# La Raza metro station

La Raza metro station is a Mexico City Metro transfer station in the borough of Gustavo A. Madero, in Mexico City. The station features a combination of underground and at-grade buildings; each has two side platforms. La Raza serves Lines 3 (the Olive Line) and 5 (the Yellow Line). La Raza metro station is located between Potrero and Tlatelolco stations on Line 3, and between Autobuses del Norte and Misterios stations on Line 5.
La Raza metro station opened on 25 August 1978 with service on Line 3 heading south toward Hospital General metro station. North service toward Indios Verdes metro station began on 1 December 1979. Southeasterly service on Line 5 toward Pantitlán metro station began on 1 July 1982. The transfer tunnel is approximately 600 meters (2,000 ft), making it the second-longest in the system. Inside the transfer tunnel, a permanent science exhibition called El Túnel de la Ciencia ("The Tunnel of Science") was installed by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) to provide scientific information to passengers. It showcases information about science and astronomy through images since 30 November 1988.
The station services the colonias (neighborhoods) of Vallejo and Héroes de Nacozari. It is located along Avenida de los Insurgentes, near Eje Central. The station's pictogram represents the nearby Monumento a la Raza, a pyramid-shaped structure dedicated to la Raza, Mexico's diverse native peoples and cultures. The facilities at La Raza metro station are partially accessible to people with disabilities as there are braille signage plates. The station has an Internet café, a library, and a mural titled Monstruos de fin de milenio, painted by Ariosto Otero Reyes. Outside, there is a bicycle parking station and a transportation hub.
In 2019, the station had an average daily ridership of 40,937 passengers. Since its opening, the station has experienced some incidents, including a shooting and a train crash in the northbound tunnel, where one person died and 106 others were injured.

## Location and layout

La Raza is a metro transfer station in the Gustavo A. Madero borough, in northern Mexico City. The Line 3 station is situated below Avenida de los Insurgentes, while the Line 5 station lies along the intersection of Leoncavallo and Paganini Streets, near Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas. The station serves the colonias (neighborhoods) of Héroes de Nacozari and Vallejo. Its pictogram depicts the Monumento a la Raza, a pyramid-shaped construction erected in 1940 in honor of la Raza, an ethnic movement by Mexico's indigenous peoples. Within the system, it is followed by Potrero and Tlatelolco stations on Line 3 and Autobuses del Norte and Misterios stations on Line 5.
The station has five exits. To the northwest and southwest, passengers can enter Line 3 from Avenida de los Insurgentes in Colonia Vallejo. To the west, the Line 3 exit connects to Avenida de los Insurgentes in Colonia Héroes de Nacozari. On Line 5, The north exit provides access to Calle Leoncavallo and Calle Paganini in Colonia Vallejo, while the south exit leads to Calle Paganini. The station facilities offer accessibility for people with disabilities, featuring braille plates.
The area is serviced by a Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM), a type of transportation hub covering 19,544 square meters (210,370 sq ft). From there, commuters can access various routes and modes of transportation. Among the available options are Lines 1 and 3 of the Mexico City Metrobús system, Line IV of the Mexibús system, Line 1 (formerly Line A) of the trolleybus network, Routes 11-A, 12, 23, 27-A, and 103 of the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros network, and Routes 7-D, 20-C, and 20-D of the city's public bus network. Street stalls are found in the CETRAM.

## History and construction

The passenger transfer tunnel that connects Line 3 with Line 5 has an approximate length of 600 m (2,000 ft), and is the second-longest in the system after Atlalilco metro station, which connects Lines 8 and 12 (the Green and Golden lines, respectively), whose length is 880 m (2,890 ft). Inside the station, there is an Internet café, a help desk, and a library.

### Line 3

The line was built by Ingeniería de Sistemas de Transportes Metropolitano, Electrometro, and Cometro, the latter being a subsidiary of Empresas ICA. It opened on 20 November 1970. La Raza metro station became its temporary northern terminal on 25 August 1978 providing service southward toward Hospital General metro station. Northern service toward Indios Verdes metro station began on 1 December 1979.
The station was built underground, and the stretch between La Raza and Potrero transitions from the underground level to the grade level. Its length is 1,106 meters (3,629 ft). The opposite tunnel toward Tlatelolco is 1,445 m (4,741 ft) long.
In August 2016, the Government of Mexico City installed a bicycle parking station outside the station.

### Line 5

Cometro built the line, which was inaugurated on 19 December 1981. The station opened on 1 July 1982, the first day of service for the western expansion from Consulado metro station to La Raza. The station was built at grade level and served as a temporary terminus station. The line was later extended northwest toward Politécnico metro station on 30 August 1982. The section between La Raza and Autobuses del Norte is 975 m (3,199 ft) long, while the opposite one toward Misterios is 892 m (2,927 ft) long, and goes from the street level to the underground one.
In 2008, Metro authorities carried out maintenance work on the station's roof.

### Incidents

The station floods during periods of heavy rainfall.
On 28 September 1995, Ernesto Cruz Jiménez, a police officer from Huixquilucan, State of Mexico, entered a parked train and shot seven passengers, killing two. After being arrested, Cruz stated that he was feeling depressed. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Following the incident, the Government of Mexico City installed walk-through metal detectors in the metro system.
On 7 January 2023, at 09:16 CST (UTC−6), two trains crashed between La Raza and Potrero interstation tunnel, resulting in one death and 106 injuries. Both trains were heading northbound toward Indios Verdes metro station. Service between Indios Verdes and Guerrero metro stations was temporarily suspended. Twenty days later, the Attorney General's Office of Mexico City attributed the accident to two reasons: reported cable theft the day before and negligent driving by the operator for failing to deactivate the autopilot and not driving in manual mode in the theft zone, as indicated by the procedure manual. Subsequently, the Mexico City government deployed members of the National Guard to monitor metro stations, claiming—without providing evidence—that opponents sabotaged the system. After the accident, a metro driver published a video about how the tunnels look due to the lack of lighting in multiple areas.

### Ridership

According to the data provided by the authorities, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, commuters averaged per year between 30,700 and 32,900 on Line 3 daily entrances between 2014 and 2019 and 9,500 and 10,500 daily entrances on Line 5 during the same period.
In 2019, the station's total ridership reached 14,942,281 passengers. Of this, Line 3, saw 11,364,171 passenger entries (31,134 passengers per day), marking a decrease of 397,769 passengers compared to 2018. For Line 5, the station had a ridership of 3,578,110 (9,803 passengers per day), reflecting a decrease of 46,541 compared to 2018.
In 2019 specifically, the Line 3 station ranked as the 38th busiest of the system's 195 stations and the sixth busiest on the line. The Line 5 station ranked 155th in the system and was the fifth busiest on the line.
Annual passenger ridership (Line 3) :
| Year | Ridership | Average daily | Rank | % change |
| 2023 | 9,077,998 | 24,871 | 29/195 | +2.30% |
| 2022 | 8,873,704 | 24,311 | 26/195 | +41.34% |
| 2021 | 6,278,397 | 17,201 | 33/195 | −7.90% |
| 2020 | 6,817,252 | 18,626 | 33/195 | −40.01% |
| 2019 | 11,364,171 | 31,134 | 38/195 | −3.38% |
| 2018 | 11,761,940 | 32,224 | 35/195 | −0.50% |
| 2017 | 11,820,693 | 32,385 | 36/195 | +5.19% |
| 2016 | 11,237,304 | 30,703 | 43/195 | −5.01% |
| 2015 | 11,830,310 | 32,411 | 36/195 | −1.20% |
| 2014 | 11,974,008 | 32,805 | 36/195 | −3.37% |
| Historical annual passenger ridership ||||||
| 2009 | 14,795,131 | 40,534 | 19/175 | — |
Annual passenger ridership (Line 5) :
| Year | Ridership | Average daily | Rank | % change |
| 2023 | 3,418,439 | 9,365 | 124/195 | +15.00% |
| 2022 | 2,972,607 | 8,144 | 133/195 | +23.14% |
| 2021 | 2,414,062 | 6,613 | 125/195 | +8.25% |
| 2020 | 2,230,054 | 6,093 | 146/195 | −37.68% |
| 2019 | 3,578,110 | 9,803 | 155/195 | −1.28% |
| 2018 | 3,624,651 | 9,930 | 154/195 | −0.37% |
| 2017 | 3,638,243 | 9,967 | 152/195 | +4.42% |
| 2016 | 3,484,215 | 9,519 | 151/195 | −8.53% |
| 2015 | 3,809,245 | 10,436 | 136/195 | +2.41% |
| 2014 | 3,719,585 | 10,190 | 139/195 | −3.96% |
| Historical annual passenger ridership ||||||
| 2009 | 3,668,032 | 10,049 | 126/175 | — |

## Landmarks
### El túnel de la ciencia

The El túnel de la ciencia Museum (lit. transl. The Tunnel of Science) is the longest permanent exposition in the world. Science and astronomy pictures and information are displayed on the walls located inside the transfer tunnel. It was inaugurated on 30 November 1988, becoming the first Latin American scientific exhibition installed in a public transport location. Its purpose is to provide scientific information to passengers, particularly aimed at young people, many of whom are studentsat the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN).
The tunnel covers an area of 6,177 square meters (66,490 sq ft) and features images of autumn sky constellations, planets and satellites, the Milky Way, and, in the middle of the tunnel, there is a drawn-to-scale representation of the celestial sphere displaying the 12 zodiac constellations, drawn with luminous paint. The exhibition was installed by Universum, UNAM's science museum. It is estimated that 60,000 people visit it with the guided tour service. In 2018, the Institute of Astronomy of the UNAM [es] remodeled the tunnel.

### Other exhibitions

On 25 November 2008, the Metro authorities installed the 1997 mural Monstruos de fin de milenio (lit. transl. Monsters from the End of the Millennium), which was painted and donated to the metro system by Mexican painter Ariosto Otero Reyes [es].
In June 2015, the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) of the IPN exhibited multiple human brains, showcasing their anatomy, and some injuries they had suffered. In April 2016, the Geology Museum of the UNAM [es] displayed rocks, fossils, minerals, and a shark jaw. In June 2016, the system featured an exhibition of 80 preserved human body parts by the Tominaga Nakamoto University, a display of 50 sculptures by Nour Kuri representing human bodies, and six photographs by Duilio Rodríguez representing pain.
In May and June 2018, La Raza metro station hosted exhibitions by Manuel de la Cera, Norma Patiño, Teresa Olalde, and the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM)'s LibroFest. From 21 August to 15 October 2018, the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SAGARPA) and the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) presented an exhibition in the tunnel focused on bees and their ecological importance. In 2020, the station temporarily displayed pictures, landscapes, and sculptures created by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger.