Subscribe
February 5, 2026|Commuter/Regional

Mexico City–Toluca Commuter Line Completed

Written by Robert Preston, Associate Editor, International Railway Journal
(Mexican Government Photograph)
(Mexican Government Photograph)
The final section between Observatorio and Santa Fe was opened by the President of Mexico.

The long-running project to build a 35.9-mile (57.7-kilometer) commuter line between Mexico City and Toluca was completed on Feb. 2 when the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, opened the final 5.2-mile (8.4-kilometer) section from Observatorio to Santa Fe.

The project has required a total of investment of $5.79 billion (Pesos 100 billion), according to the Mexican government. Tendering for the project began in 2014 when the new line was expected to open in 2017.

The final section starts at the Observatorio terminus where there are three platforms. Interchange is provided with Observatorio station on Line 1 of the Mexico City metro. There is one intermediate station at Vasco de Quiroga, and other major civil works included the construction of a 563-yard- (515-meter-) long double cantilever cable-stayed bridge.

The completed Mexico City–Toluca line has a total of seven stations, including Lerma, Tecnológico (Aeropuerto), and Pino Suárez between Santa Fe and Toluca Centro. It is expected to carry up to 140,000 passengers per day, with trains operating every 12 minutes and providing an end-to-end journey time of less than 60 minutes compared with 2 hours 30 minutes by road.

The fleet comprises 20 109-yard- (100-meter-) long EMUs, each able to accommodate up to 719 passengers at a maximum speed of 99 mph (160 kph). Rolling stock has been supplied by CAF as the leader of a consortium, also comprising Thales, Isolux-Corsán and Azvi, which in December 2014 was awarded a $815 million (€690 million) contract to supply railway systems, including traction power supply and substations. CAF Signaling has supplied ERTMS, ATO and the control center.

As of Jan. 30, the Santa Fe–Toluca section had been in operation for 869 days, its five stations handling a total of 15 million passengers at an average of 22,000 per day, the busiest stations being Santa Fe and Toluca Centro. The eight trains in service had covered more than 3.1 million miles (5 million kilometers).

“This is not only a train that travels from Toluca to Mexico City, but it is also a completely different vision of recovering public space and integrating working-class neighborhoods into a world-class transport system,” Sheinbaum said.

Further Reading: