Metro Línea B Reopens 11 Stations After Trash Fire Damaged Cables
Metro Línea B is running again to Ciudad Azteca after a trash fire cut service at 11 stations for more than 10 hours. What happened and what was repaired.
Línea B of the Metro CDMX is running again along its full length after a fire near the tracks shut down 11 stations on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Service between Buenavista and Ciudad Azteca was restored on Wednesday evening, and all stations are open in both directions, the Metro said.
The outage lasted more than 10 hours, according to sdpnoticias, and cut the link between eastern Mexico City and the Estado de México (the State of Mexico, which surrounds the capital) during a working day. Riders heading to Nezahualcóyotl and Ecatepec faced long lines for replacement buses.
What caused the Línea B shutdown
The fire started in the early hours of Wednesday outside Metro property, between Oceanía and Deportivo Oceanía stations. The Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC, the agency that runs the Metro) said early reports pointed to trash being burned near the rail infrastructure, Publimetro and TV Azteca reported.
The flames reached high and low voltage cables and equipment that power the trains. They also damaged electronic systems for signaling and automatic train control, according to TV Azteca. Automatic train control, called pilotaje automático in Spanish, is the system that drives and spaces trains on the line.
The 11 stations that lost service
Trains kept running between Buenavista and Oceanía in both directions. The stretch from Deportivo Oceanía to Ciudad Azteca was closed. These were the stations without service:
- Deportivo Oceanía
- Bosque de Aragón
- Villa de Aragón
- Nezahualcóyotl
- Impulsora
- Río de los Remedios
- Múzquiz
- Ecatepec
- Olímpica
- Plaza Aragón
- Ciudad Azteca
While the line was cut, buses from the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros (RTP, the city’s public bus network) carried riders free of charge between Oceanía and Villa de Aragón in both directions.
How crews brought the line back
Metro director general Adrián Rubalcava oversaw the work from Deportivo Oceanía station. He said specialized crews recovered the electrical, automatic train control and telecommunications systems, and that the last step was reconnecting the high-voltage cable that feeds power to the tracks. Rubalcava said the work followed instructions from Clara Brugada, the jefa de Gobierno (Mexico City’s head of government).
Before the line reopened, test trains ran without problems, Rubalcava wrote on social media. He said crews checked the power supply and communication between equipment after repairing the cables and fiber-optic links.
The timing shifted during the day. Rubalcava had set a goal of restoring service before 18:30 on Wednesday, and authorities said at one point that the repairs could run into the evening or night because of how much damage there was. Publimetro reported at the time that full reopening had not yet been officially confirmed, before sdpnoticias reported the Metro’s announcement that the whole line was back in service.
What it means for riders
Línea B is one of the lines that connects the capital with municipalities in the Estado de México, so the closure hit commuters who travel daily between the east of the city and suburbs such as Nezahualcóyotl and Ecatepec. With all stations open, trains are again running from Ciudad Azteca to Buenavista in both directions. During the outage, Publimetro advised riders to check the Metro’s official notices before heading toward Ciudad Azteca.
Sources: Publimetro México, sdpnoticias, TV Azteca
