page_title: Mexico City Metro
section_title: Concept of the Metro and early plans
hierarchical_section_title: Mexico City Metro / History / Concept of the Metro and early plans
caption_attribution_description: Mexico City metro train in station Metro Bellas Artes, decorated with images related to the city
context_page_description: The Mexico City Metro, officially called Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, often shortened to STC, is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in Mexico State. It is the second largest metro system in North America after the New York City Subway. In 2019, the system served 1.655 billion passengers, placing it as the tenth highest ridership in the world.
  The inaugural STC Metro line was 12.7 kilometres long, serving 16 stations, and opened to the public on 4 September 1969. The system has expanded since then in a series of fits and starts. As of 2015, the system has 12 lines, serving 195 stations, and 226.49 kilometres of route. Ten of the lines are rubber-tired; instead of traditional steel wheels, they use pneumatic traction, which are quieter and cope better with Mexico City's unstable soils. The system survived the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.
  Of the STC Metro's 195 stations, 24 serve two or more lines. Many stations are named for historical figures, places, or events in Mexican history. It has 115 underground stations; 54 surface stations and 26 elevated stations. All lines operate from 5 a.m. to midnight.
context_section_description: By the second half of the twentieth century, Mexico City had serious public transport issues, with congested main roads and highways, especially in the downtown zone, where 40 percent of the daily trips in the city were concentrated. 65 of the 91 lines of bus and electric transport served this area. With four thousand units in addition to 150,000 personal automobiles peak hours, the average speed was less than walking pace.
  The principal promoter of the construction of the Mexico City Metro was engineer Bernardo Quintana, who was in charge of the construction company Ingenieros Civiles y Asociados (Spanish for Civil Engineers and Associates). He carried out a series of studies that resulted in a draft plan which would ultimately lead to the construction of the Mexico City Metro. This plan was shown to different authorities of Mexico City but it was not made official until 29 April 1967, when the Government Gazette ("Diario Oficial de la Federación") published the presidential decree that created a public decentralized organism, the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, with the proposal to build, operate and run a rapid transit of subterranean course for the public transport of Mexico City.
  On 19 June 1967, in the crossroad of Chapultepec Avenue with Avenida Bucareli, the inauguration ceremony for the Mexico City Metro took place. Two years later, on 4 September 1969, an orange train made the inaugural trip between stations Zaragoza and Insurgentes, thus beginning daily operation up to today.
caption: Mexico City Metro train in Bellas Artes station, decorated with images related to the city
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