MEXICO City has confirmed plans to modernise the 23.6km Metro Line 3, with Pesos 5bn ($US 270m) earmarked in the 2026 city budget for the first phase of works. The funding forms part of the wider Pesos 25bn public transport budget.

According to budget documents submitted to the Mexico City Congress, the Line 3 project will receive a further Pesos 3.86bn to fund multi-year contracts covering system-wide maintenance, rolling stock refurbishment, specialist technical advisory services and operations.

Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada Molina, confirms that the project represents a comprehensive renewal of the line, that, unlike the recent upgrade of Line 1, will be delivered without a full closure, allowing passenger services to continue during construction and reducing disruption on the city’s busiest metro line. However, the detailed scope of the project and procurement timelines have yet to be disclosed.

Line 3 runs north-south through the capital, linking Indios Verdes in the north with Universidad in the south, and is regarded as critical to daily transport for commuters, students and workers.

Faster ticket gates

Separately, Mexico City Metro has announced the installation of 146 automated ticket gates ahead of the Fifa World Cup football tournament taking place later this year. The gates are designed to improve passenger throughput at busy locations by remaining open when motion is detected and will be installed across lines 1, 2 and 7 at the following stations:

  • Pino Suárez (lines 1 and 2)
  • Observatorio (Line 1)
  • Tasqueña (Line 2)
  • Zócalo-Tenochtitlán (Line 2)
  • Bellas Artes (Line 2)
  • Hidalgo (Line 2), and
  • Auditorio (Line 7).

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