On the morning of 19 September 1985 , an 8.1 Richter magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City . Many buildings as well as streets were left with major damage making the transportation on the ground difficult , but the STC Metro was not damaged because a rectangular structure had been used instead of arches , making it resistant to earthquakes , thus proving to be a safe means of transportation in a time of crisis . On the day of the quake , the Metro stopped service and completely shut down for fear of electrocution . This caused people to get out of the tunnels from wherever they were and onto the street to try to get where they were going . At the time , the Metro had 101 stations , with 32 closed to the public in the weeks after the event . On Line 1 , there was no service in stations Merced , Pino Suárez , Isabel la Católica , Salto del Agua , Balderas or Cuauhtémoc . On Line 2 , there was no service between stations Bellas Artes and Taxqueña . On Line 3 only Juárez and Balderas were closed . Line 4 continued to operate normally . All of the closed stations were in the historic center area , with the exception of the stations of Line 2 south of Pino Suárez . These stations were located above ground . The reason these stations were closed was not due to damage to the Metro proper , but rather because of surface rescue work and clearing of debris
earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
Mexico City Metro