The European Investment Bank is proposing a USD 430 million loan for Bogota metro Line 1, the first automated line in the city which is part of city’s sustainable transport strategy.
The project covers the construction of a 24 km long elevated line served by 16 stations, 10 of which will have a direct connection with TransMilenio, the bus rapid transit system. Under the project, a depot will be constructed and 30 trains will be acquired. Additionally, the project encompasses electrical installations, control systems, telecommunications, ticketing, and fare collection systems.
The project also includes preliminary works, the restructuring of some existing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines and associated stations, and the upgrading of public spaces, including the construction of 19 km of bicycle lanes and around 10,000 bicycle parking spaces that will be installed at the stations.
The first section will run from Portal Américas to Avenida Caracas, along Avenida Villavicencio, Avenida Primero de Mayo, Calle 8 Sur and Calle 1, where it will turn north along Avenida Caracas to Calle 78. The section line is financed by the state of Colombia, the city and multilateral banks.
The entire project is estimated at USD 5.79 billion and is expected to increase the attractiveness of public transport in the city and promote a positive modal shift from private modes, alleviating such negative externalities of road traffic.
This first automated metro line of the city will connect Portal de las Américas to Avenida Caracas. Construction works were launched in 2021 at the depot which will have the capacity to accommodate up to 60 trains measuring 145 meters long by 2.90 meters wide, each of which will have between 6 and 7 cars.
Other works began in 2021 at a road interchange on 72nd Street with Caracas Avenue, which will help decongest that important sector of the city before the start of the viaduct works.
Bogota metro Line 1 is designed to accommodate 72,000 passengers per hour in each direction, amounting to 1.05 million a day. Each driverless train will be able to carry 1,800 passengers, of which 15% will be seated, and will travel at an approximate average speed of 43 km/h in 90 second intervals, making journeys from one end of the line to the other take as little as 27 minutes.
For the implementation of the project, a 20-year concession contract has been signed with Metro Línea 1 S.A.S, on November 27, 2019, which is responsible for the investment, financing, design, construction, supply, commissioning, operation and maintenance of Line 1. The concessionaire company was created by China Harbor Engineering Company Limited and XI’AN Rail Transportation Group Company Limited, with a participation of 85% and 15%, respectively.
In January 2025, the city’s Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán announced that 46.24% of Line 1 construction is completed.
“In 2024, the construction of the viaduct had a significant boost, going from the first visible columns to a total of 229 columns built at the end of the year. Last year was, without a doubt, key in fulfilling that promise of giving a boost to Metro Line 1 and finally fulfilling that promise that the people of Bogotá have waited for more than 80 years to have a metro system in the city,” Mayor Galán said.
For 2025, the construction of Bogota metro Line 1 is expected to be more than 65% completed. During the first year of the Galán administration, an increase in the execution of the project of 17.26% was achieved. The project achieved a completion of 28.98% as of December 31, 2023 and was completed at 46.24%, as of December 31, 2024.
The works exceeded 1,570 meters of viaduct built. In addition, 6,635 tonnes (120 kilometers) of rails arrived from China, 96 kilometers of rails for to the viaduct and 24 kilometers will be installed. The northern bridge of (Av. 68 with Primero de Mayo), known as “El Pulpo”, was delivered and put into operation, one of the most important complementary works of the metro line that will allow the connection with the TransMilenio trunk line, the SITP (Integrated Public Transport System), mixed traffic, bicycles and pedestrians. In addition, in 2024 the works on the viaduct on Caracas Avenue began and in December 2024 the concrete sleepers that will make up the railway began to arrive in Bogotá. The first 400 have already arrived from China. The construction of the first buildings, garage and electrical substations in the Bosa depot also began, along with the construction of a 1 km section which will allow trains to be tested. In September, the first train from China will arrive and new TransMilenio stations will begin to operate.
According to the mayor, in February, the tests of the first train in China will be completed, which must be shipped and received in Colombia in September with a target to be delivered two trains. In May 2026, it is expected the completion of 5.76 km of viaduct to be completed.
Bogota Metro Line 1 will be operated by 30 six-car trains, with a capacity of 1,800 passengers, which would currently require 7 bi-articulated or 12 articulated TransMilenio trains. Of the 1,800 passengers, 252 will be seated. Each train has two spaces for people in wheelchairs and of the 252 seats, 36 are marked for people with priority (pregnant women, elderly people and women with children in their arms).
Metro expansion
Bogota is also planning the construction of metro Line 2 which is currently in public tender process with technical, legal, environmental and financial feasibility study being completed in 2022. As a result, the technical and fiscal endorsement was obtained, the approval of future terms, the signing of the co-financing agreement on August 4, 2022, and finally the declaration of strategic importance with which the resources for the construction of the project are guaranteed. In May 2023, the prequalification stage of the tender was opened.
Line 2 will begin in the town of Chapinero, where it will connect with Line 1 of the Bogotá Metro. The 15.5 km line will be served by 11 stations, 10 of which will be underground and one elevated. The line will have its depot and maintenance facility.
The automated line will be operated by 25 trains with a maximum capacity to move around 76,000 passengers per hour in each direction when it comes into operation and will benefit more than 2.5 million inhabitants of the towns of Chapinero, Barrios Unidos, Engativá and Suba.
In Bogota, each day there are made 12.7 million trips, of which 50.1% are by public transport including TransMilenio, feeders, buses and taxis, and 25.1% is the share of active mobility – walking and by bicycle. The new metro will come to complement the mass transport system and integrate with the other modes and will reduce the emission of about 87,000 tonnes of CO2 in the first year of operation. It will replace other modes of transportin the city that are more polluting and will generate a saving of 46.3 million hours of travel time per year for the population on public transport.
The construction of the Line 2 will advance in parallel with the Line 1, allowing Bogotá to continue advancing in the next decade towards an integrated and efficient transport system, fulfilling the objective of offering sustainable mobility solutions for the city.
In addition, in December Metro de Bogotá, the Government of Cundinamarca, the Metropolitan Region and the Regional Mobility Agency, with the National Development Finance Company, signed an inter-administrative contract for the design and expansion of Line 3. The three-year contract worth COP 104 billion (USD 23.6 million) and will allow the the development of studies and designs at the feasibility of Metro Line 3.
Line 3 will be 15.5 km long connecting the city centre with Soacha, a municipality of the department of Cundinamarca.
City’s sustainable transport strategy highlights that the metro system will become essential component of an integrated public transport system. By 2030, 80% of Bogota residents will have easy access to a mass transit line, metro or trunk line less than a kilometer away.
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