Mexico City Metro Line 1

Mexico City Metro Line 1 is one of the twelve Metro lines operating in Mexico City, Mexico. Officially inaugurated in 1969, it was the first metro line to be built in the country. Its identifying color is pink, and it runs west–east.

Line 1 Observatorio–Pantitlán
NM-22 entering Boulevard Puerto Aéreo
Overview
Locale	Mexico City
Termini	Observatorio Pantitlán
Connecting lines	Observatorio Tacubaya Balderas Salto del Agua Pino Suárez Candelaria San Lázaro Pantitlán
Stations	20
Website	metro.cdmx.gob.mx
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mexico City Metro
Operator(s)	Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC)
Rolling stock	NM-16, NM-22
Ridership	665,171 passengers per day (2019)[1]
History
Opened	4 September 1969; 56 years ago (1969-09-04)
Technical
Line length	16.654 km (10 mi)
Track length	18.828 km (12 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge with roll ways along track
Electrification	Guide bars
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph) (max.) 36 km/h (22 mph) (avg.)
Route map Line 1 route highlighted in gray Show interactive 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 Show interactive diagram map Show system map

Juanacatlán, Tacubaya, and Observatorio, Chapultepec, Sevilla, Insurgentes, Cuauhtémoc, Balderas, and Salto del Agua stations are currently closed for reconstruction.

The line is built under several avenues: Parque Lira, Pedro Antonio de los Santos, Circuito Interior, Avenida de los Insurgentes, Avenida Chapultepec, Arcos de Belén, Balderas, Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas, José María Izazaga, Isabel la Católica, Anillo de Circunvalación, Congreso de la Unión, Eduardo Molina, and Ignacio Zaragoza.

It connects with Lines 7 and 9 at the Station Tacubaya, Line 3 at Balderas, Line 8 at Salto del Agua, Line 2 at Pino Suárez, Line 4 at Candelaria, Line B at San Lázaro and Lines 5, 9 and A at Pantitlán. When Line 12 extension is completed, it will also connect with Line 12 at Observatorio.^[2]

History

Chapultepec station during the first day of operations after the inauguration.

The first section of Line 1 was opened on 4 September 1969 as part of Mexico City Metro's first construction stage, it was inaugurated by Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970, and Alfonso Corona del Rosal, Regent of the Federal District Department.^[3] The inauguration ceremony took place at the Insurgentes station.^[4]

The next day the line was opened to the public. To the original route (Chapultepec–Zaragoza) a new station, Juanacatlán, was added to the west on 11 April 1970, and the first correspondencia (a transfer station) became functional on 1 August 1970 when Line 2 was opened. The two westernmost stations Tacubaya and current terminal Observatorio were inaugurated on 20 November 1970 and 10 June 1972 respectively.

Station Pantitlán was opened on 22 August 1984 as the eastern terminal during a fourth and final expansion. All twenty stations have operated since then, running a total track length of 18.83 km (11.70 mi), of which 16.65 km (10.35 mi) are passenger track. The 1 is the only line in the network that is fully underground except for some surface track in Observatorio used for maintenance.

As of 2020, an extension of Line 12 is under construction, this stretch will connect Line 12 with Line 1 at the Observatorio station.^[2]

Temporary platform installed at Balderas station

Authorities warned on 10 August 2020 that Line 1 is in danger of a major fire due to an aging electrical system that is in need of major improvements. Lines 1, 2, and 3 report an average of 2.5 electrical failures daily.^[5] As a result, the line started undergo renovations that require its closure. The first closure was from Pantitlán to Salto de Agua stations starting on 11 July 2022 and it was expected to conclude in March 2023. The second closure was expected to start in March 2023 from Balderas to Observatorio stations and was expected to conclude in August 2023. During both periods, all railway elements will be replaced with modern material, the wiring will be replaced, damage due to leaks and cracks will be repaired, stations that are not yet modernized will be updated, and accessibility will be added to stations that lack it.^[6][7]

In April 2023, Siemens Mobility claimed that they would install CBTC on Line 1.^[8] On October 29, 2023, the modernized section of Line 1 was inaugurated.^[9] Salto del Agua and Balderas stations was reopened on September 13, 2024.^[10] The second stage is expected to begin on 9 November 2023.^[11]

On November 16, 2025, the Observatorio - Chapultepec section of metro line 1 was reopened, thus completing its full modernization.^[12] The modernization, which included CBTC installation, is expected to increase capacity by 15%.^[13]

Chronology

• September 4, 1969: from Chapultepec to Zaragoza.
• April 11, 1970: from Chapultepec to Juanacatlán.
• November 20, 1970: from Juanacatlán to Tacubaya.
• June 10, 1972: from Tacubaya to Observatorio.
• August 22, 1984: from Zaragoza to Pantitlán.

Rolling stock

Line 1 has had different types of rolling stock throughout the years.

• Alstom MP-68, 1969–2018
• Concarril NM-73, 1978–2018
• Alstom MP-82, 1985–1994
• Concarril NM-83, 1989–2018
• CAF NE-92, 1994–2023
• Bombardier NC-82, 2006–2007
• Concarril NM-79, 2011–2012
• CAF NM-16, since 2019
• CRRC NM-22, since 2024

Currently, out of the 390 trains in the Mexico City Metro network, 49 are in service in Line 1.^[14]

Station list

Key^[a]

†	Denotes a partially accessible station
‡	Denotes a fully accessible station
	Denotes a metro transfer
	Denotes a connection with the Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM) system
	Denotes a connection with the Ecobici system
	Denotes a connection with the Metrobús system
	Denotes a connection with the Mexibús system
	Denotes a connection with the public bus system
	Denotes a connection with the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros (RTP) system
	Denotes a connection with the Trolleybus system

The stations from west to east:

No.	Station	Date opened	Level	Distance (km)		Connection	Pictogram	Location
				Between stations	Total
01	Pantitlán ‡	August 22, 1984	Underground trench	-	0.0	Line 5 Line 9 Line A Pantitlán Line 4 (Alameda Oriente branch): Pantitlán station Line III: Pantitlán station Route: 168 Line 2: Pantitlán stop Routes: 11-B, 11-C, 19-F, 19-G	Two flags	Venustiano Carranza
02	Zaragoza ‡	September 4, 1969		1.5	1.5	Zaragoza Routes: 162B, 163, 163A, 163B, 164, 166, 167	A silhouette of the Ignacio Zaragoza statue
03	Gomez Farías †			0.9	2.4		A representation of the Mexican Constitution of 1857
04	Boulevard Puerto Aéreo †			0.7	3.1	Boulevard Puerto Aéreo Route: 43 Line 4: Boulevard Puerto Aéreo stop Routes: 20-B, 22-D	An air vent under a road bridge
05	Balbuena †			0.8	3.9	Balbuena	Four flowers, with four petals each
06	Moctezuma †			0.8	4.7	Line 4: Moctezuma station (at distance) Line 5: Moctezuma station (at distance) Routes: 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H (all at distance)	A feathered headdress
07	San Lázaro ‡			0.7	5.4	Line B San Lázaro Line 4: San Lázaro station Line 5: San Lázaro station East Bus Terminal (TAPO)	A steam locomotive
08	Candelaria			1.1	6.4	Line 4 Line 4: Cecilio Robelo station (at distance) Route: 37 Route: 5-A	A swimming duck
09	Merced ‡			0.9	7.3	Line 4: La Merced station Route: 5-A	A box with apples
10	Pino Suárez ‡			0.8	8.2	Line 2 Passage Zócalo-Pino Suárez Nezahualcóyotl (at distance) Line 4: Pino Suárez station (south route) Routes: 2-A, 31-B, 111-A, 145-A Routes: 17-C, 17-H, 17-I, 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	A pyramid dedicated to Ehecatl	Cuauhtémoc
11	Isabel la Católica ‡			0.5	8.7	Routes: 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	One of Christopher Columbus's caravels
12	Salto del Agua †			0.6	9.3	Line 8 Line 1: Salto del Agua stop Routes: 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	Salto del Agua fountain
13	Balderas ‡			0.6	9.9	Route: 34-A Line 3 Line 3: Balderas station Routes: 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	A preserved colonial-era cannon
14	Cuauhtémoc †			0.5	10.5	Line 3: Cuauhtémoc station Route: 34-A Routes: 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	An eagle's head
15	Insurgentes †			0.9	11.4	Line 1: Glorieta de los Insurgentes station Route: 34-A Routes: 18-C (at distance), 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	A church bell
16	Sevilla †			0.8	12.2	Routes: 19, 19-A, 34-A Routes: 13-D, 18-C, 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H	An aqueduct
17	Chapultepec		Underground two-story trench	0.6	12.9	Chapultepec Line 7: Chapultepec station (at distance) (also temporary Line 1 service) Routes: 11-A, 13-A, 34-A, 115-A, 200 Line 2: Chapultepec stop Line 6: Chapultepec stop Routes: 7-D, 8-A, 8-B, 8-C, 8-D, 13-C, 13-E, 18-C, 18-D, 19-E, 19-F, 19-G, 19-H, 21-A	A grasshopper
18	Juanacatlán †	April 11, 1970		1.1	14.0	Routes: 13-A, 115-A Route: 21-A	A butterfly	Miguel Hidalgo
19	Tacubaya †	November 20, 1970	Underground multi-story trench	1.3	15.2	Line 7 Line 9 Tacubaya (at distance) Line 2: Tacubaya station (also temporary Line 1 service) Routes: 110, 110-B, 110-C, 112, 113-B, 115, 118, 119, 200 Routes: 1-B, 9-C, 9-E, 21-A	An Aztec water bowl
20	Observatorio †	June 10, 1972	Hillside trench	1.4	16.7	Line 12 (under construction) West Bus Terminal Observatorio El Insurgente (under construction) Route: 21-D	A stylised astronomical observatory dome	Álvaro Obregón

Renamed stations

Date	Old name	New name
1997	Aeropuerto	Boulevard Puerto Aéreo

Ridership

The following table shows each of Line 1 stations total and average daily ridership during 2019.^[1]

†	Transfer station
‡	Terminal
†‡	Transfer station and terminal

Rank	Station	Total ridership	Average daily
1	Observatorio‡	26,388,110	72,296
2	Insurgentes	20,753,676	56,859
3	Chapultepec	19,388,677	53,120
4	Merced	18,129,244	49,669
5	Pantitlán†‡	17,860,457	48,933
6	Zaragoza	16,963,497	46,475
7	Tacubaya†	12,369,808	33,890
8	San Lázaro†	11,915,094	32,644
9	Pino Suárez†	11,456,022	31,386
10	Sevilla	11,123,527	30,475
11	Gómez Farías	10,360,851	28,386
12	Candelaria†	8,554,561	23,437
13	Boulevard Puerto Aéreo	8,429,972	23,096
14	Cuauhtémoc	8,311,511	22,771
15	Isabel la Católica	8,262,282	22,636
16	Moctezuma	8,050,035	22,055
17	Balderas†	7,825,656	21,440
18	Salto del Agua†	7,482,564	20,500
19	Balbuena	4,902,639	13,432
20	Juanacatlán	4,259,229	11,669
Total		242,787,412	665,171

Tourism

Line 1 passes near several places of interest.

• Bosque de Chapultepec, city park
  • Museo de Arte Moderno, museum of modern art
  • Chapultepec Castle
  • Heroic Cadets Memorial, a monument dedicated to the memory of the Niños Héroes
  • Chapultepec Zoo
• Estela de Luz, a monument that commemorates the bicentenary of Mexico's independence
• Paseo de la Reforma, emblematic avenue of Mexico City
• Diana the Huntress Fountain, a monumental fountain of Diana located at Paseo de la Reforma
• Angel of Independence, a victory column on a roundabout on the major thoroughfare of Paseo de la Reforma
• Zona Rosa, a neighborhood known for its shopping centers, nightlife, gay community, and Korean community
• Historic center of Mexico City

See also

• List of Mexico City Metro lines

Notes

1. The following list was adapted from different websites and official maps.

   • Metro () connections obtained from the official Mexico City Metro system map.^[15]
   • Accessibility obtained from the Mexico City Metro system map. In some cases, the map omits the accessibility icon as the station(s) are actually partially accessible. However, the respective websites of each station on the official site indicate the respective accessibility methods. Stations with the symbol ‡ are fully accessible; stations with the symbol † are partially accessible.^[15]
   • Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM; ) obtained from the official website of the Órgano Regulador de Transporte.^[16]
   • Ecobici () obtained from their official website.^[17]
   • Metrobús () obtained from the Mexico City Metrobús system map.^[18]
   • Mexibús () obtained from the official Mexico City Metro system map.^[15]
   • Public buses network (peseros) () obtained from the official website of the Órgano Regulador de Transporte.^[19]
   • Red de Transporte de Pasajeros () obtained from their official website.^[20]
   • Trolleybuses () obtained from their official website.^[21]