The Panama Metro maintained the suspension of commercial operations on its Lines 1 and 2 this Saturday, October 10, due to the new aftershocks of the earthquake that shook the country on Friday.
The company confirmed that technical inspections of its facilities continued throughout the morning, without announcing a date or time to restore passenger service.
Through a new official statement, the entity reported that the evaluations began during the night of Friday and extended into Saturday morning, with the participation of technical personnel from the institution and contractor companies.
However, the persistence of the seismic movements forced the service to remain suspended as a precautionary measure, while the corresponding inspections are carried out.
The suspension affects one of the main means of transportation in the Panamanian capital, which moves more than 425,000 passengers daily, according to demand figures released in 2026.
The two lines connect residential, commercial, and work areas, so their shutdown has consequences for the mobility of thousands of people who depend on the railway system.
Line 1, inaugurated in April 2014, has a length of close to 16 kilometers and connects the Albrook and San Isidro stations, through a route that combines elevated and underground infrastructure. It has 14 stations, of which eight are underground and six are elevated, seg…
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The Panama Metro is keeping the commercial operations of its Lines 1 and 2 suspended this Saturday, October 10, due to the new aftershocks of the earthquake that shook the country on Friday. The company confirmed that technical inspections of its facilities continued throughout the morning, without announcing a date or time to restore passenger transport.
Through a new official statement, the entity reported that the evaluations began during the night of Friday and extended into Saturday morning, with the participation of the institution's technical staff and contractor companies. However, the persistence of the seismic movements forced the service to remain suspended as a precautionary measure, while the corresponding reviews are carried out.
The Panama Metro normally moves more than 425,000 daily passengers through its Lines 1 and 2, which connect important residential, commercial, and work areas of the capital, so the suspension of the service affects the mobility of thousands of users.
Cortresía
The suspension affects one of the main means of transportation in the Panamanian capital, which moves more than 425,000 passengers daily, according to demand references published in 2026. The two lines connect residential, commercial, and work sectors, so their shutdown has consequences for the mobility of thousands of people who depend on the railway system.
Line 1, inaugurated in April 2014, is nearly 16 kilometers long and connects the Albrook and San Isidro stations through a route that combines elevated and underground infrastructure. It has 14 stations, of which eight are underground and six are elevated, according to the company's technical information.
In its original configuration, the underground section of Line 1 comprised approximately 7.15 kilometers, while the underground stations were built at depths of around 20 meters. This infrastructure crosses central areas of the capital, such as 5 de Mayo, Lotería, Santo Tomás, Iglesia del Carmen, and Vía Argentina, before continuing north.
Line 2 of the Panama Metro connects San Miguelito with Nuevo Tocumen through 21 kilometers of elevated infrastructure, one of the main mobility alternatives for residents of the eastern part of the city.
EFE
For its part, Line 2, inaugurated in April 2019, extends for 21 kilometers of completely elevated infrastructure, from San Miguelito to Nuevo Tocumen. It has 16 stations and runs through important sectors of the east of the capital, including Villa Lucre, Don Bosco, Las Mañanitas, 24 de Diciembre, and Nuevo Tocumen.
The characteristics of both lines make differentiated evaluations of tunnels, underground stations, viaducts, elevated structures, and railway systems necessary after a high-intensity tremor. The inspections seek to establish whether there are safe conditions for operation, although the preventive suspension does not necessarily mean that structural damage has been detected in the facilities.
The earthquake occurred at approximately 12:56 p.m. on Friday, with its epicenter in the Azuero region and an estimated magnitude between 7.5 and 7.7, according to updates from specialized agencies. The tremor caused damage to homes, hospitals, roads, and educational centers, while the numerous aftershocks prolonged the precautionary measures during the night and morning of Saturday.
Line 3 of the Panama Metro, currently under construction, includes a tunnel of approximately six kilometers that includes a crossing under the Panama Canal channel.
REUTERS/Enea Lebrun
The Panamanian railway system is also expanding with the construction of Line 3, which will connect Albrook with Ciudad del Futuro, in Panama Oeste. This project includes a route of approximately 26.7 kilometers, including an underground section of about six kilometers that will allow crossing under the Panama Canal.
The underground infrastructure of this third line constitutes one of the project's greatest technical challenges, since the tunnel reaches approximately 65 meters deep under the Canal's navigation channel.
In February 2026, the Panama tunnel boring machine completed the excavation of 3.1 kilometers and finished the crossing under the interoceanic waterway, before continuing with the following construction stages.
The Panama Metro reiterated that decisions related to the resumption of operations will be communicated through its official channels once the corresponding evaluations are completed.