Mexico City Completes Metro Line 1 Refurbishment Works

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum reported the completion of the refurbishing project for the first section of Metro Line 1. Authorities consider this event to be key for the future of the renovation of the Metro’s oldest line. 

Sheinbaum said that this first section of the project, which goes from Pantitlan terminal to Isabel La Catolica station, consisted of the modernization of stations, rail lines, rail ties, ballast and drainage replacements, as well as the installation of new wiring and the construction of new high-capacity pump stations, among other upgrades. “This has been a tremendous task and a historic investment for the Metro,” Sheinbaum said. 

Mexico City is investing over MX$37 billion (US$2 billion) in the project. To provide certainty regarding the project’s transparency, Sheinbaum’s administration launched an international tender process counseled by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which awarded the project to a consortium formed by China-based CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, together with 24 Spanish, French, Mexican and German companies. 

Sheinbaum said that the next step is to perform tests, which will be conducted between March and May when she expects the service to be restored. Metro workers will test the 10 trains that were already operating on the line, along with the remaining 29 trains, which according to Mexico City authorities, will be delivered by December 2023. Currently, there are two trains in dynamic tests in China, four are in the Metro’s workshops and the remaining are being assembled in Queretaro, said Gao Feng, Director General, CRRC Zuzhou Locomotive. 

There are two more projects the government is planning for the Metro: the Metro-Energía project, with an investment of MX$4.5 billion (US$248.3 million), and the refurbishing of the system’s Central Control Room, with an investment of over MX$500 million (US$27.6 million). 

Works should have finished in February to start commercial operation in March, as Sheinbaum promised. According to the original plan, just after finishing Phase 1, Mexico City would start with Phase 2, closing Line 1 from Balderas station to the Observatorio terminal. This phase is currently scheduled to be completed by August 2023. 

At the moment, Phase 1 is expected to be completed in May, when an independent consultancy agency will determine if the line is safe to open. Based on this new timeline, Phase 2 is expected to be finished by the end of 2023, according to Guillermo Calderon, Director, Metro.