Streetcars in Mexico City
Mexico City once had a large streetcar network that mostly started from the Zócalo, the city’s central square, and went to many parts of the city. By the 1980s only one streetcar line remained, and in 1986 it was converted into the Xochimilco Light Rail line.
In the early 1800s the city needed better transportation. Since the 1830s people tried to build a railway. In 1856 an American, George Louis Hammeken, was given a concession to build an animal-powered street railway from the Zócalo to Tacubaya. The Ferrocarril de Tacubaya opened on January 1, 1858. On July 4, 1858 the president opened the first railway line between Mexico City and Villa Guadalupe.
In 1868 the Ferrocarril de Chalco opened a second street railway to Tacubaya along Avenida Chapultepec, and it was later extended to San Ángel and Tlalpan in 1869, though not to Chalco itself. The Tacubaya line also started a second line to Popotla near the Tacuba area.
Over time different companies ran the rails. The Compañía de Ferrocarriles del Distrito Federal began in 1878, building animal-powered lines and controlling the network until 1901. In 1882 it was reorganized and absorbed much of the network. By 1890 the company had about 3000 mules, 600 cars, and 200 kilometers of track. Lines stretched north to Tlalnepantla, south to Tlalpan, and east to Peñón de los Baños.
In 1896 the city government approved switching from animal power to electric power, but the change did not happen right away while studies were done. The electric streetcar service, called Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos (STE), was created in 1947 to replace the private company.
Electric streetcars began on January 15, 1900, between Chapultepec and Tacubaya. Animal-powered streetcars continued for about another thirty years. On March 1, 1901 the Compañía de Tranvías Eléctricos de México took ownership of the network. In 1909 the first phase of the Necaxa Dam helped expand the system.
On February 21, 1953, a crash on the La Venta line led to its closure and later STE also closed the Coyoacán, Iztapalapa, Lerdo, and Tizapán lines. In 1969 Mexico City Metro Line 1 opened, replacing the streetcar line along Avenida Chapultepec, and in 1970 Metro Line 2 opened, replacing the northern part of the Xochimilco streetcar line.
By 1976 the streetcar network had shrunk to 156 kilometers (97 miles) with only three lines, as new roads were built and trolleybuses were chosen over streetcars. The last line, Tasqueña–Xochimilco, used PCC cars until 1984. The 1985 earthquake damaged many cars, and the system was upgraded to the Xochimilco Light Rail line, which opened in stages from 1986 to 1988.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:34 (CET).