Transmilenio’s Calle 26 station, on the Caracas Centro highway, went into operation on Saturday, December 27, after a 19-month construction period as part of the development of Line 1 of the Bogotá Metro.
In this first phase, access on the north side, corresponding to car 2, was opened at 28th Street.
The reactivation of the station triggered reactions in the political sphere. The former mayor of Bogotá took advantage of the event to publicly question Gustavo Petro and Claudia López, both former mayors of the city, marking a new episode in the discussion about the development of the transport system in the capital.
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Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, emphasized the continuity of subway works during the reopening of the Calle 26 Transmilenio station.
In his message, he emphasized that the project promoted during his term in office was maintained despite political differences and “the attempts” to stop it by Gustavo Petro and Claudia López.
“The Metro that we hired and that neither Petro nor Claudia López could stop is moving forward. This is how we will work for Colombia.” Enrique Peñalosa explained on his social network account X.
Peñalosa was a frequent critic of Claudia López and Gustavo Petro’s efforts at the helm of Bogotá’s mayoralty.
In particular, has repeatedly pointed out that Claudia López expressed her opposition to the upscale design of the metro before taking office, although during her term she chose to continue the development of the structure.
With Gustavo Petro, the current President of Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa has had several public disagreements over the metro project and other key issues for the development of Bogotá. The debates between the two reflected profound differences in the vision of the urban future and the mobility model for the capital.
Enrique Peñalosa’s previous message was not the only one in which he attacked both former mayors of the capital, because in 2024 he also published a publication in X in which he said the following: “Claudia López and other politicians demanded that our metro contract be destroyed, and Petro did everything to stop it. None of them could stop it, fortunately for the people of Bogotá.
For its part, with regard to the aforementioned reopening, TransMilenio reported that the reactivation of the Calle 26 station will improve the mobility of about 11,000 people daily in the area of the International Center and the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition, the company announced that the south side entrance (Car 1) will be opened in the first half of 2026 after the completion of work on the Metro Viaduct at El Dorado Avenue.
During a tour of the opening of the station, the mayor of Bogotá said: Carlos Fernando Galán highlighted the improvements implemented in the infrastructure and integration of the city’s public transport system.
“Today, the north car of the 26th Street station goes into operation, the final station for the future operations of TransMilenio, with greater capacity, greater reach and better services, so that we continue to integrate Bogotá’s transportation system between the metro and TransMilenio,” said Carlos Fernando Galán.
The renovated Calle 26 station will serve the Ruta Fácil 8, H20, D20, H27 and B27 lines, connecting to the Usme, Tunal, 80 and Norte portals, as well as the NQS Central connection via Sixth Street. The managing director of TransMilenio SA, María Fernanda Ortiz, stated that the reopening will be gradual.
“We have started the opening of the new Calle 26 station with northern access, which will benefit more than 11,000 users per day. We will gradually resume the TransMilenio offer on Caracas Avenue, which has been adapted to facilitate the progress of the metro works,” said Ortiz.
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