Overview
Monterrey's rapid transit system is Metrorrey, officially the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey. It is operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, part of the decentralized public administration of Nuevo León, and in 2022 it was the sixth largest metro system in North America by ridership. The first line opened on 25 April 1991, and as of 2024 the system runs 50 high-floor electric trains along three lines, serving 40 stations over a route of 40 kilometres (25 miles).
For a visitor, riding end to end is straightforward. You enter a station, pay your fare using a rechargeable card or one of the accepted digital payment methods, and ride anywhere on the network; a single trip allows unlimited transfers within the system. Trains run from 5:00 a.m. (first departure from each terminus) until 11:30 p.m., with the network operating until midnight, and stations open at 4:45 a.m. The system is clean, modern and very inexpensive, and it is a good choice for reaching downtown areas such as the Macroplaza or Barrio Antiguo, the Central de Autobuses bus station, and the eastern suburban municipalities of Guadalupe and San Nicolás.
The network
Metrorrey shares characteristics with both a light rail system and a metro: it uses high-floor light rail vehicles but runs on a fully grade-separated exclusive right-of-way with high passenger volumes. The network is primarily above ground, with most sections on elevated viaducts built along avenue medians; of its 40 stations, 32 are elevated, seven are underground and one is at surface level. Each line has a number and a colour, and stations carry logos in the style of the Mexico City Metro, with an icon representing the station's surroundings.
- Line 1 — opened 25 April 1991, with 19 stations over 18.5 km (11.5 mi), running elevated through the centre of the city from the north-west to the eastern part of the metropolitan area, roughly parallel to the former 1887 Topo Chico tramline. A complete ride takes about 27 minutes.
- Line 2 — 13 stations over 13 km (8.1 mi), fully grade-separated, partly elevated and partly underground, running from the centre towards the north. Its first 4.5 km underground segment opened on 30 November 1994 with six stations, with a transfer to Line 1 at Cuauhtémoc; later expansions opened in 2007 and 2008.
- Line 3 — 8 stations over 7.5 km (4.7 mi), mostly elevated, connecting with Line 2 at Zaragoza station; the two lines are operated jointly. Construction began in 2013 and the line was inaugurated on 27 February 2021.
- Lines 4 and 6 — planned as monorails, under construction or in planning. Line 4 is intended to link the western side of the city with downtown, with an interchange to the Tren Suburbano de Monterrey (Tren el Norte) at Pedro G. García station; Line 6, at 26.9 km (16.7 mi), is expected to become the longest route, connecting downtown with Apodaca and Monterrey International Airport.
- Line 5 — planned as an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit system.
- TransMetro — the feeder bus system integrated with Metrorrey, with routes starting at or passing Metrorrey stations (eleven on Line 1, twelve on Line 2 and six on Line 3).
- Ecovía — a bus rapid transit system using large articulated buses on dedicated lanes. As of 2023 one route with 39 stations was operational, following Av. Ruiz Cortines for 30 km from north-west Monterrey (Lincoln) through downtown and east to San Nicolás and Guadalupe, with a second route under construction. Ecovía travel times average 50% faster than using a car or taxi.
- City buses — local and urban routes numbered 1–199 stay in a certain part of the city, numbers 200–300 reach most of the city across multiple colonias and municipalities, and 300–502 are minibuses. A Metrobus service also operates in the Guadalupe and San Bernabé areas.
There are no ferries in this landlocked metropolitan system.
Tickets & fares
Monterrey is in the process of discontinuing cash payment on public transport, so a card or app is the reliable way to pay. Payment methods on Metrorrey include the Me Muevo and Mia NFC cards, QR codes generated by the Urbani or E-UANL apps, and Spin by Oxxo contactless debit cards. The NFC cards can be bought for MXN $20.00 at automated machines and recharged to a maximum of MXN $500.00. The Me Muevo card is available in metro stations, and both the card and the Urbani app can be recharged in OXXO stores; the app also has a credit card option, though it does not seem to support foreign credit cards. At some stations you can pay in cash without a card, but at several stations a rechargeable card is required because no single-ride tickets are sold there.
Fares are approximate and change. As of April 2024, a single trip on Metrorrey costs MXN $7.70 and allows one trip anywhere within the system with unlimited transfers, including a transfer to Ecovía services at Mitras station. A Tarifa Integrada ("integrated fare") costs MXN $15.00 and includes up to two transfers between the TransMetro bus system and Metrorrey within two hours of the first validation. A discounted single trip of MXN $3.00 is available for the elderly, and UANL students via the E-UANL app pay MXN $7.50 for a single trip or MXN $9.50 for the Tarifa Integrada. One ride on a city bus costs about MXN $15 (February 2025). The sources do not describe a dedicated tourist pass, so plan on the standard single-trip or integrated fare.
Transfers between systems vary: the Ecovía connection at Mitras (Line 1) is free, while the Ecovía connection at Ruiz Cortines (Line 3) requires you to exit the station and pay a fare when transferring.
From the airport
All commercial flights use Monterrey International Airport (MTY), about 30 minutes from downtown in the suburban municipality of Apodaca. The sources do not describe a dedicated public-transport connection from the airport into the centre at present; note that the planned Line 6 monorail is intended to connect downtown Monterrey with Apodaca and the airport, but it is a future project rather than an operating service. For now, plan your airport-to-centre leg around the options the sources do describe for getting around the city generally, and check current connections locally on arrival.
Etiquette & customs
The sources do not document specific local riding customs for Metrorrey, so rely on ordinary courtesy and the posted rules in stations:
- Queue at the platform and let passengers off before boarding.
- Stand to the right on escalators so others can pass on the left.
- Offer priority seating to the elderly, pregnant passengers and people with reduced mobility; a discounted elderly fare exists, so expect older riders on board.
- Eating and drinking are generally discouraged on metro systems; keep food and drink packed away.
- At rush hour, move away from the doors and towards the centre of the car to keep boarding flowing.
- Keep your card or phone ready at the gates to avoid holding up the queue.
Survival terms
- Subway/metro — metro (MEH-troh)
- Ticket — boleto (boh-LEH-toh)
- Line — línea (LEE-neh-ah)
- Entrance — entrada (ehn-TRAH-dah)
- Exit — salida (sah-LEE-dah)
- Transfer — transbordo (trahns-BOR-doh)
- Single fare — tarifa sencilla (tah-REE-fah sehn-SEE-yah)
- Day pass — pase diario (PAH-seh DYAH-ryoh)
Buy a rechargeable Me Muevo card early in your trip and keep it topped up at an OXXO, so you can board any Metrorrey train without worrying about cash or single-ride tickets.