Line 5, also known as the Yellow Line from its color on the system map, is a rapid transit line of the Mexico City Metro network. It travels 15.6 km along the boroughs of Gustavo A. Madero, Cuauhtémoc and Venustiano Carranza in northern, northeastern and eastern Mexico City, serving thirteen stations. The line was inaugurated on 19 December 1981, going from Pantitlán to Consulado station. In 1982, the line was expanded twice, first from Consulado to La Raza station on 1 July, and later from La Raza to Politécnico station on 30 August. Line 5 was built by Mexican construction company Empresas ICA and it runs at grade and underground levels. The interchange stations are Instituto del Petróleo (Line 6), La Raza (Line 3), Consulado (Line 4), Oceanía (Line B), and Pantitlán (Lines 1, 9 and A). The line serves the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) at Terminal Aérea station and connects with other transport systems in the city, including the trolleybus, the Metrobús and the Mexibús systems. In 2019, Line 5 had a total ridership of 86,512,999 passengers, averaging 237,021 passengers per day and making it one of the least used lines on the network.

History and construction

Line 5 of the Mexico City Metro was built in early 1980s by Cometro, a subsidiary of Empresas ICA. The line was inaugurated on 19 December 1981 and originally ran from Pantitlán (in Venustiano Carranza) to Consulado station (in the limits of Venustiano Carranza and Gustavo A. Madero), with seven operative stations and a 9.154 km long track. Pantitlán, Oceanía, Aragón, Eduardo Molina and Consulado stations were built at-grade level, while Hangares and Terminal Aérea were built underground. Between Consulado and Eduardo Molina a station named Simón Bolivar was planned but never built due to budget constraints. The line was expanded northbound to La Raza station, in Gustavo A. Madero, slightly passing through the Cuauhtémoc borough at Misterios station. Valle Gómez and Misterios stations were built underground, while La Raza was built at-grade level. The expansion was opened on 1 July 1982. The second and last expansion was northbound toward Politécnico station, in Gustavo A. Madero with all the stations built at grade, and it was opened on 30 August 1982. During the early excavations, a road that connected Tenochtitlan with the Tepeyac hill was found in the Valle Gómez–Misterios stretch. The road was built with materials dated from the Mesoamerican Postclassic Period. In Peñon de los Baños (near Terminal Aérea station), workers found the remains of mamuts, bisons, horses, camels, birds and fishes, as well as a Teotihuacan settlement. In 2015, during an evening with heavy rain and hail, two trains crashed while both were going toward Politécnico station. One person indirectly died and twelve others resulted injured. In 2021, the whole line ceased operations for three days after a fire occurred on the STC's Central Control Center.

Planned expansion

During the 1980s and 1990s, it was proposed to expand Line 5 northbound to the municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz, in the State of Mexico. The expansion was proposed again for the 2018 master plan, and if built it would connect with the Tren Suburbano's Tlalnepantla Station.

Rolling stock

Line 5 has had different types of rolling stock. As of August 2021, 25 trains are operating in the line, with a combination of MP-68 (Mexico City Metro) (coded as MP-68R93) and NM-73 (Mexico City Metro) (coded as NM-73AR) rubber-tired metro trains. The MP-68 trains were built in 1968 in France by Alstom and they were modeled after the MP 59 trains on the Paris Metro. With a service life of 25 years, all the MP-68 trains were restored and refurbished by Bombardier in 1993. The second type, the NM-73 model, were built in 1973 in Mexico by Concarril with the supervision of Alstom. Both models received further restoration works in 2016. Other models that have operated at Line 5 and have been removed from circulation there include the MP-68R96C, the NM-79 (Mexico City Metro), the NC-82 (Mexico City Metro) and the NM-83 (Mexico City Metro).

Route

Politécnico station, the northern terminus of the line, lies next to Eje Central Avenue (at the section named 100 Metros Avenue), near the National Polytechnic Institute main campus. The line heads southeast along the avenue to Instituto del Petróleo station, serving the Mexican Petroleum Institute. The track continues to Autobuses del Norte station, located next to the city's Northern Bus Terminal (Mexico City). As the line reaches La Raza station, it moves from Eje Central to Circuito Interior (at the section named Río Consulado Avenue), entering the first tunnel toward two underground stations: Misterios, near Calzada de los Misterios, and Valle Gómez, in the neighborhood of the same name. The line goes back to the surface to avoid a conflict with the underground Consulado River and reaches Consulado station. It continues along the avenue to Eduardo Molina and Aragón stations until the intersection of Circuito Interior and Oceanía Avenue where Oceanía station is located. Circuito Interior changes its section name from Río Consulado Avenue to Puerto Aéreo Boulevard. From there, the line goes under another tunnel toward Terminal Aérea station, which serves the city's airport. The track moves from Puerto Aéreo Boulevard to Eje 1 Norte, at the section named Fuerza Aérea Avenue, and arrives at Hangares station, located next to the airport's hangars. The line continues and leaves the tunnel; Eje 1 Norte changes to the next section, named Miguel Lebrija Avenue, and reaches the southeastern terminal of Pantitlán, where it connects with three other metro lines.

Station list

The stations from east to north-west:

Pictograms

[[File:Pictograms of Line 5 of the Mexico City Metro.svg|alt=Pictograms of the Mexico City Metro Line 5|thumb| Top, from left to right: Pantitlán, Hangares, Terminal Aérea, Oceanía Center top, from left to right: Aragón, Eduardo Molina, Consulado, Valle Gómez Center bottom, from left to right: Misterios, La Raza, Autobuses del Norte, Instituto del Petróleo Bottom: Politécnico ]] Like the rest of the system, Line 5 stations have pictograms. Most of them allude to elements surrounding their respective areas. The term "Pantitlán", which derives from the Nahuatl "between flags" and has pre-Hispanic origins, refers to the region in which flags were erected to mark specific locations of Lake Texcoco where boat navigation was hazardous due to the rapid currents. Hangares features a biplane inside a hangar since it is located adjacent to the Mexico City International Airport's hangars. Terminal Aérea displays a control tower and an airliner to reference the airport's main metro station. Oceanía is named after Oceanía Avenue; thus, the authorities selected a kangaroo to represent the continent. Aragón station shows a squirrel, an animal typically found in parks. At the time of its opening, the station was the closest to San Juan de Aragón Park. Eduardo Molina station is named after the namesake avenue and its pictogram features two hands holding water, referencing the mural El agua, origen de la vida by Diego Rivera, painted inside the main building of the Cárcamo de Dolores, a hydraulic sump designed by Ricardo Rivas and Eduardo Molina. The logo for Consulado station depicts a water duct, representing the ducted part of the underground river of the same name. Valle Gómez station is named after the namesake neighborhood, where agave plants grew. Misterios station is named after the Calzada de los Misterios Avenue, whose main attractions are multiple hermitages featuring the Mysteries of the Rosary; the station is represented by one of those buildings. La Raza station's logo represents the Monumento a la Raza pyramid, found nearby the station. Autobuses del Norte station displays an intercity bus as it is adjacent to the city's North Bus station. Instituto del Petróleo is named after the Mexican Petroleum Institute headquarters and it is represented by an oil derrick. Politécnico station is found near the National Polytechnic Institute; thus, it displays a stylized version of the institution's logotype.

Ridership

According to the data provided by the authorities since the 2000s, Line 5 is one of the least used of the system. In 2019, the line registered 86,512,999 entrances, averaging 237,021 commuters per day. Pantitlán is the busiest station on the line—and one of the busiest of the system—averaging 100,260 entrances that year; in contrast, Consulado, Hangares and Valle Gómez stations averaged fewer than 5,000 passengers per day and consistently rank among the least used on the Metro network.