The El Insurgente suburban railway line stretches to Mexico City: Here’s new updates you need to know

Thursday, September 12, 2024

The El Insurgente suburban railway line in Mexico has been extended to Mexico City, this is reported by a the railway transport news portal.

Now, it connects the cities of Zinacantepec, located in the Toluca metropolitan area, and Lerma, with a new 29 km section leading to the Santa Fe district in the western part of the capital.

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The total length of the line will be 58 km, with its final stop at the Observatorio station on Mexico City’s Metro Line 1.

The first 18 km section, linking Lerma and Zinacantepec, was opened in September 2023.

The line is fully electrified with 25 kV alternating current and equipped with the ETCS Level 2 train control system.

The maximum speed will be 160 km/h, but at the initial stages, it will be limited to 80 km/h.

It is expected that with the commissioning of the Santa Fe station, passenger traffic will reach 235,000 people per day.

The new section passes through the Monte de las Cruces mountain range, where a 5 km tunnel was built.

Most of the route is laid on viaducts, reducing environmental impact and increasing the safety of the route.

The project, which began in 2014, was originally scheduled for completion in 2017, with an initial cost of 38 billion pesos.

However, due to various technical and financial issues, the deadlines were repeatedly pushed back, and the final cost nearly tripled to 100 billion pesos.

The construction of the line was carried out by a consortium of companies: CAF, Thales, Isolux-Corsán, and AZVI, under the supervision of Mexico’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT).

The line is operated by Banobras, which manages the National Infrastructure Fund.

The train frequency is 10 minutes, and the travel time from Zinacantepec to Santa Fe does not exceed 39 minutes.

The last 8.7 km section from Santa Fe to Observatorio, with one intermediate station, is scheduled to open in December 2024.

To service the line, the Spanish company CAF supplied 20 Civia electric trains, each capable of carrying 718 passengers.

The trains were built at the Beasain plant. Additionally, 10 more CAF trains will be used on a new line connecting Mexico City’s center with Felipe Ángeles International Airport, slated to open by the end of 2024.

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