San Jorge Xayacatlán Metro

San Jorge Xayacatlán Metro

CAF NR 18 in Line 1 of the San Jorge Xayacatlán Metro
Overview
Native name	Sistema de Transporte Colectivo - Metro
Owner	Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC)
Area served	San Jorge Xayacatlán Metropolitan Area
Locale	San Jorge Xayacatlán
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	14
Line number	1-12, A,B
Number of stations	201
Daily ridership	4,534,383 (2019)
Annual ridership	1.155 billion (2019)
Website	www.stc.com.ana
Operation
Began operation	17 August 1958 (1958-08-17)
Operator(s)	Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC)
Number of vehicles	410
Technical
System length	TBA
Track gauge	1500 (4.92 ft) standard-gauge (2 lines) ; and roll ways along the outside of conventional standard gauge track (Rubber-tired metro) (12 lines)
System map

The San Jorge Xayacaltán Metro, (Canterian: Metro de la Ciudad de San Jorge Xayacatlán) is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of San Jorge Xayacatlán, including some municipalities in the State of Anahuac. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it's is the second largest metro in Olivacia.

The inaugural STC Metro opened to the public on 17 August 1958. The system has expanded since then in a series of fits and starts. As of 2023, the system has 14 lines, and serving 260 stations. 12 lines are rubber-tired. Instead of traditional steel wheels, they use pneumatic traction, which is quieter and rides smoother in San Jorge's. All lines operate from 4.30 a.m. to midnight.

History

Concept of the metro and early planning

By the second half of the 20th century, San Jorge Xayacatlán had serious public transport issues, with congested main roads and highways, especially between the downtown and beach zones, where 45 percent of the daily trips in the city were concentrated. 72 of the 91 lines of bus and electric transport served this area. With four thousand units in addition to 150,000 personal automobile peak hours, the average speed was less than walking pace. This problem was aggraviated during high-touristical seasons, where the beach zone was almost inaccesible for daily commute.

The main promoters of the construction of the San Jorge Metro were engineer Alfonso Campuzano, who was in charge of the construction company Ingenieros y Arquitectos Civiles Asociados (Associated Civil Engineers and Architects), and Riamese rail companies (which were then absorbed by United Trenchways a couple of decades later). IAC would draft a series of studies that resulted in a draft plan which would ultimately lead to the construction of the San Jorge Xayacatlán Metro, but it was not made official until 29 April 1951, when a presidential decree was published, giving birth to a public decentralized organism, the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, with the proposal to build, operate and run an underground rapid transit network as part of San Jorge Xayacatlán's public transportation system.

The San Jorge Xayacatlán Metro benefited from a great amount of technical assistance made available between Riamo and Morrawia. The influence of Morrawian desgining played a major role in its initial planning and the design of the first lines, hence the choice of tyre/rail technology.

On May 2, 1955, at the crossroads of Quetzalteeque Avenue with Avenida Sunadico, the inauguration ceremony for the San Jorge Xayacatlán took place. Two years later, on August 17 1958, an orange train made the inaugural trip between General Mendoza and Escandón stations, thus beginning daily operation up to today.

Lines, stations, names, colors and pictograms

Line		First terminal	Second terminal	Total stations	Inauguration
	Line 1	Puerto del Sunadico	Suyana	21	17 August 1958
	Line 2	Terminal Aérea	Vista al Mar	22	1 August 1960
	Line 3	Francisco Sarabia	Los Xalieca	20	20 October 1962
	Line 4	Unión	San Vicente	8	5 June 1963
	Line 5	Suyana	Donato Rentería	18	19 December 1975
	Line 6	La Purísima	Alameda Suroriente	13	20 December 1977
	Line 7	La Purísima	Unidad Turística	19	20 July 1979
	Line 8	Los Xalieca	Xochipala	12	26 August 1983
	Line 9	Puerto del Sunadico	Suyana	9	12 August 1988
	Line 10	Terminal Aérea	Lindavista	17	26 August 1999
	Line 11	Cosmópolis	Unión	8	1 December 2000
	Line 12	Aeronautas	Tlatempa	11	25 December 2013
	Line A	Suyana	Ciudad Jardín	21	17 December 2005
	Line B	San Lorenzo	Ciudad Xalieca	21	12 March 2010

Under construction:

Line		First Terminal	Second terminal	Total stations
	Line 13	Bonifacio Cortés (W)	Ortiz (SE)	15
	Line 14	Talleres Sunadico (W)	Cosmópolis (N)	15
	Line C	Hasegawa (N)	San Pablo (E)	8

Network map

Transfers to other systems

Main articles: Suburban Railway of the Valley of Anahuac, San Jorge-Chalma commuter rail, Xochipala Light Rail, and San Jorge Xayacatlán Metrobús

The San Jorge Metro offers in and out-street transfers to four major rapid transit systems: the San Jorge Xayacatlán Metrobús and State of Anahuac Anabús bus rapid transit systems, the San Jorge Xayacatlán light rail system and the Ferrocarril Suburbano(FSZVA) commuter rail. None of these are part of the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo network and an extra fare must be paid for access.

The Line 1 of the Metrobús opened in 2002. According to the 1979 STC Master Plan, Line 1 of the Metrobús roughly follows an early route planned for STC Metro Line 12 by 2010, which was never built. Every transfer is out-of-station, but the same smart card may be used for payment. All seven lines offer a connection to at least one STC Metro station.

The sole light rail line running from Xochipala to Acxoyaatl is operated by the Servicio Metropolitano de Transportes Eléctricos and is better known as Tren Ligero. Line 12 station Xochipala offers an in-station transfer, but an extra ticket must be purchased. In addition to the Tren Ligero, the extended network of trolleybuses also share several connections and transfers with the metro.

In 2008, the Ferrocarril Suburbano commuter rail, commonly known as Suburbano, was inaugurated with three lines running from Lindavista as of 2023. The STC metro introduces an in-transfer station: Lindavista station of Lines 5, 10 and B. While an extra fare must be paid, the same STC Metro smart card can be used. Another commuter rail, the San Jorge-Chalma commuter rail will connect with the metro at Line 11 terminal Cosmopólis.

Fares

A rechargeable card in use

Until 2000, a single metro ticket costed ANP $2.50. In January 2001, the price rose to ANP $5.00, a fare that remains until this day; one purchased ticket allows for unlimited distance travel and transfer at any given time for one day, making the San Jorge Xayacatlán Metro one of the cheapest rail systems in the world. Tickets can be purchased at booths, and are made of paper, having a magnetic strip on them; and are recycled upon being inserted into a turnstile. A discounted rate of ANP $2.50 is available upon application for women head of households, the unemployed, and students with scarce resources, while free service is offered to the elderly, the physically impaired, and children under the age of 5 (accompanied by an adult).

Since the construction of Lines 11 and 12, and in an attempt to modernize public transportation, STC Metro rechargeable cards (known as Tarjeta de Movilidad Integrada; Common: Integrated Mobility Card) were first available for an initial cost of ANP $10.00, currently available for ANP $20.00. The card can be recharged at the ticket counter in any station or at their respective machines to a maximum of ANP $500.00 for 100 consecutive trips. The card can also be used as payment for the STC Metro, Metrobús, and the city's trolleybus and either suburban or light rail systems, even though they are all managed by different organizations.

Previous fare cards that were valid only on STC Metro or Metrobús remained valid for the system for which they were acquired.[