CFE to Modernize Mexico City Subway

Mexico City’s government will pay MX$4.5 billion (US$22 million) to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to modernize the electric wiring of the Collective Transportation System (SCT) and perform other energy works.

"We made the decision that the Federal Electricity Commission will carry out this work because we trust their workers and their technicians. They are the best that our country has," said the Head of Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum.

The main projects are increasing the voltage of the subway’s energy supply to increase efficiency and replacing the transformers that supply energy to Lines 1, 2 and 3. Sheinbaum said that with the changes, the subway will be energy efficient for at least the next 50 years.

The project has two phases. The first pertains to the building infrastructure and is expected to finish in March 2022. The second concerns the electromechanical work, which is expected to be completed before August. The project is expected to last 267 days and be finished in mid-2022.

Furthermore, subway lines 1, 2 and 3 will be integrated into the National Electric System and coordinated by the National Center for Energy Control (CENACE). The General Director of the STC-Metro, Guillermo Calderón Aguilera, explained that these works are to guarantee the operational safety of the three lines, which together transport 60 percent of subway users.

The need to improve the subway’s electrical efficiency became apparent after the El Buen Toro substation caught fire on Jan. 9, 2021, causing half of its lines to face temporal suspensions. According to an investigation, the fire occurred because the substation’s transformers had not received maintenance in a year. While some accused CFE of negligence in the maintenance of the stations that led to the accident, the organization claimed that it was not responsible for supervising maintenance.