Indios Verdes metro station is a station of the Mexico City Metro along Avenida de los Insurgentes, in Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City. It is an at-grade station with two island platforms serving as the northern terminus of Line 3 (the Olive Line). It is followed by Deportivo 18 de Marzo metro station. Indios Verdes metro station was inaugurated on 1 December 1979 providing southward service toward Hospital General metro station. The station services the colonias (neighborhoods) of Residencial Zacatenco and Santa Isabel Tola. The station and surrounding area are named after the verdigris statues of Itzcoatl and Ahuitzotl, both Aztec rulers. Located in the nearby Parque Mestizaje, these statues are collectively known as the Monumento a los Indios Verdes, and their silhouettes are depicted in the pictogram. The station facilities are accessible to people with disabilities featuring tactile pavings and braille signage plates. The station is commonly ranked among the busiest in the system. In 2019, it recorded an average daily ridership of 107,376 passengers, making it the third-busiest station overall and the busiest on its line.

Location and station layout

Indios Verdes is an at-grade metro station located along Avenida de los Insurgentes in the colonias ("neighborhoods") of Residencial Zacatenco and Santa Isabel Tola, in Gustavo A. Madero, in northern Mexico City. The railyard and the line's workshop, known as Ticomán, are located adjacent to the station. The station has four exits: one to the northeast and northwest, and one to the southeast and southwest. The station offers a partially disabled-accessible service with tactile pavings and braille signage plates. Within the system, Deportivo 18 de Marzo is the next station. Street stalls abound in the CETRAM, where commuters can purchase street food, clothing, accessories, flowers, gifts, and phone accessories. According to the vendors themselves, there are about 1,000 stalls. The area is serviced by a Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM), a transportation hub covering 91,785 m2. From there, commuters can access various routes and modes of transportation. Among the available options are Lines 1, 3, and 7 of the Metrobús bus rapid transit (BRT) system, Line IV of the Mexibús BRT system, Line 1 of the Cablebús aerial lift network, and Line 2 of the Mexicable aerial lift network. The station facilities offer accessibility for people with disabilities, featuring elevators, escalators and tactile pavings. Local buses departing from the area include Routes 101, 101-A, 101-B, 101-D, 102, 107-B, and 108 of the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros network. Additionally, as of 2017, there were 28 pesero routes (bus and minibus routes) originating from various locations within the city and the metropolitan area.

History and construction

Line 3 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. Indios Verdes metro station opened as the line's northern terminal on 1 December 1979, running toward Hospital General metro station. The section between Indios Verdes and Deportivo 18 de Marzo station is 1166 m long. Originally, Line 8 (which runs from downtown Mexico City to Constitución de 1917 station in Iztapalapa) was planned to extend from Pantitlán in eastern Mexico City to Indios Verdes station. However, the project was canceled due to potential structural issues it would have caused near the Zócalo area, as it was intended to interchange with Line 2 at Zócalo station. The plan for Line 8 was later modified to run from Indios Verdes to Constitución de 1917 station. But its construction did not progress beyond Garibaldi / Lagunilla metro station, which has served as its provisional terminal since 1994. The station's CETRAM began reorganization in 2020. The project plan included demolishing the Metrobús station serving Lines 1 and 3, as well as the temporary Mexibús station, and relocating both next to the metro station building. It also aimed to reorganize the bus hub and facilitate connections between the stations through a series of pedestrian bridges linking them to the Cablebús, Metrobús Line 7, and Mexicable services. As of September 2024, the Metrobús, Mexibús, and Cablebús projects have been completed.

Name and pictogram

The station is named after the verdigris statues of two Aztec rulers, Tlatoque Itzcoatl and Ahuitzotl, collectively known as the Monumento a los Indios Verdes (Green Indians Monument). The station's pictogram features silhouettes of these statues. In April 2023, Adriana Espinosa de los Monteros, a representative for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party in the Congress of Mexico City, proposed renaming the metro station to Estación Emperadores Mexicas because she considers the term Indian is derogatory, discriminatory, and "[is still used to hurt] the sensitivity of the recipient by considering [indigenous peoples] inferior due to their poverty or indigenous background". She argued that the change is necessary "to respect the spirit of the Political Constitution of Mexico City". The proposed renaming would apply only to the metro station and does not mention any adjacent stations or the Monumento a los Indios Verdes. Transport operators in the area have stated that the change would be unnecessary and that it would not affect commuters or how they refer to the station.

Incidents

Around 7:30 in the morning on 12 April 2013, an explosion was heard on the stairs leading to CETRAM's I platform, with no injuries or damage reported. Authorities stated that a box containing explosives, cables, pellets, a battery, and a watch was allegedly left on the steps leading to exit I by a man assisted by an accomplice acting as a lookout. On 10 February 10 2021, during a rainy afternoon, an approaching train caught fire on the platform, but no passengers were reported harmed. On 20 April 2021, the third railcar of a train derailed when the driver performed a maneuver at the Ticomán railyard. No injuries were reported, but the train had to be taken out of service. Similarly, on March 30, 2023, another train experienced a comparable incident. Indios Verdes is one of the metro stations that floods most frequently during heavy rain.

Ridership

According to the data provided by the authorities, Indios Verdes metro station is one of the busiest in the system's 195 stations. Before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, commuters averaged per year between 107,376 and 120,800 daily entrances between 2014 and 2019; the station had a ridership of 39,192,273 passengers in 2019, which represented a decrease of 1,109,896 passengers compared to 2018. In 2019 specifically, Indios Verdes metro station ranked as the third busiest of the system and it was the busiest of the line.

Gallery