“Historic Day” – Final Section of El Insurgente Train Inaugurated

ByNéstor Jiménez, Alonso Urrutia and Nayelli Ramírez

This article by Néstor Jiménez, Alonso Urrutia and Nayelli Ramírez originally appeared in the February 3, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

The wait was long, but yesterday it finally ended. The Insurgent Train took 4,228 days – since 2014 – to complete its journey from the Toluca metropolitan area to the Observatorio Metro station in Mexico City.

President Claudia Sheinbaum opted for a simple and quick ceremonial act to cut the inaugural ribbon and witness the “historic day”.

Without delay, together with the head of government, Clara Brugada, and the governor of the State of Mexico, Delfina Gómez, he made the first tour of the last two stations that were opened to the public in the afternoon: Vasco de Quiroga and Observatorio.

After the morning press conference, which was held yesterday at the headquarters of the National Film Archive, in the Fourth Section of Chapultepec, the President rushed to lead the first trip on this stretch.

She only paused for a few minutes to enjoy the traditional tamales for Candlemas Day, which were already ready for all the guests, including federal and city officials, and representatives of the companies that participated in the project.

Following this, with a smile that showed satisfaction at finishing a project that took almost 12 years to materialize, she approached El Insurgente at the Vasco de Quiroga station, a symbolic point, since it was not part of the project made by the then government of the PRI member Enrique Peña Nieto.

With its carriages completely full of guests and reporters, the train headed to Observatorio, and then back to Santa Fe. The route, which usually requires navigating heavy traffic to reach one of the country’s main economic and business districts, took only a few minutes.

As she passed by, some people leaned out of their windows to wave. From the Army Mounted and Honor Guard facilities, the troops, most of them on horseback, stopped to give a military salute as the President advanced.

The service for the public began at 4 p.m., but from early in the morning, and given the uncertainty of when they could enter, dozens of people, many coming from as far away as Hidalgo or Oaxaca, arrived at the inauguration with the intention of also making the trip; several decided to wait for hours until the doors opened.

Others came to express their support for the president and “just to meet her,” as Mr. Lucio Romero, from Nezahualcóyotl, said.

Residents of nearby neighborhoods, such as Molino Santo Domingo, arrived as early as 9 a.m., but upon learning that the service would not yet be available, they postponed their trip for another day.

Outside the Observatorio station, hundreds of people waited patiently to enter. As the clock approached 4 p.m., they chanted the countdown: “five, four, three, two, one,” as the doors opened amid cheers and shouts of “Long live Mexico!”

The Collective Transportation System (STC) Metro deployed brigades, with groups of between five and 10 people, to assist users of the Observatorio terminal of line 1, and to guide those heading to El Insurgente.