Buenavista station


Buenavista Station is a passenger rail station in Mexico City. The station provided intercity train services from Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México. Since June 2008, the station serves as the terminus of the Tren Suburbano commuter rail service. Atop the ground-level station and tracks is one of the city's largest shopping malls, Forum Buenavista.
The adjacent Metro Buenavista station is also the terminus of Mexico City Metro Line B, that runs from this station to Ciudad Azteca in the State of Mexico. Additionally, three Metrobús lines serve the area.

History

The station served to inaugurate passenger rail service in Mexico on January 20, 1873, when Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México ran its first passenger rail trip from Mexico City to the Port of Veracruz. Among the passengers of the inaugural trip was Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, President of Mexico at the time. The rail trip took three days due to a number of official presidential events along the route.
The original structure was demolished by Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México in 1958 to construct a new station nearby. The plot on which the original station stood was redeveloped. The new Buenavista Station was inaugurated in 1961 by President Adolfo López Mateos.
The headquarters of Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México were built in front of the station and to the north of the station an automated postal facility was constructed. To the south of the station, the borough hall of the Borough of Cuauhtémoc was inaugurated in September 1976. The traffic circle in front of the station holds a statue of Christopher Columbus, which was inaugurated on October 12, 1892, in celebration of the 400-year anniversary of the explorer's discovery of America.
The principal intercity destinations served by Buenavista station were:
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México used the train terminal for passenger train traffic to connect the United States, Guatemala, and Belize with other Mexican cities.

Current use

The station was remodeled beginning in 2007 in preparation for the launch of commuter rail service to Cuautitlán Izcalli in the State of Mexico.
In addition to being a terminus of Metro Line B, the railway station is also a stop for three Metrobús lines, Mexico City's bus rapid transit system.
In 2012 a large enclosed shopping mall was opened on three floors topping the ground-level station and tracks, Forum Buenavista, anchored by a Cinépolis multiplex cinema and a Sears.