Observatorio is an under-reconstruction

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on Mexico City Metro Line 1. It is located in the

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 19 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) was a Mexican general, inventor and politician who served as the 46th President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. Obregón was re-elected to the presidency in 1928 but was assassinated b ...

borough of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, west of the city centre. When operational it is the western terminus of Line 1. Before its shutdown for reconstruction, the station had an average ridership of 72,296 passengers per day, making it the eighth busiest station in the network. The station will become the terminal station of Line 12. The station will also connect with

Observatorio railway station ''El Insurgente'' () is a commuter rail line between the State of Mexico and Mexico City that is partially operational. Also known as Interurban Train Mexico City–Toluca, the passenger railway line will connect the cities of Toluca, Mexic ...

of the

El Insurgente ''El Insurgente'' () is a commuter rail line between the State of Mexico and Mexico City that is partially operational. Also known as Interurban Train Mexico City–Toluca, the passenger railway line will connect the cities of Toluca and Me ...

commuter rail system. Since 9 November 2023, part of the Line has remained closed for modernization work on the tunnel and the line's technical equipment. Observatorio metro station was mostly demolished by December 2023. The station will be reconstructed to facilitate the access between the Line 1, Line 12 and the El Insurgente stations.

Name and iconography

The station logo represents the stylised dome of an astronomical observatory. It is named after an observatory that was built by the

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

at the top of a hill near the station. However, due to the

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of any unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting sources, during the ...

that came as a consequence of urban growth hardly any observations were done in the observatory, and thus it was transformed into a

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

. Previously on the site was a colonial palace that belonged to the city's

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

General information

This station is one of the most important metro terminus in the city. It serves Mexico City's western bus depot, which connects with areas of western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

such as

México state The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mos ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

and others. The Observatorio

Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Greater Mexico City, the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in the State of Mexico. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is the Lis ...

station is the 1st station of Line 1 and the

system. Service at this station began on 10 June 1972. This Mexico City Metro train station is at ground level. The trains take passengers to

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a Poverty in Mexico, working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo. The ''colonia (Mexico), colonia'' Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. ...

, Juanacatlán, Chapultepec, Sevilla, Insurgentes, Cuáuhtemoc, Balderas, Salto del Agua, Isabel la Catolica, Pino Suárez, Merced, Candelaria, San Lazaro, Moctezuma, Balbuena, Boulevard Puerto Aéreo, Gómez Farías, Zaragoza, and Pantitlán

stations. Originally Line 9 had its plans to end here, even pictograms in Line 1 showed this station as a transfer station for Line 9. But for an unknown reason the station was not built and the Line 9 finished at Tacubaya. In 2017, Toluca-Mexico City commuter rail started test trains and will enter full service by 2025.

Ridership

Future

Observatorio will be the eastern terminus for

commuter rail when the line commences regular service, projected to begin its service in 2025. As of March 2021, an extension of Line 12 to Observatorio is under construction, which will connect it with Line 1. The new Line 12 station is expected to open by 2021. As of 2018, the connection from Line 9

station towards Observatorio is planned, but a completion date has not been announced. This would make Observatorio, together with

, Chabacano and Pantitlán, the only transfer stations in the

network to have connections with three lines, in this case Line 1, Line 9 and Line 12. In October 2020, Mexico City's government announced a project to renovate the Observatorio area and to build a terminal that will allow users to transfer between

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

, commuter rail and other public transportation services. It has been projected to be used by a million people every day and will be the most important complex of this type in Latin America. Works are expected to be finished by the end of 2024.

Exits

*Northeast: Av. Minas de Arena, Col. Pino Suárez *Northwest: Av. Minas de Arena, Col. Pino Suárez *Southeast: Real del Monte street, Col. Pino Suárez *Southwest: Real del Monte street, Col. Pino Suárez

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mexico City Metro stations in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City Railway stations in Mexico opened in 1972 Observatorio Mexico City Metro Line 12 stations Accessible Mexico City Metro stations Railway stations scheduled to open in 2026 Proposed railway stations in Mexico