Tacubaya metro station

Not to be confused with Tacuba metro station.

Tacubaya is a station on Lines 1, 7 and 9 of the Mexico City Metro system.^[2][3] It is located in the Miguel Hidalgo borough, west of the city centre.^[2] In 2019, the station had a total average ridership of 85,800 passengers per day, making it the fifth busiest station in the network.^[4] Since 9 November 2023, the Line 1 station has remained closed for modernization work on the tunnel and the line's technical equipment.^[5]

Tacubaya
STC rapid transit
Line 1 platforms
General information
Location	Tacubaya, Miguel Hidalgo Mexico City Mexico
Coordinates	19.403439°N 99.187102°W / 19.403439; -99.187102
Operated by	Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC)
Line(s)	(Observatorio - Pantitlán) (El Rosario - Barranca del Muerto) (Tacubaya - Pantitlán)
Platforms	6 side platforms
Tracks	6
Connections	Tacubaya Temporary Line 1 service: Tacubaya stop Tacubaya stop (temporary)
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	No
Accessible	Partial
Other information
Status	Out of service In service
History
Opened	20 November 1970 23 August 1985 29 August 1988
Passengers
2024	Total: 23,378,634 0[1] 2,253,311[1] 21,125,323[1]  11.82%
Rank	189/195[1] 164/195[1] 4/195[1]
Services
Preceding station Mexico City Metro Following station Observatorio Terminus Line 1 Juanacatlán toward Pantitlán Constituyentes toward El Rosario Line 7 San Pedro de los Pinos toward Barranca del Muerto Terminus Line 9 Patriotismo toward Pantitlán
Route map Legend Observatorio yard Observatorio Tacubaya Juanacatlán Chapultepec Sevilla Insurgentes Cuauhtémoc Balderas Salto del Agua Isabel la Católica Pino Suárez Merced Candelaria San Lázaro Moctezuma Balbuena Boulevard Puerto Aéreo Gómez Farías Zaragoza Zaragoza workshops Pantitlán This diagram: view talk edit Legend El Rosario workshops El Rosario Aquiles Serdán Camarones Refinería Tacuba San Joaquín Polanco Auditorio Constituyentes Tacubaya San Pedro de los Pinos San Antonio Mixcoac Barranca del Muerto This diagram: view talk edit Legend proposed extension Observatorio proposed extension Tacubaya Patriotismo Chilpancingo Centro Médico Lázaro Cárdenas Chabacano Jamaica Mixiuhca Velódromo Ciudad Deportiva Puebla Pantitlán This diagram: view talk edit
Location Tacubaya Location within Mexico City Area map and exits

Name and pictogram

The station takes its name from the neighborhood it is located in: Tacubaya. The origin of this zone of the city can be traced back to an Aztec settlement, which back then was at the edge of Lake Texcoco. The name Tacubaya is a Spanish barbarism that derived from the Nahuatl Atlacuihuayan, that means "where water joins".^[2]

Therefore, the station pictogram represents a water bowl, that also resembles the glyph of the Aztec settlement of Tacubaya found at the Codex Mendoza.^[2]

History

Service at this station began on 20 November 1970, when Line 1 was expanded westwards from Juanacatlán to Tacubaya.^[6] On 22 August 1985, Metro Tacubaya became a transfer station, when the second stretch of Line 7 was inaugurated, from Auditorio to Tacubaya.^[7] In 1988, Line 9 was connected to the station as part of the final stretch of Line 9, inaugurated on 29 August 1988, going from Centro Médico to Tacubaya, thus becoming the western terminus of the line.^[8]

According to earlier plans for the metro, Line 9 was supposed to be extended towards Observatorio. This is the reason why on Line 9 platforms of Tacubaya signs stating that the station is a provisional terminal can be seen since its opening in 1988. In 2018, the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo announced plans to complete this expansion from Tacubaya to Observatorio.^[9] Mexico City government announced shortly after that no works would be done during 2019; and as of early 2020, works still have not been started.^[10]

March 2020 train crash

The accident

On March 10, 2020, at about 23:37 local time (05:37 GMT), two trains crashed while both were going towards Observatorio station. The first train, No. 38, was parked at Tacubaya's platform when it was hit by another train, No. 33, that came in reverse at 70 kilometers per hour (43 mph).^[11] According to official reports, 1 person died and 41 were injured,^[12] all inside train No. 33; people in train No. 38 were evacuated moments before the crash.^[11] Observatorio, Tacubaya and Juanacatlán stations were closed temporarily for repairs.^[13] Authorities from the Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro believe the crash was caused due to a failure in the train systems coupled with a 7-degree slope that propelled train No. 33 for a kilometer (0.62 mi),^[14] that occurred after performing a parking maneuver at Observatorio station.^[11]

2024 stabbing attack

On 19 November 2024, a man stabbed four people at the Line 7 platforms. The attacker was arrested.

General information

The station was built on many levels, in order to accommodate the connecting lines. It has a maze of long, wide corridors between the lines' platforms, which are equipped with escalators. This station's exits connect with many zones of Tacubaya neighborhood, such as Parque Lira, a local market and the offices of the Miguel Hidalgo borough administration.^[15]

Metro Tacubaya has facilities for the handicapped, four cultural displays, as well as a medical module and a cyber center where users can access internet through a computer; both services are free. The mural Del códice al mural by Guillermo Ceniceros can be found inside the station in Line 1 platforms.^[2]

The station serves the neighborhood of the same name. It was in this area of Mexico City where the French pastry chef had his shop that was damaged in 1828, an incident that lead to the Pastry War a decade later.

Ridership

Annual passenger ridership (Line 1) Year Ridership Average daily Rank  % change Ref. 2024 0 0 189/195 −100.00% [1] 2023 6,452,370 17,677 68/195 +3.92% [1] 2022 6,208,767 17,010 56/195 −15.89% [1] 2021 7,381,863 20,224 21/195 +7.49% [16] 2020 6,867,731 18,764 32/195 −44.48% [17] 2019 12,369,808 33,889 31/195 −0.94% [18] 2018 12,486,567 34,209 27/195 −0.72% [19] 2017 12,577,366 34,458 29/195 −3.39% [20] 2016 13,018,121 35,568 28/195 −2.07% [21] 2015 13,293,703 36,421 29/195 +3.20% [22] Annual passenger ridership (Line 7) Year Ridership Average daily Rank  % change Ref. 2024 2,253,311 6,156 164/195 +19.69% [1] 2023 1,882,564 5,157 159/195 +16.41% [1] 2022 1,617,125 4,430 163/195 +41.25% [1] 2021 1,144,856 3,136 168/195 −29.09% [16] 2020 1,614,531 4,411 180/195 −31.31% [17] 2019 2,350,325 6,439 179/195 −1.38% [18] 2018 2,383,106 6,529 179/195 +6.40% [19] 2017 2,239,783 6,136 180/195 −8.32% [20] 2016 2,443,127 6,675 177/195 −2.18% [21] 2015 2,497,451 6,842 165/195 −0.38% [22]

Annual passenger ridership (Line 9) Year Ridership Average daily Rank  % change Ref. 2024 21,125,323 57,719 4/195 +16.23% [1] 2023 18,176,022 49,797 5/195 +12.42% [1] 2022 16,168,449 44,297 10/195 +53.00% [1] 2021 10,567,781 28,952 13/195 +0.33% [16] 2020 10,533,419 28,779 15/195 −35.52% [17] 2019 16,335,719 44,755 20/195 −6.06% [18] 2018 17,390,292 47,644 18/195 −0.87% [19] 2017 17,542,320 48,061 17/195 −3.78% [20] 2016 18,231,719 49,813 17/195 +3.32% [21] 2015 17,645,401 48,343 17/195 −0.04% [22]

Nearby

• Parque Lira, public park.
• Museo Casa de la Bola, museum.
• Museo Nacional de Cartografía, museum of cartography.
• Alameda de Tacubaya, public plaza.

Exits

Line 1

• Northwest: Castellanos Quinto, Tacubaya
• Northeast: Av. Parque Lira, Tacubaya
• Southwest: Av. Jalisco and Rufina, Tacubaya
• Southeast: Av. Parque Lira, Tacubaya

Line 7

• Doctora and Av. Parque Lira, Tacubaya

Line 9

• Northwest: Av. Jalisco and Manuel Dublan, Tacubaya
• Northeast: Av. Jalisco and Iturbide, Tacubaya
• Southeast: Av. Jalisco and Mártires de la Conquista, Tacubaya

Gallery

• 
  Line 9 platforms, the "provisional terminal" sign can be seen.
• 
  Line 9 at Tacubaya.
• 
  Mural of stone mask in the Line 1 section of Metro Tacubaya, at entrance to line leading towards Pantitlán.
• 
  Part of stairway mural at Metro Tacubaya, Line 1 section
• 
  Murals covering the passageway to a stairwell in the Line 1 section of Metro Tacubaya
• 
  Line 7 platforms

See also

• List of Mexico City metro stations
• 1975 Mexico City Metro train crash