Tren Suburbano

Not to be confused with Tren Urbano.

For the Monterrey project, see Tren Suburbano de Monterrey.

Tren Suburbano
Buenavista Station
Overview
Locale	Mexico City and State of Mexico, Mexico
Transit type	Suburban rail
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	7
Daily ridership	200,000 (2018)[1]
Headquarters	Mexico City
Website	Ferrocarriles Suburbanos
Operation
Began operation	June 2, 2008[2]
Operator(s)	Ferrocarriles Suburbanos, SA de CV
Reporting marks	S
Technical
System length	27 km (16.78 mi)[3]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV 60 Hz AC overhead lines[4]
System map v t e AIFA branch AIFA branch AIFA Airport Jaltocan Nextlalpan Prados Sur Teyahualco Los Agaves Cueyamil Cuautitlán Tultitlán Lechería San Rafael Tlalnepantla Mexico Mexico City Fortuna Buenavista

The Tren Suburbano (lit. transl. Suburban Train)^[a] is an electric suburban rail system in Mexico City. It is operated by Ferrocarriles Suburbanos with concessioned trains from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). It was designed to complement the extensive Mexico City metro system, Latin America's largest and busiest urban rail network.

The railway has one operative line with a length of 27 km (17 mi) with seven stations, located in Cuauhtémoc and Azcapotzalco in Mexico City, and Tlalnepantla, Tultitlán and Cuautitlán, in the State of Mexico. A second line is under construction to connect with the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in Zumpango. Additional expansions were proposed in the 2000s with a total length of 242 kilometres (150 mi) of rail system.^[5]

History and description

Cuautitlán Station

Line 1 covers a route measuring 27 kilometres (17 mi) from Mexico City's Buenavista Station to the State of Mexico's Cuautitlán. The section, which began commercial service on June 2, 2008 (after three weeks of fare-free trial operation),^[2] cost US$706 million to build, with the Mexican Federal Government contributing 55% of this investment. The inaugural demonstration trip of the service from Buenavista to Lechería Station and back again was made by then-President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, and then-Governor of the State of Mexico (and eventual president of the country), Enrique Peña Nieto, with Calderón acting as the train's engineer.

Line 1 was built on an existing at-grade railroad right of way. However, inside Mexico City itself on the approach to Buenavista Station, a considerable amount of grade separation, including below-grade excavation and new bridges, was necessary due to high density and traffic congestion. The construction elicited complaints by Mexico City residents who objected to having their neighborhoods split by the rail line, but the public supported the project overall.

In addition to the track, the construction of Tren Suburbano also benefited from like-new electrification infrastructure already in place along most of the route, part of National Railways of Mexico (NdeM)'s Mexico City-Querétaro 25 kV 60 Hz mainline electrification completed in the 1990s but de-energized a few years later after NdeM was privatized.

On August 24, 2005, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. (CAF) obtained a 30-year concession to supply rolling stock, build and operate the Tren Suburbano.^[6] The trains used on this service are electric trains built by CAF and are similar to the series 2000 trains of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos of São Paulo, Brazil.^[7]

Service

Tren Suburbano leaving Buenavista station.

Ridership

Line 1 was projected to carry 100 million passengers annually.^[8] From the period of June 1, 2008 through July 7, 2008, the service carried one million passengers, or an average of approximately 30,000 passengers per day, which is a rate far below the annual projections.^[9] As of January 31, 2010 according to the head of Comercialización y Administración de Riesgos del Ferrocarril Suburbano stated that Line 1 of the Suburban Railway of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area served an average of 88,000 passengers per day.^[10] As of the end of 2012, ridership reached 132,000 per day, short of the 192,000 per day the private operator needed to stay solvent due to the high initial upfront cost and debt schedule. In 2012, the system ran an operational profit, but the profit was not high enough to cover accumulated debt repayment yet.^[11] Ridership had increased to 184,000 per day as of 2015.^[12] As of 2018, the Tren Suburbano had an average of 200,000 passengers per day.^[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, ridership decreased 73% as of May 2020.^[13]

Trains are scheduled every 6 minutes during peak hours.

Fare structure

As of 2024,^[14] the fares are 10.50 pesos (approximately US$0.57) for a trip of three or fewer stations and 24.50 pesos (approximately US$1.32) for longer trips of four or more stations. Fares are paid using a rechargeable card that costs 15.00 pesos.^[15]

Stations

Key^[b]

	Denotes a connection with the Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM) system. In the State of Mexico, they are called Estación de tranferencia modal (ETRAM).
	Denotes a connection with the Ecobici system
	Denotes a connection with the Mexico City Metro 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

No.	Station[c]	Date opened	Level	Distance (km)		Connection	Location
				Between stations	Total
01	Buenavista	2 June 2008	Grade level, overground access	-	0.0	Buenavista (at distance) Line B: Buenavista station Line 1: Buenavista station Line 3: Buenavista station Line 4: Buenavista station Routes: 10-E, 11-C, 12-B	Cuauhtémoc	Mexico City
02	Fortuna		Grade level, overground and underground access	5.25	5.25	Fortuna Line 6: Ferrería/Arena Ciudad de México station Routes: 19, 19-A, 107-B	Azcapotzalco
03	Tlalnepantla		Grade level, overground access	5.12	10.37	Tlalnepantla	Tlalnepantla	State of Mexico
04	San Rafael			3.45	13.82	San Rafael
05	Lechería			4.22	18.04	Lechería Line II: Lechería station	Tultitlán
06	Tultitlán	5 January 2009		4.06	22.10	Tultitlán
07	Cuautitlán			3.91	26.01	Cuautitlán	Cuautitlán

Expansions

Felipe Ángeles International Airport–Lechería

A proposed branch route toward the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in Zumpango is expected to be completed by the summer of 2024.^[22] The line follows the route of a previously proposed branch from Lechería to Jaltocan, and it will pass through the municipalities of Tultitlán, Tultepec, Nextlalpan and Zumpango.^[23]

No.	Station[d]	Level	Connection	Location
08	Cueyamil	Grade level, overground access	Cueyamil	Tultitlán
09	Los Agaves
10	Teyahualco		Teyahualco	Tultepec
11	Prados Sur		Prados Sur	Tultitlán
12	Nextlalpan			Nextlalpan
13	Jaltocan		Jaltocan
14	AIFA	Underground level, grade access	Felipe Ángeles International Airport Line I: Terminal de Pasajeros station	Zumpango

Previous proposals

Map of the Buenavista–Cuautitlán line opened in 2008 (solid red), and two other lines and additional branches proposed in the 2000s

In the 2000s, authorities proposed extending the system to a length of 242 kilometres (150 mi),^[24] in order to reduce Mexico City's heavy road traffic congestion and air pollution. In most cases the system would follow existing rail lines, with potential grade separations similar to the ones done on the initial segment.

In December 2006, SCT announced that approval had been given for a route extending 19.3 kilometres (12.0 mi) from Jardines de Morelos to Martín Carrera; and another route running 12.8 km (8.0 mi) from Chalco to La Paz.^{[24][25][26][27]} Neither line was ever built.

See also

• Buenavista metro station
• Buenavista railway station (old)
• Commuter rail in North America
• Ferrovalle
• List of suburban and commuter rail systems
• List of Mexican railroads
• Rail transport in Mexico
• El Insurgente

Notes

1. Official name: Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México (Suburban Railway of the Valley of Mexico Metropolitan Area).
2. The following list was adapted from different websites and official maps.
   • Metro () connections obtained from the official Mexico City Metro system map.^[16]
   • Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM; ) obtained from the official website of the Órgano Regulador de Transporte.^[17]
   • Ecobici () obtained from their official website.^[18]
   • Metrobús () obtained from the Mexico City Metrobús system map.^[19]
   • Mexibús () obtained from the official Mexico City Metro system map.^[16]
   • Public buses network (peseros) () obtained from the official website of the Órgano Regulador de Transporte.^[20]
   • Red de Transporte de Pasajeros () obtained from their official website.^[21]
3. All the stations are fully accessible to people with disabilities.
4. Proposed names. All the stations will be fully accessible.

References

1. Juárez, Pilar (December 7, 2018). "Tren Suburbano alcanza viabilidad financiera". Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
2. "Alcanza Tren Suburbano 200 mil usuarios diarios". Railway Gazette International. December 6, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
3. "Suburbano La vía rápida al bienestar" [Suburban the fast way to well-being] (PDF) (in Spanish). Ferrocarriles Suburbanos [Suburban Railways]. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
4. "Espacio del Viajero: Conoce los Trenes" (in Spanish). Mexico City: Ferrocarriles Suburbanos. Retrieved May 24, 2011. Alimentación (Vcc. catenaria): 25000, 60 Hz
5. "Dirección General de Transporte Ferroviario y Multimodal: Caracteristicas". Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 20, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2006.
7. "Frota de Trens". Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
8. "Operación: Estaciones Buenavista-Cuautitlán". Ferrocarriles Suburbanos. July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
9. "El Suburbano rebasa el millón de usuarios". Ferrocarriles Suburbanos. July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
10. "Concluyen en diciembre obras restantes del Tren Suburbano" (in Spanish). El Financiero: en línea. January 31, 2010. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
11. "Suburbano enfrenta colapso financiero". Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
12. "Nacionales - Terra Mexico". Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2013. El Universal. "Espera Suburbano mover a 52 millones"
13. Morales, Amallely (May 11, 2020). "Baja 73% afluencia en Tren Suburbano". Reforma (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
14. "¡Tren Suburbano sube de precio: ¿Cuáles son las nuevas tarifas para viajar del Edomex a CDMX?". El Financiero (in Spanish). June 14, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
15. "Operaciones: Costo del viaje". Ferrocarriles Suburbanos. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
16. "Mi Mapa Metro 22032021" [My Metro Map 22032021] (PDF) (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. March 22, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
17. "Centros de Transferencia Modal (CETRAM)" [Modal Transfer Centers] (in Spanish). Órgano Regulador de Transporte. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
18. "Mapa de disponibilidad" [Disponibility map] (in Spanish). Ecobici. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
19. "Mapa del sistema" [System map] (in Spanish). Mexico City Metrobús. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
20. "Red de corredores" [Route network]. Organismo Regulador de Transporte (in Spanish). Retrieved October 30, 2021.
21. "Red de Rutas" [Routes network] (in Spanish). Red de Transporte de Pasajeros. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
22. Gastón, Sena (May 25, 2024). "El AIFA estará conectado a Ciudad de México por un tren suburbano a partir del verano". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish).
23. "Tren Suburbano hacia el nuevo aeropuerto: salida desde Lechería". El Economista (in Spanish). August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
24. Correo | Economía | Funcionaría en 2007 tren suburbano^[usurped]
25. Autorizan suburbano de La Paz a Chalco – El Universal – DF Archived June 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
26. Ferrocarriles Suburbanos – Noticias Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
27. Ferrocarril Urbano Archived April 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Ferrocarril Suburbano – Official Site
• See definition on Ferropedia
• Renderings of railroad cars
• Official SCT video and details of the Ferrocarril Suburbano, in Spanish
• MEXLIST, the group for Mexican railway information
• "Estrenan Calderón y Peña Nieto el Tren Suburbano" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.