Mexico City Metro: Embarking on a Smart Transformation to Keep City Moving After Half a Century on the Tracks

Before the city stirs awake, metro trains tunnel through the darkness, their lights streaming along the tracks like luminous rivers. As they near Pantitlán Station, rails branching in all directions awaken in sync. The steel wheels that once traversed Mexico City's long-service network now forge new routes through a rising tide of digital and intelligent upgrades.

Digital and Intelligent Rail, Starting with Reconstruction

Just as road infrastructure lays the foundation for prosperity in the industrial age, so does transportation, built upon signaling and digital technologies.

The improvement of service quality in modern rail systems has transcended reliance on human labor, while efficiency and speed are no longer dictated solely by device quantity. Intelligent transformation is now seen as a game-changing solution for optimizing the rail ecosystem.

Take rail operations as an example. As the number of passengers increases, more and more devices have been deployed, resulting in higher operational costs and security risks. In complex urban rail settings, the traditional Wi-Fi train-to-ground wireless solution has the following limitations:

• The Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system is vulnerable to interference, which compromises its reliability and stability;

• Limited signal coverage requires a high-quality communications network; and

• Complex networking, small coverage, and countless inter-station devices lead to costly maintenance.

Worse still, the devices on Metro Line 1 had become outdated. There are currently 12 operational metro lines; the fragmented approach to constructing these lines separated management from operations. Except for Metro Line 12, which uses the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system, the rest of the lines relied on older signaling systems and faced restrictions in transport capacity. The inadequate metro detection system resulted in frequent incidents and operational slowdowns. It was crucial for Mexico City Metro to plan for spectrum allocation and a transition to LTE network after the narrowband trunking system expired for future readiness. All these urgently compelled the metro operator to fully upgrade its systems in a bid to improve both the security and efficiency of metro operations.

One Half-Century of Urban Rail, Tracking Toward Digital and Intelligent Systems

When invisible signals converge at hundreds of megabits per second, unseen digital data calibrates train trajectories through cloud-based algorithms. When the CBTC system network collaborates with the rail infrastructure like the concrete ballast, the Mexico City Metro system can undergo a seamless iteration with high precision and zero interruptions.

After conducting research on the status quo of the rail industry, drawing on its own engineering expertise and industry knowledge, as well as leveraging Huawei's cutting-edge technologies in smart rail construction, Mexico City Metro has partnered with Huawei to deploy the Smart Urban Rail LTE-M (Metro), a wireless train-to-ground communications solution for urban rail transportation. The solution provides one network to centrally carry both mission-critical and non-mission-critical services, such as CBTC, onboard Passenger Information System (PIS), and Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), thus comprehensively reconstructing rolling stocks, signaling, and communications. LTE-M guarantees stable communications in challenging environments like underground tunnels and remote tracks. It improves service assurance in fields such as visualized rail management, signaling maintenance, automatic management, and passenger experience, paving the way for digital transformation of urban rail transit.

• Visualized track management for higher security: Mexico City Metro utilized LTE-M in key sections during the deployment of the detection system to transmit video streams. This solution promptly identifies and addresses any anomalies to safeguard metro operations and establish a robust security perimeter.

• Zero service interruptions for more convenient travel: As part of the service upgrade, the signaling system has transitioned to the CBTC system to eliminate interference from public frequency bands, reduce inter-station devices, and cut operational costs. This upgrade showcases the strong resilience and reliability of LTE-M, ensuring stable signaling systems, on-time trains, alongside a smoother and more convenient travel experience for passengers.

• Automatic train departure for increased efficiency: The CBTC uses LTE-M to elevate the grade of automation, shorten train departure interval, and boost metro operational efficiency by 35%. This decreases passenger stress and makes travel more pleasant.

This marks the first time that LTE technology is being used in Mexico City Metro for train-to-ground communications services, showcasing both technological progress and a strong dedication to passenger well-being and service quality. Mexico City's mayor said that the "Metro Line 1 has been completely renovated, with only the entrance and exit points remaining unchanged. All other facilities are now new, promising a fresh and more comfortable metro ride for our residents."

In addition, the Director of the Mexico City Metro noted that the revamped Metro Line 1 incorporates superior materials, advanced technologies, and adheres to strict rail transit construction standards. This positions Mexico City Metro Line 1 as one of the premier metro lines globally.

Mexico City Metro's practices have set new benchmarks for smart urban rail in the modern era. Invisible intelligence is revolutionizing the daily operations of Mexico City, from the subtle glow in metro tunnels 27 meters underground to the flowing vehicle lights on elevated viaducts. Thanks to real-time connectivity, smart enablement replaces device stacking, significantly improving transport capacity. As a train speeds through the morning at 80 km/h, it transports not only more than 1500 commuters, but also the digital and intelligent evolution of metro systems. Huawei's leading technologies revitalize legacy infrastructure — the track system originally built in 1969 now embodies 21st-century smart urban rail, five decades after its inception.