The subway has become one of the most important means of transportation, and without a doubt, the most iconic of the city of Buenos Aires. A total of 90 stations They constitute the system along 6 lines, covering an area of just over 55 kilometers, That may seem like a lot, but compared to other more recent and extensive subways such as the one in Santiago de Chile or the Sao Paulo metro in Brazil, this size is quite short.
Statistics from last year show a total of more than 200 million passengers, The busiest stations being Constitución on Line C, with 19 million annual passengers, followed by Retiro with 7 million and San Pedrito de la A completing the podium with 6.7 million users.
But all these are mere statistics, during the hundred years that this transport presents, stories and curiosities have occurred and continue to occur, many of these becoming urban legends of that Buenos Aires of the pastthe famous Paris of South America.
Pasco Sur and Alberti Norte, stations of death.
One of the most striking curiosities that Line A has are Pasco and Alberti stations, located between two of the most important points in the city: The Once train station, in the Balvanera neighborhood, and the National Congress. The peculiar thing happens since Despite being less than 300 meters away from each other, they can never be visited in the same journey, being semi-seasons. If, for example, you depart from San Pedrito, you will pass through Pasco, while, if you depart from Plaza de Mayo, Alberti will be one of the stops on the route. Although this was not always the case.
During the first construction of the subway, in 1913, the construction of a single station between Congress and Once, but an unfortunate event occurred: during the excavationstwo workers of Italian origin later died in a collapse. The truth is that the information is very scarce, no newspaper of the time spoke about this event since it was kept secret so as not to generate uncertainty among the workers and especially the government of the time, which did not want to get its hands dirty. It is said that, taking the last car of the last 11:30 p.m. train heading to Plaza Miserere (old Once station), they can be seen chatting on a bench. But these would not be the only deaths.
Pasco Sur and Alberti Norte were stations of the system and provided services for several decades. Pasco Sur can be located in Rivadavia, between Rincón and Pasco, while Alberti Norte is located between Alberti and Larrea, on the same avenue. These operated from 1913 until their closure in 1953. According to what was said at the time, the closures were due to the proximity between them and Pasco and Alberti, with 4 stations in just 600 meters, which meant that the trains would make unnecessary breaks between very busy stops like Congreso and Once, but this is just the official version. One of the theories of the time that had the greatest impact was that The Pasco Sur station was very close to the vaults of a branch of Banco Nación, however, the most famous and dark legend tells the story of a girl, who, due to a bad love, decided to end her life. throwing himself onto the tracks while a train was passing, at the Pasco Sur station. Currently, Pasco Sur has been walled up and it is impossible to see it from the cars, There are few who have been able to access the place and the majority were system workers. Alberti Norte, for its part, had a happier ending, today it is used to supply electricity to the formations, which makes it less deteriorated and more common among workers.
Lacroze, Cemetery and graves
Line B was the second to be built within the system, having its first trip on October 17, 1930, more than 90 years ago. During its beginning, it was the line that transported the most passengers, but over the years, this changed. Its original route went from Callao, at the intersection of this avenue with Corrientes, to Federico Lacroze, in the Chacarita neighborhood, and here the mystery begins. The station itself is located on land that at the time corresponded to the Chacarita Cemetery, one of the largest in the city. Therefore, for its construction, several tombs had to be moved, with the bodies inside them. Legend says that both passengers and workers have seen ghosts at night, when users are fewer and the stations are emptier. It is also said that security cameras often capture the presence of non-human entities or figures wandering around the area.
The lines that are not: FG and I.
On November 8, 2001, less than a month after Argentinazo during the Carlos Menem government, the Buenos Aires Legislature approved Law 670, which authorized the Executive Branch to construct 3 new subway lines, with the aim of expanding the network and reach more neighborhoods of the city: Line F, G and I, but until today it was not finalized. Starting in alphabetical order, Line F was going to connect the Constitución neighborhood and station with Plaza Italia, in Palermo, passing through Congreso, Independencia Avenue, Rivadavia, Corrientes, Córdoba, Santa Fe, Libertador until reaching the end of the route. On the G side, it was planned that it would go from Retiro to Cid Campeador in Caballito, passing through Recoleta, Palermo and Villa Crespo, with the creation of a station in Parque Centenario. Finally, The I was going to be the most extensive, since it was planned to connect Emilio Mitre, in Parque Chacabuco with Plaza Italia in a first stage, to finally finish stage two in Ciudad Universitaria, in the Nuñez neighborhood. In addition, the law enacted the creation of two new stations on line H, which began to be built that year; the Sáenz station and Nueva Pompeya, as the head of the system. But none of this, more than two decades later, has happened. A golden opportunity to get more users was wasted, and hopes of reopening this project seem increasingly distant.
The southernmost station in the world
Among the thousands of curiosities about the subway and its stations, one of the least known occurs in one of the heads of Line E, the least used within the system. The Plaza de los Virreyes station, inaugurated in 1986 and which connects the Subway with the Premetro, is the southernmost station in the world. located parallel 34° south. Despite there being more southern cities, such as Melbourne in Australia or Wellington in New Zealand, none of these have an underground train system. Despite this peculiarity, there is no plaque that honors this merit.
Another curiosity about this station is that the Plaza de los Virreyes no longer exists, therefore,In 2011 the Legislature approved the project to change the name to Tupac Amaru, although the station continues with its previous name.
Probably, in 20, 30 or 50 years, there will be more curiosities and myths that the subway will have to tell, its history continues to be written day by day and with the arrival of new lines and stations, more mysteries will come to light, under the streets of Buenos Aires, which already have many stories.
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