Polanco metro station[a] is a station of the Mexico City Metro in Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City. It is an underground station with two side platforms served by Line 7 (the Orange Line) between San Joaquín and Auditorio metro stations. It serves the colonia (neighborhood) of Polanco and it is named after it; the pictogram depicts the clock tower located at the nearby Lincoln Park. Polanco station opened on 20 December 1984 with service northward toward Tacuba station and southward toward Auditorio station. In 2019, the station had an average daily ridership of 35,694 passengers, making it the 24th busiest station in the network and the third busiest of the line.

Pictogram of Polanco metro station. It features the silhouette of a clock tower. Polanco
Mexico City Metro
STC rapid transit
Picture of a sign indicating one of the entrances to Polanco station.
Station sign, 2022
General information
LocationHoracio Avenue
Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City
Mexico
Coordinates19°26′01″N 99°11′28″W / 19.4336°N 99.1910°W / 19.4336; -99.1910
Owned byGovernment of Mexico City
Operated bySistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC)
Line(s)Mexico City Metro Line 7 (El RosarioBarranca del Muerto)
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
AccessiblePartial
Other information
StatusIn service
History
Opened20 December 1984
Passengers
20239,694,024[1]Increase 30.04%
Rank26/195[1]
Services
Preceding station Mexico City Metro Following station
San Joaquín
toward El Rosario
Line 7 Auditorio
Location
Polanco is located in Mexico City
Polanco
Pictogram of Polanco metro station. It features the silhouette of a clock tower. Polanco
Location within Mexico City
Map
Area map and exits

The station is one of the deepest on the network and the facilities are partially accessible to people with disabilities as there are elevators. Along with escalators, commuters can use the staircases, including one set that is a giant piano-shaped staircase. The steps are fully interactive as they include motion sensors that produce key sounds whenever their laser detects movement.

Location and layout

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Polanco is a metro station located along Horacio Avenue, in Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City.[2] The station serves the affluent colonia (Mexican Spanish for "neighborhood") of Polanco, benefiting visitors of American Park, Uruguay Square and Presidente Masaryk Avenue, one of the most expensive shopping districts in the country.[3] Within the system, the station lies between San Joaquín and Auditorio stations.[2] It has a partially disabled-accessible service with escalators.[2] These were renovated in 2018 due to their obsolescence.[4]

There are two exits: the west one on the corner of Horacio Avenue and Temístocles Street and the second on the opposite side of Horacio Avenue, on the corner of Arquímedes Street.[2] The area is the most expensive to live in near a metro station as the average 1 m2 (11 sq ft) costs around Mex$94,800 (around US$4,700) as of 2019.[5] The area is serviced by Route 13-D of the city's public bus system[6] and by the Ecobici network.[7]

Landmarks

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The interactive staircase in 2014

In collaboration with the National Polytechnic Institute, authorities of the system decorated the staircase that connects the platforms with the next level to look like a piano. It is composed of 54 steps divided into three sections (that is, it has two landings). The white steps are made of white marble, while the black ones are of black granite.[8] Each white step has a motion sensor that produces a key sound when activated; steps with black keys have two sensors allowing users to produce accidental notes.[9] The inferior part produces low tones while the upper part high tones.[8] It was decided to put laser sensors and not contact sensors due to high ridership. Their service life is five years but it can be extended with appropriate maintenance.[9] The decoration was placed in 2014 to promote the physical stimulation of people.[3][10][11]

Inside the station's lobby, there are four cultural showcases.[2] In 2017, the station was selected to be "emblematic" in order to promote UNESCO's past and future programs in Mexico. The selection was part of the 50th anniversary of operations in the country.[12][13]

History and construction

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Line 7 of the Mexico City Metro was built by Cometro, a subsidiary of Empresas ICA.[14] Its first section opened on 20 December 1984, operating from Tacuba to Auditorio stations.[15] Polanco is an underground station;[16] the Polanco–San Joaquín tunnel is 1,163 meters (3,816 ft) long, while the Polanco–Auditorio section measures 812 meters (2,664 ft).[17] The station's pictogram features the silhouette of the clock tower found in nearby Lincoln Park.[2] The station was named after the neighborhood which in turn was named after a river that runs in the zone. Unofficially, the river was named after Juan Alfonso de Polanco, a Spanish Jesuit priest.[18]

The station is one of the deepest on the network;[3] the staircases compose around 110 steps.[19]

Incidents

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On 16 October 2019, the escalators suddenly stopped, causing four commuters to fall from them, including an 82-year-old man; three of them were taken to a hospital but none of them presented serious injuries.[20] Investigations indicated that two men started a fight on the escalators and, at some point, they provoked the stoppage. After they caused it, both escaped.[21]

On 15 January 2023, two cars separated when the train arrived at the station. Witnesses reported an explosion and subsequent smoke coming out of the affected area; no injuries were reported.[22] The explosion occurred during a period when the Mexico City government was alleging that the transport system was in a state of potential sabotage attacks and "atypical incidents" supposedly perpetrated by the opposition to the Fourth Transformation, the political platform of the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, following the 2023 Mexico City Metro train crash.[23][24] Guillermo Calderón, director of the Mexico City Metro system, reported that a loosened bolt and a disgorged bolt caused a safety cylinder to break and separate the cars and denied that it was a maintenance problem as the train had been overhauled days before the event.[23][25]

Ridership

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According to the data provided by the authorities since the 2000s, and before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, commuters averaged per year between 28,200 and 35,700 daily entrances between 2013 and 2019; the station had a ridership of 13,028,555 passengers in 2019,[26] which was an increase of 626,303 passengers compared to 2018.[27] Also in 2019, Polanco metro station was the 24th busiest station of the system's 195 stations and it was the line's third busiest.[26]

Annual passenger ridership
Year Ridership Average daily Rank % change Ref.
2023 9,694,024 26,558 26/195 +30.04% [1]
2022 7,454,437 20,423 40/195 +38.73% [1]
2021 5,373,504 14,721 45/195 −13.03% [28]
2020 6,178,428 16,880 40/195 −52.58% [29]
2019 13,028,555 35,694 24/195 +5.05% [26]
2018 12,402,252 33,978 29/195 +3.51% [27]
2017 11,981,607 32,862 32/195 +1.26% [30]
2016 11,832,706 32,329 38/195 +3.27% [31]
2015 11,458,073 31,391 41/195 +11.16% [32]
2014 10,307,974 28,241 48/195 −2.24% [33]
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Notes

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  1. ^ Estación del Metro Polanco. Spanish pronunciation: [poˈlaŋko] .

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Afluencia de estación por línea 2023" [Station traffic per line 2023] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2024. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Polanco" (in Spanish). Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Mandujano Ortiz, Sthefany (22 May 2017). "¿Qué hay afuera del Metro Polanco?" [What is outside Polanco metro station?]. máspormás (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ "STC pone en funcionamiento nuevas escaleras electromecánicas en Auditorio y Polanco de la Línea 7" [STC starts up new scalators on Line 7's Auditorio and Polanco] (in Spanish). Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro. 3 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Polanco, la zona más cara para vivir cerca de una estación del Metro" [Polanco, the most expensive zone to live near a metro station]. El Economista (in Spanish). 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Red de corredores" [Route network] (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Mapa de disponibilidad" [Disponibility map] (in Spanish). Ecobici. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  8. ^ a b Méndez, Sarahí (9 September 2014). "La escalera musical del Metro Polanco" [The musical staircase of Polanco metro station]. Noticieros Televisa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  9. ^ a b Carranza, Patricia (11 September 2014). "Lo que no sabes del piano gigante de Polanco" [What you don't know about Polanco's giant piano]. máspormás (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  10. ^ Aguilera, Margarita (6 September 2014). "Instalan escalera musical en Metro Polanco" [Musical staircase is installed at Polanco metro station]. El Universal (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Convierten escaleras del Metro Polanco en piano gigante" [Staircase at Polanco metro station converted into a giant piano]. Excélsior (in Spanish). 6 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Inaugura STC estación emblemática de la Unesco en Polanco" [STC inaugurates emblematic UNESCO station in Polanco]. Portal Automotriz (in Spanish). 25 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  13. ^ "El Metro Polanco se viste de la UNESCO" [Polanco metro station wears UNESCO]. UNESCO (in Spanish). 25 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Línea 7, Ciudad de México" [Line 7, Mexico City] (in Spanish). iNGENET Infraestructura. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  15. ^ Escobedo, Alina (8 September 2021). "¿Cuáles son las estaciones de la Línea 7 del Metro de la CDMX?" [Which are the stations of the Mexico City Metro Line 7?]. Noticieros Televisa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Polanco Metro Station (Mexico City, 1984)". Structurae.net. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Longitud de estación a estación por línea" [Station-to-station length per line] (in Spanish). Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  18. ^ Castro, Juan (1 December 2016). "¿De dónde recibe su nombre Polanco?" [Where does Polanco get its name from?]. López-Dóriga Digital (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  19. ^ Zamarrón, Israel (13 March 2019). "Seguirán escaladas en la Línea 7 de Metro" [Riders will continue climbing at Metro Line 7]. El Sol de México (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Procuraduría capitalina investiga paro repentino de escaleras eléctricas que dejó lesionados en Metro Polanco" [Mexico City District Attorney's Office investigates sudden escalator stoppage that caused injuries in Polanco metro station]. El Financiero (in Spanish). 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  21. ^ Willick, Carol (16 October 2019). "Y en la nota idiota del día: pelea en las escaleras eléctricas provoca caída de usuarios del Metro" [And in the idiotic note of the day: Escalator fight causes Metro riders to fall]. Sopitas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Metro: se separan vagones de tren en estación Polanco; reportan estallido" [Metro: train cars separate at Polanco station; explosion reported]. Forbes (in Spanish). 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  23. ^ a b Pérez Ángeles, Vianey (16 January 2023). "Sabotaje en Metro Polanco: Cilindro de seguridad desprendido provocó la separación de vagones (VIDEO)" [Sabotage at Polanco metro station: Safety cylinder detached, causing cars to separate (VIDEO)]. SDP Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  24. ^ "AMLO respalda a Sheinbaum y acusa intento por 'desestabilizar' y 'sabotear' a su gobierno" [AMLO backs Sheinbaum and accuses attempt to 'destabilize' and 'sabotage' his government]. Animal Político (in Spanish). 21 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Línea 7 del Metro: Un tornillo flojo y otro degollado, causa de separación de trenes en Polanco" [Metro Line 7: A loose screw and a damaged one, cause of train separation in Polanco]. El Financiero (in Spanish). 16 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  26. ^ a b c "Afluencia de estación por línea 2019" [Station traffic per line 2019] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2020. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  27. ^ a b "Afluencia de estación por línea 2018" [Station traffic per line 2018] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Afluencia de estación por línea 2021" [Station traffic per line 2021] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  29. ^ "Afluencia de estación por línea 2020" [Station traffic per line 2020] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2021. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Afluencia de estación por línea 2017" [Station traffic per line 2017] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  31. ^ "Afluencia de estación por línea 2016" [Station traffic per line 2016] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2017. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  32. ^ "Afluencia de estación por línea 2015" [Station traffic per line 2015] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2016. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  33. ^ "Afluencia de estación por línea 2014" [Station traffic per line 2014] (in Spanish). Sistema Transporte Colectivo Metro. 2015. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
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