percent of the daily trips in the city were concentrated. 65 of the 91 lines of bus and electric transport served this area. With four thousand units in addition to 150,000 personal automobile peak hours, the average speed was less than walking pace.

The principal promoter of the construction of the Mexico City Metro was engineer Bernardo Quintana, who was in charge of the construction company Ingenieros Civiles y Asociados (Civil Engineers and Associates). He carried out a series of studies that resulted in a draft plan which would ultimately lead to the construction of the Mexico City Metro. This plan was shown to different authorities of Mexico City but it was not made official until 29 April 1967, when the Government Gazette ("Diario Oficial de la Federación") published the presidential decree that created a public decentralized organization, the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, with the proposal to build, operate and run an underground rapid transit network as part of Mexico City's public transport system.

The Mexico City Metro benefited from a great amount of technical assistance provided by France. RATP's engineering branch SOFRETU played a major role in its initial planning and the design of the first lines, hence the choice of tyre/rail technology.

On 19 June 1967, at the crossroads of Chapultepec Avenue with Avenida Bucareli, the inauguration ceremony for the Mexico City Metro took place. Two years later, on 4 September 1969, an orange train made the inaugural trip between Zaragoza and Insurgentes stations, thus beginning daily operation that continues to this day.

First stage (1967–1972)

The first stage of construction comprised the construction, done by Grupo ICA, and inauguration of lines 1, 2 and 3. This stage involved engineers, geologists, mechanics, civil engineers, chemists, hydraulic and sanitation workers, electricians, archaeologists, and biologists; specialists in ventilation, statistics, computation, and in traffic and transit; accountants, economists, lawyers, workers and laborers.

Between 1,200 and 4,000 specialists and 48,000 workers participated, building at least one kilometre (0.62 mi) of track per month, the fastest rate of construction ever for a subway. During this stage of construction, workers uncovered two archaeological ruins, one Aztec idol, and the bones of a mammoth (on display at Talismán station).

By the end of the first stage, namely on 10 June 1972, the STC Metro had 48 stations and a total length of 41.41 kilometres (25.73 mi): Line 1 ran from Observatorio to Zaragoza, Line 2 from Tacuba southwest to Tasqueña and line 3 from Tlatelolco to Hospital General in the south, providing quick access to the General Hospital of Mexico.

Second stage (1977–1982)

No further progress was reached during President Luis Echeverría's government, but during José López Portillo's administration, a second stage began. The Comisión Ejecutiva del Metro (Executive Technical Commission of Mexico City Metro) was created in order to be in charge of expanding the STC Metro within the metropolitan area of Mexico City.

Works began with the expansion of Line 3 towards the north from Tlatelolco to La Raza in 1978 and to the current terminal Indios Verdes in 1979, and towards the south from Hospital General to Centro Médico in 1980 and to Zapata months later. Construction of lines 4 and 5 was begun and completed on 26 May – 30 August 1982, respectively; the former from Martín Carrera to Santa Anita and the latter from Politécnico to Pantitlán. Line 4 was the first STC Metro line built as an elevated track, owing to the lower density of big buildings.

Third stage (1983–1985), and the 1985 earthquake

This construction stage took place from the beginning of 1983 through the end of 1985. Lines 1, 2 and 3 were expanded to their current lengths, and new lines 6 and 7 were built. The length of the network was increased by 35.29 kilometres (21.93 mi) and the number of stations to 105.

Line 3's route was expanded from Zapata station to Universidad station on 30 August 1983. Line 1 was expanded from Zaragoza to the current terminal Pantitlán, and line 2 from Tacuba to the current terminal Cuatro Caminos. These last two were both inaugurated on 22 August 1984.

Line 6's route first ran from El Rosario to Instituto del Petróleo; Line 7 was opened from Tacuba to Barranca del Muerto and runs along the foot of the Sierra de las Cruces mountain range that surrounds the Valley of Mexico at its west side, outside of the ancient lake zone. This made it possible for Line 7 to be built as a deep-bore tunnel.

On the morning of 19 September 1985, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck Mexico City. Many buildings as well as streets were left with major damage making transportation on the ground difficult, but the STC Metro was not damaged because a rectangular structure had been used instead of arches, making it resistant to earthquakes, thus proving to be a safe means of transportation in a time of crisis.

On the day of the quake, the Metro stopped service and completely shut down for fear of electrocution. This caused people to get out of the tunnels from wherever they were and onto the street to try to get where they were going. At the time, the Metro had 101 stations, with 32 closed to the public in the weeks after the event. On Line 1, there was no service in stations Merced, Pino Suárez, Isabel la Católica, Salto del Agua, Balderas or Cuauhtémoc. On Line 2, there was no service between stations Bellas Artes and Tasqueña. On Line 3 only Juárez and Balderas were closed. Line 4 continued to operate normally. All of the closed stations were in the historic center area, with the exception of the stations of Line 2 south of Pino Suárez. These stations were located above the ground. The reason these stations were closed was not due to damage to the Metro proper, but rather because of surface rescue work and clearing of debris.

Fourth stage (1985–1987)

Fourth stage saw the completion of Line 6 from Instituto del Petróleo to its eastern terminal Martín Carrera and Line 7 to the north from Tacuba to El Rosario. Line 9 was the only new line built during this stage. It originally ran from Pantitlán to Centro Médico, and its expansion to Tacubaya was completed on 29 August 1988. For Line 9, a circular deep-bore tunnel and an elevated track were used.

Fifth stage (1988–1994)

For the first time, a service line of the Mexico City Metro ran into the State of Mexico: planned as one of more líneas alimentadoras (feeder lines to be named by letters, instead of numbers), line A was fully operational by its first inauguration on 12 August 1991. It runs from Pantitlán to La Paz, located in the municipality of the same name. This line was built almost entirely above ground, and to reduce the cost of maintenance, steel railway tracks and overhead lines were used instead of pneumatic traction, promoting the name metro férreo (steel-rail metro) as opposed to the previous eight lines that used pneumatic traction.

The draft for Line 8 planned a correspondencia (transfer station) in Zócalo, namely the exact center of the city, but it was canceled due to possible damage to the colonial buildings and the Aztec ruins, so it was replanned and now it runs from Garibaldi, which is still downtown, to Constitución de 1917 in the southeast of the city. The construction of line 8 began in 1988 and was completed in 1994.

With this, the length of the network increased 37.1 kilometres (23.1 mi), adding two lines and 29 more stations, giving the metro network at that point a total of 178.1 kilometres (110.7 mi), 154 stations and 10 lines.

Sixth stage (1994–2000)

Assessment for Line B began in late 1993. Line B was intended as a second línea alimentadora for northeastern municipalities in the State of Mexico, but, unlike line A, it used pneumatic traction. Construction of the subterranean track between Buenavista (named after the old Buenavista train station) and Garibaldi began in October 1994. Line B was opened to the public in two stages: from Buenavista to Villa de Aragón on 15 December 1999, and from Villa de Aragón to Ciudad Azteca on 30 November 2000.

Seventh stage (2008–2014)

Plans for a new STC Metro line started in 2008, although previous surveys and assessments were made as early as 2000. Line 12's first service stage was planned for completion in late 2009 with the creation of track connecting Axomulco, a planned new transfer station for Line 8 (between Escuadrón 201 and Atlalilco) to Tláhuac. The second stage, connecting Mixcoac to Tláhuac, was to be completed in 2010.

Construction of Line 12 started in 2008, assuring it would be opened by 2011. Nevertheless, completion was delayed until 2012. Free test rides were offered to the public in some stations, and the line was fully operational on 30 October 2012. With minor changes, Line 12 runs from Mixcoac to Tláhuac, serving southern Mexico City for the first time. At 24.31 kilometres (15.11 mi) long, it is the longest line in the system.

Line 12 differs from previous lines in several aspects: no hawkers are allowed, either inside the train or inside the stations; it is the first numbered line to use steel railway tracks; one must have a Tarjeta DF smart card to access any station since Metro tickets are no longer accepted.

In the book Los hombres del Metro, the original planning of Line 12 is described; although it was to begin at Mixcoac as it does today, Atlalilco and Constitución de 1917 stations of Line 8 were to be part of Line 12. The same map shows that Line 8 would have reached the Villa Coapa area and that it would not have had a terminal at Garibaldi, but at Indios Verdes, linking with Line 3. In addition, the book shows that Line 7 would have terminated at San Jerónimo. None of these plans have been confirmed by the Mexico City government.

In 2015, mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera announced the construction of two more stations and a terminal for Line 12: Valentín Campa, Álvaro Obregón and Observatorio, both west of Mixcoac. With this, Line 12 is to be connected to Line 1, providing new metro access to the Observatorio zone, which will become the terminal for the intercity train between Mexico City and Toluca.

Archaeological finds

The metro system's construction has resulted in more than 20 thousand archeological finds, from various time periods in the history of the indigenous people. The excavations needed to make way for the rails gave opportunities to find artifacts from different periods of the region's inhabitants, in areas that are now densely urbanized. Objects and small structures were found, with origins spanning from prehistoric times to the 20th century. Some examples of artifacts preserved by the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia de México (INAH)) are: parts of pyramids (like an altar to the Mexica god Ehecatl), a sculpture of the goddess Coatlicue, and remains of a mammoth. The altar to Ehécatl is now in Pino Suárez station, between lines 1 and 2, and is called by the INAH the smallest archeological site in Mexico. The metro has led to a large quantity of archeological finds, and has also let archaeologists understand more about the pattern of ancient civilisations in the Mexican capital by analysing its underground from various time periods.

Architecture

Distinguished architects were hired to design and construct the stations on the first metro line, such as Enrique del Moral, Félix Candela, Salvador Ortega and Luis Barragán. Examples of Candela's work can be seen in San Lázaro, Candelaria, and Merced stations on Line 1.

Cultural references

The Metro has figured in Mexico's cultural history, as the inspiration for a musical composition for strings, "Metro Chabacano" and Rodrigo "Rockdrigo" González's 1982 song, "Metro Balderas". It was also a filming location for the 1990 Hollywood movie Total Recall. Public intellectual Carlos Monsiváis has commented on the cultural importance of the Metro, "a space for collective expression, where diverse social sectors are compelled to mingle every day".