Balbuena metro station

Balbuena metro stationTemplate:Efn is a station of the Mexico City Metro in the city's borough of Venustiano Carranza. It is an underground stop with two side platforms serving Line 1 (Pink Line) between Moctezuma and Boulevard Puerto Aéreo. It was inaugurated on 4 September 1969, and opened the following day, providing service west toward Chapultepec and service east toward Zaragoza.

Balbuena metro station services the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (neighborhoods) of Jardín Balbuena and Moctezuma 1ª sección, along Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza. Its pictogram depicts the silhouette of four four-petaled flowers, symbolizing the Balbuena Garden in the neighborhood of the same name, from which the station takes its name. The station facilities offer accessibility for people with disabilities, featuring elevators, escalators, tactile pavings and wheelchair ramps. Outside, there is a transportation hub servicing local bus routes.

It was closed from July 2022 to October 2023 due to modernization works on the tunnel and the line's technical equipment. In 2025, Balbuena metro station had an average daily ridership of 5,096 passengers, ranking it the 167th busiest station in the network.

Location and layout

Template:Stack Balbuena is an underground metro station located along Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza, in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City.<ref name=metro/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The stop serves two {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (neighborhoods), Jardín Balbuena and Moctezuma 1ª sección. The station's pictogram depicts the silhouette of four four-petaled flowers, representing the nearby Balbuena Garden park, which was named after Bernardo de Balbuena, a Spanish poet known for his work "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}" ("The Grandeur of Mexico").<ref name=metro/>

Balbuena metro station has two exits leading to Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza. The north exit is near Calle 17 in Colonia Moctezuma 1ª sección, and the south one at the corner of Avenida de la Portilla in Colonia Jardín Balbuena.<ref name="metro"/> The building offers accessible service for people with disabilities with elevators, escalators, wheelchair ramps and tactile pavings.<ref name=metro/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Balbuena metro station is located between Moctezuma and Boulevard Puerto Aéreo stations on the line.<ref name="metro">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The area receives service from the adjacent {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (CETRAM), the stop's transportation hub, which connects to various transit routes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History and construction

Line 1 of the Mexico City Metro was built by Ingeniería de Sistemas de Transportes Metropolitano, Electrometro and Cometro, the latter being a subsidiary of Empresas ICA.<ref name=ingenet1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its first section, where Balbuena metro station is located, was inaugurated on 4 September 1969, running from Chapultepec to Zaragoza metro stations, and opened to the general public the following day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The tunnel between Balbuena and Boulevard Puerto Aéreo spans Template:Convert, while the section towards Moctezuma measures Template:Convert.<ref name=long>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Balbuena metro station underwent renovation works in 2016, which included the installation of antibacterial porcelain panels and LED lighting. In addition, leaks were sealed and electrical panels were replaced as part of the upgrade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The station was closed on 11 July 2022 for modernization work on the line’s tunnel and technical equipment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After fifteen months of renovations, authorities reopened Balbuena station on 29 October 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Excélsior reported in July 2024 that all the modernized stations had leaks of varying dimensions, with containers placed under the leaks at Balbuena station. Authorities had previously stated that these leaks would be sealed during the 2022 modernization works.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Incidents

On 20 January 2021, the station experienced a sewage flood due to a sump system failure attributed to power outages caused by the Central Control Center fire that had occurred two weeks earlier.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ridership

Template:Stack According to the data provided by the authorities, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, commuters averaged per year between 12,400 and 14,000 daily entrances between 2015 and 2019. The station had a ridership of 2,161,715 passengers in 2024 following its reopening. In the same year, Balbuena metro station ranked as the 167th busiest station out of the system's 195 stations.<ref name=passnrank22-present/>

colspan="6" style="background-color:#Template:Rcr; font-size:110%; text-align:center;"| Template:WhiteTemplate:Efn
Year	Ridership	Average daily	Rank	% change	Ref.
2024	2,161,715	5,096	167/195	Template:Change	<ref name=passnrank22-present/>
2023	375,147	1,027	187/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2022	1,606,016	4,400	164/195	Template:Change	<ref name=passnrank22-present/>
2021	2,246,042	6,153	131/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020	2,734,008	7,469	125/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	4,902,639	13,431	133/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	4,791,005	13,126	130/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2017	4,551,153	12,468	132/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2016	4,942,850	13,505	125/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2015	5,095,489	13,960	118/195	Template:Change	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

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