Metrorrey, officially Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Monterrey. It is operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, which is part of the decentralized public administration of Nuevo León. In 2022, it was the sixth largest metro system in North America by ridership.
The inaugural line opened to the public on 25 April 1991 and served 17 stations. it runs parallel to the former 1887 Topo Chico tramline and is grade-separated as it runs on an elevated structure. A complete ride along this line takes about 27 minutes. The two lines are operated jointly.
Construction of Line 3 started in 2013 It was eventually inaugurated on February 27, 2021
Network
thumb|Map of Metrorrey towards 2027, including lines currently under construction (lines 4, 5 and 6).Metrorrey shares characteristics with both a light rail system and a metro system. It utilizes high-floor light rail vehicles, similar to light rail systems, while also operating on a fully grade separated exclusive right-of-way with high passenger volumes, similar to a metro system.
The network primarily operates above-ground, with most of its sections on elevated railway viaducts: of its forty stations, thirty-two are elevated, seven are underground, and one is on the surface. Most of the elevated portions of the network are built along an avenue's median and follow the avenue's path. The underground portions of Lines 2 and 3 also follow the routes of the streets above.
Metrorrey is made up of a variety of different train systems. Lines 1, 2, and 3 are designed as light rail systems, Lines 4 and 6 are designed as monorails, and Line 5 is designed as an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit system.
Map
Hours of operation
On all lines, the first train leaves each terminus station at 5:00 a.m. and the last train leaves at 11:30 p.m., with the network remaining in operation until midnight. Stations open at 4:45 a.m.
On Christmas Eve and New Years' Eve, services end at 11.00 p.m., and on Christmas and New Years' Day, services start at 7.00 a.m.
Ecovía
Metrorrey has one integrated connection with the Ecovía bus rapid transit system, located in Line 1's Mitras station, allowing users to transfer between both systems at no cost. Line 3 has a connection with Ecovía at ; however, unlike Line 1's connection, this one requires users to exit the station, meaning that a fare must be paid when transferring.
Rolling stock
thumb|Interior of an MM-93 train
The Metrorrey system uses 134 high-floor articulated vehicles. Five manufacturers have provided rolling stock for Metrorrey, these being Concarril (MM-90A), There is air conditioning in the MM-93, MM-U3, MM-20, and MM-24 models.
The MM-90, MM-93, MM-05, and MM-20 models can be configured as four-car trains, while the MM-U3 model, due to its smaller size, can be configured as a five-car train. However, due to station platform sizes, three-car configurations are used for the MM-90, MM-93, MM-05, and MM-20 models, and four-car configurations are used for the MM-U3 model.
{| class="wikitable"
!Model
!Image
!Manufacturer
!Capacity
!Fleet<br />size
|-
|MM-90A
|125x125px
|Concarril
|300
|25
|-
|MM-90B
|125x125px
|Bombardier
|300
|23
|-
|
|125x125px
|CAF
|300
|22
|-
|MM-05
|125x125px
|Bombardier
|300
|14
|-
|MM-U3
|125x125px
|Duewag-Talbot
|260
|24
|-
|
|125x125px
|CRRC
|300
|26
|-
|MM-24
|125x125px
|CRRC
|300
|4
|-
|MM-25
|frameless|125x125px
|CRRC
|300
|18
|}
Lines
According to Mexico's National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics, Metrorrey's three lines transported 134.84 million passengers in 2023, which corresponds to an average daily ridership of about 369,000 passengers.
thumb|The logo for the [[Parque Fundidora metro station. Since it is in Line 1, the logo's color is yellow.]]
Each line has a number and color assigned to it. The network adopted the logo system of the Mexico City Metro, with the logo including an icon representing the station's surroundings and the line's corresponding color. Stations serving two or more lines show the respective colors of each line in diagonal stripes. The logos were updated in 2021.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
|+Metrorrey lines
! colspan="2" |Line
!Opened
!Last<br />extension
!Stations<br />served
!Length
!Termini
!Transit<br />type
|-
| class="noresize" |20x20px
| style="text-align:left;" |Line 1
|1991
|2002
|19
|
|Talleres<br />Exposición
|Light rail
|-
|20x20px
| style="text-align:left;" |Line 2
|1994
|2008
|13
|
|Sendero<br />General Zaragoza
|Light rail
|-
|20x20px
| style="text-align:left;" |Line 3
|2021
|
|8
|
|<br />General Zaragoza
|Light rail
|}
Planned lines
Throughout his campaign and in the first months of his term, Governor Samuel García pledged to substantially expand the Metrorrey network during his tenure. In November 2021, García unveiled the planned routes for Lines 4 and 5. The -long Line 4 will connect the Western suburb of Santa Catarina with Downtown Monterrey, while Line 5 will follow a southern route towards the Carretera Nacional area, with an estimated route of .
García furthermore announced that the new lines will predominantly run on an elevated viaduct, which caused some backlash among neighbors in South Monterrey, with calls for an underground system. Line 6 was announced in the wake of this controversy. At long, it is expected to become the longest route in the system, connecting Downtown Monterrey with the suburb of Apodaca.
In all, the expansion plans set forward by Governor García call for of new track and 41 new stations built by 2027, effectively doubling the network's length and number of stations in six years. Lines 4 and 5 will are expected to begin construction in July 2022, at a cost of MXN$19 billion (US$1 billion). The cost for Line 6 has been estimated at MXN$26 billion (US$1.3 billion), with a start date for its construction yet to be announced.
See also
- List of metro systems
- List of Latin American rail transit systems by ridership
- Mexico City Metro
- Xochimilco Light Rail
- Guadalajara light rail system
- Ecovía
References
External links
- Metrorrey – official website
- Monterrey (Metrorrey) at UrbanRail.net
- Siemens Receives Order to Extend the Metro in Monterrey, Mexico
- The Tramways of Monterrey