The Train to the Airport

For a number of years Alejandro and I have been talking about driving north of Mexico City to see the facilities of the controversial new international airport.

By the early 2000s, even with the addition of a second terminal, it was clear that Mexico City's Benito Juárez International Airport was reaching its capacity.  In 2014 President Peña Nieto announced plans to build a new airport located on the dry bed of Lake Texcoco just three miles to the east of the existing airport.  It would replace Benito Juárez.  With six runways, two main terminals and two satellite terminals it was going to be the largest airport in the world.

Construction was underway when the new President López Obrador claimed that the planned airport was fraught with corruption and environmental concerns.  Construction ceased, and plans were made to build a second airport at the site of a Mexican air force base located 22 miles north of the city limits.  The cancellation of the Texcoco airport cost the government billions of dollars.

Lopez Obrador's airport was named Felipe Angeles International Airport (or AIFA for short), and it opened in March of 2022.  It was immediately criticized for being far from the city, and lacking convenient transportation connections.  Almost all international airlines have snubbed AIFA and continue to use Benito Juárez Airport.  A train to the airport was supposed to be completed by the end of 2023, but there were constant delays.  The trainline was not inaugurated until April of 2026.

Now that the train was running, we decided to check out AIFA.  We took the Metrobus up Insurgentes Avenue to the Buenavista Station.

Back in the day when Mexico had an extensive network of passenger trains, this was the capital's main train station.  Today it is a large shopping mall.  However, the train tracks are still under the mall.  In 2008 a suburban commuter line was opened, and now there is the line to go to AIFA.

We didn't have to wait long for a train.  

The trains are shiny and clean.  However, this long-awaited trainline really is not an efficient means of transport to the airport.  It is an not express train.  There are 10 stops along the route, and it took 50 minutes to reach the airport.  Since we got on at the beginning of the line, we had seats, but as more people got on at other stops, there was standing room only.

We finally arrived at the airport station.

We spent over an hour checking out the AIFA terminal (my next post will be about that), and then we headed back to the city.

We had window seats, so I was able to take some videos on the return trip.

The north side of the metropolitan area is not especially attractive.  It is not a scenic train ride.

All in all, I would say that the Buenavista - AIFA train works better as a commuter train serving the northern reaches of the metropolitan area than as a quick way to get to the new airport.

 

Women Play Soccer Too

Although everyone is excited about the upcoming men's championship, this statue of a woman and her daughter playing "fútbol" is a reminder that soccer is not just a man's sport.

Soccer Stars

Along Paseo de la Reforma there is currently a display of posters of "fútbol" stars from previous World Cups going back to 1970.  One side of the poster shows the country in which the championship was played; the other side a photo of an outstanding player from those games.  Usually, but not always, they were members of the winning team.  I have heard of some of the players... Pelé, Maradona, and Messi... but the rest of them were unknown to me.

In 1970 the World Cup was held in Mexico.

 

Brazilian superstar Pelé led his team to victory that year, the third win for Brazil.

In 1974 the Cup was hosted by Munich, West Germany.

The home team won the championship, and one of their top players was Franz Beckenbauer.

In 1978 the games were held in Argentina.

The home team won, but there were are accusations of interference by the military dictatorship.  Perhaps, that is way an Argentinian is not pictured.  Instead, Hugo Sánchez, who is regarded as the greatest Mexican soccer player of the 20th century is honored.  In spite of the fact that Mexicans are passionate "fútbol" fans, the country has never won a World Cup.

In 1982 Spain hosted the games.

Italy was the winner, and one of the team's top players was Marco Tardeilli.

 

In 1986 the World Cup returned to Mexico.

Argentina won (fair and square this time), and the team was led by one of the most famous players of all time, Diego Maradona.

 

The 1990 games were held in Italy.

West Germany won the Cup that year, and one of their players was Lothar Matthaus.

 

In 1994 the United States hosted the games, and the final was played in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Brazil was the first country to win four championships.  The star of the team was Romario.

  

In 1998 the World Cup was held in France.

The host country won the Cup, and the top French player was Zinedine Zidane.

The 2002 games were held in Japan and South Korea.  It was the first time that the Cup was held in Asia and the first time that it was hosted by two countries.

Brazil won for a record five times.  Pictured is Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, who is simply known as Ronaldo.

Germany was the host in 2006.

The tournament was won by Italy, whose team included Francesco Totti.

In 2010 the games were held in South Africa, the first African country to host the Cup.

Spain won its first world title, and one of their players was Andrés Iniesta.

The 2014 games were held in Brazil.

The winning team that year was Germany.  However, Colombian player, James Rodríguez, who played for his home team that year is pictured.

The controversial choice for the 2018 games was Russia.

The championship went to the French team, and one of its players was Kylian Mbappé.

Another controversial choice was Qatar in 2022.

Argentina won their third World Cup, led by captain Lionel Messi.

Signs of the Cup

It is very obvious that the World Cup is coming to Mexico City soon.  I took these photos last week as I was walking down Paseo de la Reforma.

A couple of billboards sponsored by Corona Beer

"Which country is going to have the best World Cup?"

"Where does everyone feel at home?"

Another subtle dig that Mexico is more welcoming than the U.S.

An enormous sign from Coca Cola features the Mexican team.

"Mexico is not a feeling, it's everyone."

The dairy company Lala advertises that theirs is the official milk of the Mexican national team.

The Hotel Marquis Reforma is always decorated for holidays.  For the World Cup it is cheering on the home team by covering the facade with red, white and green sombreros.

At the entrance to Chapultepec Park a sign says that during the World Cup there wlll be cultural event from different countries.

Another sign lists all the museums that are having special exhibits during the World Cup.

I haven't even heard of a couple of these museums!

Painting in Progress

 Last week I was passing through the "Glorieta de Insurgentes" to transfer from the Metrobus to the subway.  A "glorieta" is a traffic circle, and this one, along Insurgentes Avenue, is a large circular area lined with shops.  The Metrobus and subway stations here on the border between two touristy areas, the "Zona Rosa" and "Roma Norte", make it an important transportation hub, especially for visitors staying in the area.

There are numerous passageways leading out of the "glorieta" onto the intersecting streets.  I noticed painters at work by one of those passages.

I then realized that all of the passageways leading out of the circle had been painted or were in the process of being painted.  It was obviously one of the beautification projects for the World Cup, and the theme of most of the murals was "fútbol".

"Let's Go Mexico!"

This mural is a reference to the ancient Mayan myth of the "Hero Twins" who saved humanity from darkness by defeating the gods of the underworld in a ball game.  Here the twins are portrayed as "axolotl", the amphibians that have, as I have previously mentioned, been adopted by the city as their mascot.

As I have said before, Mexico's slogan for this year's World Cup is "The ball returns home".