Pantitlán Metro Station

Pantitlán metro station is a Mexico City Metro transfer station in the boroughs of Iztacalco and Venustiano Carranza, in Mexico City. The station features a combination of underground, at-grade, and elevated buildings. It has six island platforms and two side platforms, serving Lines  1 (the Pink Line), 5 (the Yellow Line), 9 (the Brown Line), and A (the Purple Line). Pantitlán metro station is the only quadra-line interchange station in the system. It serves as the terminal station for all lines and is followed by Zaragoza (Line 1), Hangares (Line 5), Puebla (Line 9), and Agrícola Oriental (Line A) metro stations.

Pantitlán metro station opened on 19 December 1981 with northwestward service toward Consulado on Line 5; westward service toward Observatorio on Line 1 began on 22 August 1984; westward service toward Centro Médico on Line 9 started on 26 August 1987; and southeastward service toward La Paz on Line A commenced on 12 August 1991. The station services the (neighborhoods) of Ampliación Adolfo López Mateos, Aviación Civil, and Pantitlán, and is named after the last one. It is located along Avenida Miguel Lebrija and Avenida Río Churubusco. The station's pictogram features the silhouettes of two flagpoles with blank flags, reflecting the meaning of "Pantitlán," which is "between flags" in Nahuatl.

The station facilities offer partial accessibility for people with disabilities as there are elevators, wheelchair ramps, tactile pavings, and braille signage plates. Inside, there is a cultural display, an Internet café, a women's defense module, a public ministry office, a health module, a mural, and a bicycle parking station. Outside, the station includes a transport hub servicing local bus routes. Pantitlán is the busiest station in the system. In 2019, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, the station recorded a ridership of 132,845,471 passengers. In comparison, Cuatro Caminos metro station, which ranked second, had 39,378,128 passengers. Out of all the passengers at Pantitlán, 45,550,938 accessed Line A, making it the busiest line when considered individually.

The station area has experienced subsidence issues since the 1990s, primarily due to the extraction of groundwater to meet the needs of the large population in eastern Mexico City and the metropolitan area. From July 2022 to October 2023, the Line 1 station was closed for upgrades to the tunnel and technical equipment. Between December 2023 and September 2024, the Line 9 station was closed for releveling of the elevated bridge due to continued subsidence.

Location and layout

Pantitlán is a metro transfer station situated on Avenida Miguel Lebrija and Avenida Río Churubusco in the boroughs of Iztacalco and Venustiano Carranza, in eastern Mexico City. The station serves three (neighborhoods), Ampliación Adolfo López Mateos, Aviación Civil, and Pantitlán. The station was named after Colonia Pantitlán, which means "between flags" in Nahuatl. During the Aztec era, the area, formerly part of Lake Texcoco, was marked with flagpoles to warn canoeists of dangerous currents. The station's pictogram features the silhouette of two flagpoles with blank flags.

Pantitlán metro station functions as the terminal station of Lines  1, 5, 9, and  A. It is followed by Zaragoza station on Line 1, Hangares station on Line 5, Puebla station on Line 9, and Agrícola Oriental station on Line A. Pantitlán metro station provides disabled-accessible services featuring elevators on Lines 1 and A, wheelchair ramps and escalators on Line 9, and tactile pavings and braille signage plates on Lines 1, 9 and A.

Pantitlán metro station has multiple exits serving its various lines. The exit for Line 1 is located to the west and provides access to Avenida Miguel Lebrija and Calle Alberto Braniff in Colonia Aviación Civil, Venustiano Carranza. For Line 5, there are two exits: the northern exit is situated along Calle Alberto Braniff in Colonia Aviación Civil, while the southern exit is positioned on Avenida Miguel Lebrija, also in Colonia Aviación Civil.

Line 9 has two exits as well. The western exit can be found along Avenida Río Churubusco in Colonia Ampliación Adolfo López Mateos, Venustiano Carranza. The eastern exit is located at the corner of Avenida Miguel Lebrija and Calle 2ª Cerrada de Río Churubusco in Colonia Pantitlán, Iztacalco.

Lastly, Line A offers three exits. The northern exit is at the corner of Avenida Río Churubusco and Calle Talleres Gráficos in Colonia Ampliación Adolfo López Mateos, Venustiano Carranza. The northwestern exit is situated on Avenida Río Churubusco and Calle Guadalupe Victoria, within the same neighborhood. The southern exit is also along Avenida Río Churubusco, but in Colonia Pantitlán, Iztacalco.

The area is serviced by a (CETRAM), which functions as a transport hub for connecting various modes of transportation. It supports the Metrobús ( Line 4), Mexibús ( Line III) and trolleybus (Line 2) systems. Additionally, the hub is serviced by Routes 11-B, 11-C, 19-F, and 19-G of the city's public bus system (locally known as ), and by Route 168 of the bus network. Over 3,600 transport units operated in the hub as of 2010. By 2016, it was estimated to be the most used CETRAM in the country. Pantitlán is also the nearest metro station to Terminal 2 of the Mexico City International Airport, situated around away.

History and construction

The architects of Pantitlán metro station were Aurelio Nuño Morales and Isaac Broid. Originally, Line 8, which runs from the historic center of Mexico City to Constitución de 1917 metro station in Iztapalapa, was planned to run from Pantitlán to Indios Verdes station, in Gustavo A. Madero, northern Mexico City. However, the project was canceled due to potential structural issues near the Zócalo area, where it was intended to interchange with Line 2 at Zócalo metro station.

Line 1

The line was built by Ingeniería de Sistemas de Transportes Metropolitano, Electrometro, and Cometro, the latter being a subsidiary of Empresas ICA. Its first section was inaugurated on 4 September 1969, operating from Zaragoza towards Chapultepec station. It opened to the general public the following day. An eastward extension toward Pantitlán opened on 22 August 1984, operating westward towards Observatorio metro station and connecting Lines 1 and 5. Before Pantitlán was opened, Zaragoza served as the terminal for Line 1, and the workshops are located between both stations. This positioning indirectly benefited operations by allowing trains to depart every 90 seconds to either station. Pantitlán is an underground metro station with an interstation tunnel to Zaragoza measuring . The passenger transfer tunnel connecting Line 1 with Line A is approximately long, making it the third-longest in the system, after those at Atlalilco and La Raza stations.

In 2016, the station underwent renovation work. The station was closed on 11 July 2022 for modernization work on the tunnel and technical equipment of the line. After fifteen months of renovations, authorities reopened Pantitlán station on 29 October 2023. ''Excélsior'' reported in July 2024 that all the modernized stations had leaks of varying dimensions, despite authorities having stated they would seal them during the repairs.

Line 5

Cometro built the line and its first section was opened on 19 December 1981, with operations extending toward Consulado station. Pantitlán is an at-grade metro station where the segment between it and Hangares station transitions from street level to underground. This section is long.

Remains of mammoths, fish, and birds were discovered during its construction.

Line 9

Cometro built the line and its first section was opened on 26 August 1987, with service toward Centro Médico station. Pantitlán is an elevated metro station with a long bridge connecting it to Puebla station. Additionally, there is a train shed after the station. During the station's construction, a tusk and a molar of a mammoth were discovered at a depth of .

Line A

Empresas ICA built the line and it was opened on 12 August 1991, operating towards La Paz station, in the municipality of the same name of the State of Mexico. It is the line's only underground station as the trains pass below the Line 5 tracks. To build the station, ICA used the Milan method to construct a false rectangular-shaped tunnel. The company added floor slabs and the ceiling is made up of pre-fabricated slabs. Above the ceiling, pavement was installed as needed.

Pantitlán is a light metro station with its first segment to Agrícola Oriental station measuring in length. As the line incorporates Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza Avenue, it transitions to street level.

From its opening until 12 December 2013, passengers transferring from Line A to other lines, and vice versa, were required to make two separate payments.

Landmarks

Inside the station, there is a cultural display, an Internet café, a women's defense module, and a health module. Outside the station, a public ministry office was established in 2002 to reduce criminal offenses within the station. On 1 May 2007, the system unveiled the mural ''Alegoría a la Ciudad de México y el Sistema de Transporte Colectivo'' (), painted by José Luis Elías Jáuregui. According to him, he was inspired by the country's history, painting various elements that symbolize it, such as the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes, an eagle devouring a snake (a reference to the national coat of arms), a pyramid, and a Mestiza holding a white dove. The acrylic-on-canvas artwork, which is wide, honors the metro workers by featuring four train models used by the system. In 2014, the Government of Mexico City built a bicycle parking station adjacent to the CETRAM.

Incidents

Sinking issues

Sinking reports have existed since at least 1998. By 2016, the system reported cracks and subsidence that were expected to take about five years to resolve. Following the collapse of the elevated railway near Olivos metro station on Line 12 in May 2021, users reported structural damage at other elevated stations, including Pantitlán metro station. Claudia Sheinbaum, the then-head of government of Mexico City, said that these reports would be examined appropriately.

According to a LatinUS investigation, Sheinbaum's government commissioned Constructores ICI in September 2022 to study and identify solutions for the structural problems of the bridge, particularly the Pantitlán–Puebla bridge. The firm recommended 539 actions, with the most significant being:

* The overhead track between Pantitlán and Puebla stations should be demolished and rebuilt.
* A section of the bridge along Río Churubusco Avenue should be re-leveled and refurbished.
* Maintenance and replacement are needed for the line's overpass equipment.
* Reinforcement is required for the buildings and structures at Pantitlán and Puebla stations.
* Replace all electrical material, 520 ties, 60 rails, and of ballast along the of the elevated viaduct.
* Renew the line's centralized control, automatic piloting, signaling, and communication systems.

According to LatinUS, as of August 2023, none of the recommended actions had been performed based on information provided by the city's Secretariat of Public Works.

In February 2023, authorities reinforced Line 9's overpass near Pantitlán station with metallic supports. After strengthening the bridge, the city government assured that the elevated section was safe. This reinforcement was in line with recommendations from the Institute for Building Safety, which, in April 2022, advised shoring up Gerber beams with support beams.

Because the bridge shoring did not resolve the issues and the sinking persisted, metro authorities announced in September 2023 that three Line 9 stations—Pantitlán, Puebla, and Ciudad Deportiva—would be closed. The repairs were expected to be completed between December 2023 and May 2024. The section reopened on 10 September 2024.

Other

From 1 to 16 March 2020, Pantitlán, Hangares and Terminal Aérea stations on Line 5 were closed due to a gasoline leak at a surface petrol station. The Line 9 station was closed from 27 March to 7 April 2021 due to repairs on the section between Velódromo and Ciudad Deportiva station. Platforms M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, and T at the CETRAM were closed on 11 October 2021 due to structural failures detected in the station's basement, which houses out-of-service trains.

On 26 January 2022, a man threatened to jump from one of the station's line-connecting bridges. A police officer rappeled down to rescue him, but the weight of both individuals caused the rope to break, resulting in a fall of approximately . The fall resulted in severe head trauma for the officer, while the man was unharmed.

Ridership

According to the data provided by the authorities, all of Pantitlán's platforms rank among the busiest of the system's 195 stations when considered individually. Overall, and before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, the station's ridership totaled 132,845,471 passengers (363,960 passengers per day) in 2019. In comparison, the second-busiest station, Cuatro Caminos, registered 39,378,128 passengers.

For Line 1, ridership reached 17,860,457 passengers in 2019, averaging 48,932 per day, representing an increase of 1,874,257 passengers compared to 2018. Line 5 saw a ridership of 36,594,748 passengers, with an average of 100,259 per day, but experienced a decrease of 716,435 passengers from the previous year. Line 9 had 32,839,328 passengers, averaging 89,970 per day, marking an increase of 1,060,592 passengers compared to 2018. For Line A, ridership totaled 45,550,938 passengers, averaging 124,797 per day, which was an increase of 4,700,613 passengers from the previous year.

In 2019, when considered individually, the Line 1 station was the 17th busiest out of 195 stations in the system and the 5th busiest on the line. The Line 5 station ranked as the 4th busiest in the system and was the most used on its line. The Line 9 station was the 5th busiest overall and the busiest on its line. The Line A station was the busiest in the network, a position it held from 2017 to 2021.

As of 2010, approximately 789,000 commuters used the station daily. In the same year, it was estimated that 65 percent of these users came from the State of Mexico. By 2019, user traffic approached 100,000 passengers per hour between 6 and 10 a.m. To manage this high volume and reduce accidents, the system announced measures to distribute passengers more effectively and planned to complete the construction of a ring to connect all the platforms efficiently.

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pantitlan
Accessible Mexico City Metro stations
Mexico City Metro Line 1 stations
Mexico City Metro Line 5 stations
Mexico City Metro Line 9 stations
Mexico City Metro Line A stations
Mexico City Metro stations in Iztacalco
Mexico City Metro stations in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City
Railway stations located underground in Mexico
Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1984
Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1987
Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1981
Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1991