The initial line covers a route measuring from Mexico City Buenavista Station north to Cuautitlán, in the State of Mexico. This initial section, which began commercial service on June 2, 2008, cost US$706 million to build, with the Mexican Federal Government contributing 55% of this investment. The inaugural demonstration trip of the service from Buenavista to Lechería station and back again was made by then-President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, and then-Governor of the State of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto with Calderón acting as the train's engineer. The line was built on an existing railroad right of way. However, inside Mexico City itself on the approach to Buenavista Station, a considerable amount of grade separation, including below-grade excavation and new bridges, was necessary due to high density and traffic congestion. The construction elicited complaints by some Mexico City residents who objected to having their neighborhoods split by the rail line, but overall the public has supported the project. In addition to the track, the construction of Tren Suburbano also benefited from like-new electrification infrastructure already in place along most of the route, part of National Railways of Mexico 's Mexico City-Querétaro 25 kV 60 Hz mainline electrification completed in the 1990s but de-energized a few years later after NdeM was privatized. On August 24, 2005, Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. obtained a 30-year concession to supply rolling stock, build and operate the Tren Suburbano. The trains used on this service are electric trains built by CAF and are similar to the series 2000 trains of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos of São Paulo, Brazil.
Ridership
The line is projected to carry 100 million passengers annually. From the period of June 1, 2008 through July 7, 2008, the service carried one million passengers, or an average of approximately 30,000 passengers per day, which is a rate far below the annual projections. As of January 31, 2010 according to the head of Comercialización y Administración de Riesgos del Ferrocarril Suburbano stated that Line 1 of the Suburban Railway of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area served an average of 88,000 passengers per day. As of the end of 2012, ridership reached 132,000 per day, short of the 192,000 per day the private operator needed to stay solvent due to the high initial upfront cost and debt schedule. In 2012, the system ran an operational profit, but the profit was not high enough to cover accumulated debt repayment yet. Ridership had increased to 184,000 per day as of 2015. As of 2018, the Tren Suburbano had an average of 200,000 passengers per day. Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Mexico, ridership decreased 73% as of May 2020. Trains are scheduled every 6 minutes during peak hours.
Fare structure
As of 2019, the fares are 8 pesos for a trip of three or fewer stations and 19.00 pesos for longer trips of four or more stations. Fares are paid using a rechargeable card that costs 18.00 pesos.
Proposed expansion
Authorities proposed to expand the system as far as it is practical to do so, in order to reduce Mexico City's heavy road traffic congestion and air pollution. In most cases the system would follow existing rail lines; however, grade separations similar to the ones done on the initial segment may be necessary. In December 2006, SCT announced that approval has been given for the System 2, extending to Jardines de Morelos and Martín Carrera, and System 3 of an additional 12.8 km to Chalco and La Paz. As of June 2020 The Suburban train still only goes from Buenavista to Cuautitlán.
