''El Insurgente'' (), formerly called the Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Tren Interurbano de Pasajeros Toluca-Valle de México'') project is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line currently under construction. Also known as Interurban Train Mexico City–Toluca, the passenger railway line will connect the cities of

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. The project was announced by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican politician who served as the 64th president of Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ...

on 1 December 2012, and construction began in 2014. On 1 September 2023, it was announced that the interurban train would bear the name of ''El Insurgente'', after

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...

. On 15 September 2023, the first section from Zinacantepec to Lerma opened, with four trains initially running on the section. The opening of the entire line is expected in 2024.

Background

As a part of then-President Enrique Peña Nieto's plan to offer public transport from Toluca to Mexico City, a

cost–benefit analysis Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), sometimes also called benefit–cost analysis, is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives. It is used to determine options which provide the best approach to achieving benefits ...

report was drafted and published in November 2013. The report proposed several routes. The three routes were concentrated to the metro terminals of Cuatro Caminos,

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a working-class area of west-central Mexico City, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, consisting of the '' colonia'' Tacubaya proper and adjacent areas in other colonias, with San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Ga ...

, and Observatorio. Ultimately, the third route along Avenida Las Torres to Observatorio was chosen in order to avert future sprawl, avoid deforestation in the Sierra de las Cruces, and prevent pollution of aquifers that supply water to residents. A section of the chosen route was altered by in October 2015 to no longer run above Avenida Vasco de Quiroga in

Cuajimalpa Cuajimalpa de Morelos (; more commonly known simply as Cuajimalpa) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in the Mexico City. It is located on the west side of the city in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains which separate Mexico City from the ...

. The railway line will be electrified and elevated with a tunnel portion between the State of Mexico and Mexico City. There are six stations planned. Four stations will be located in the State of Mexico and the remaining two will be located in Mexico City. The line is designed to complement the

Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro ( es, Metro de la Ciudad de México) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is ...

by terminating at Observatorio station of

Line 1 Line 1 or 1 line may refer to: Public transport Africa * Line 1 (Algiers Metro), Algeria * Cairo Metro Line 1, Egypt Asia China * Line 1 (Beijing Subway) * Line 1 (Changchun Rail Transit) * Line 1 (Changsha Metro) * Line 1 (Changzhou Metro) * L ...

and provide heavy railway service to the Santa Fe business district. A shuttle will provide connection to

Toluca International Airport Toluca International Airport, officially Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport is an international airport in Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico. It is part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Airport Group, and it is being improved an ...

at the Tecnológico station. The commuter line will run parallel to Avenida Las Torres and

Mexican Federal Highway 15 Federal Highway 15 ( es, Carretera Federal 15, Fed. 15 ) is Mexico 15 International Highway or Mexico- Nogales Highway, is a primary north-south highway, and is a free part of the federal highways corridors ( es, los corredores carreteros fe ...

Mexican Federal Highway 15D Federal Highway 15D (Carretera Federal 15D) is the name for toll highways paralleling Federal Highway 15. The toll segments of Highway 15D include some of the most significant highways in the country along the Nogales-Mexico City corridor. The h ...

. The total cost of the project was estimated at $38.6 billion MXN in 2014.

Construction

The

Secretariat of Communications and Transportation The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (''Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes'', SICT) of Mexico is the national federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting. Its he ...

(SCT) divided the project into three sections for contractors to bid on: :Section 1 covers the western terminal in Zinacantepec to the eastern tunnel entrance at Sierra de las Cruces. This encompasses of the project. The contracts were awarded to La Peninsular Compañía Constructora and Constructora de Proyectos Viales de México. :Section 2 is the tunnel portion underneath Sierra de las Cruces. was awarded the contract. :Section 3 involves the Mexico City portion from the western tunnel entrance at Sierra de las Cruces to the Metro Observatorio Station. The contract was awarded to a consortium. For its rolling stock, Spanish manufacturing company CAF was awarded a contract in 2014 to construct 30

EMU The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

s for $11.6 billion MXN (€690 million). Each EMU will have five cars, have a capacity of 700 passengers, and operate at a maximum speed of . Deliveries for the trainsets began in January 2017. The

train depot A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

will be located west of Zinacantepec station at a cost of MXN942 million. The contract was awarded to a consortium in March 2016. In July 2014, a formal ceremony was carried out by the head of SCT,

Gerardo Ruiz Esparza Gerardo Ruiz Esparza (, April 22, 1949 – April 1, 2020), was a Mexican attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of Communications and Transportation in the cabinet of Enrique Peña Nieto. Early life Born in Mexico City, Ruiz Espar ...

, to mark the start of construction. There have been several construction accidents during the project. On 4 May 2016, the temporary support structures gave way, causing the concrete decking to collapse near the intersection of Avenida Las Torres and Avenida Colón in Toluca. On 2 June 2016, bad weather caused concrete-reinforced rebar to fold onto traffic near the intersection of Avenida Las Torres and Avenida Díaz Mirón in Toluca. On 7 July 2016, a work site caved in killing one worker and injuring two. On 16 July 2016, a construction worker was killed when a truck lost control and struck the worker on a construction site in

Metepec Metepec () is a municipality in the State of Mexico in Mexico and is located directly to the east of the state capital, Toluca, at an altitude of above sea level. The center of Mexico City lies some 50 km further to the east. The city of ...

. In July 2019, the SCT determined the project's completion would be delayed to the end of 2022.

Javier Jiménez Espriú Javier Jiménez Espriú (born 31 July 1937) is a Mexican academic and former Secretary of Communications and Transportation of Mexico. He is the former head of the engineering school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He was Unde ...

, head of the SCT, announced the project was 87% complete, however, there have been cost overruns from $42.72 billion MXN in 2015 to $73.72 billion MXN in 2019. President Manuel Lopez Obrador inaugurated the opening of Section 1 of the rail line in September of 2023, but since the train runs only through stations in Toluca and does not run through to Mexico City, ridership was exceptionally low as of December 2023.

Stations

Notes

References

External links