Pope's visit: how subway, trains and buses will run.

Subway and Premetro: stations closed on Sunday 8 and Monday 9

From Sunday, November 8 to Wednesday, November 11, getting around Buenos Aires and its suburbs (the AMBA) will call for an extraordinary plan because of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city and to Luján. Some subway stations will be closed, night trains will run and buses will be reinforced, with a weekday timetable even on the holidays of Monday 9 and Tuesday 10.

On Sunday 8 the subway runs a Sunday timetable, but restrictions for the security operation start at noon. On Monday 9 service follows a weekday timetable, with the same closures from the first departure. The Premetro will run with no station closures and no changes reported.

On Line A five stations close: Lima, Miserere, Piedras, Perú and Plaza de Mayo, and service is limited between San Pedrito and Sáenz Peña. On Line B you will not be able to use Leandro N. Alem, Florida, Carlos Pellegrini or Pueyrredón, besides Medrano, already closed for works, and trains run between Juan Manuel de Rosas and Uruguay.

Line C closes Retiro, San Martín and Avenida de Mayo, on top of Lavalle and Independencia, which are under works. Its trains go between Constitución and Diagonal Norte, and passengers exit only at that last station. On Line D, Catedral, 9 de Julio and Pueyrredón are out of service, and the open stretch goes from Congreso de Tucumán to Tribunales.

Line E does not open Retiro, Catalinas, Correo Central, Bolívar, Belgrano, Independencia or Jujuy, nor Urquiza and Entre Ríos, because of works; its usable stretch runs from San José to Plaza de los Virreyes. On Line H, Santa Fe, Corrientes, Once and Humberto 1° close, and the route shrinks to Hospitales and Facultad de Derecho.

Tuesday 10: open stations and longer hours on Line D

On Tuesday 10 the subway goes back to a weekday timetable and, in principle, with all stations open, except those that remain closed for works. If there is a security risk, overcrowding or operating faults, the closure protocol of the previous days returns.

For the exit from the youth mass, Line D will run an hour and a half past its usual closing, until 1:30 am on Wednesday, with two crowd-dispersal services. Anyone heading to Catedral boards at Plaza Italia, and Pueyrredón and 9 de Julio are exit-only. Anyone who needs to reach Congreso de Tucumán boards at Palermo and gets off at Juramento or Olleros, also exit-only stations.

Line H connects to that plan through a direct service between Santa Fe and Once. At Santa Fe you can only enter by transfer, and at Once you can only get off.

AMBA trains: night services and shortened routes

Trenes Argentinos will keep a weekday timetable on Monday 9, Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11, despite the holidays. Special early-morning services will be added on Monday, hours will be extended on Tuesday night and more security staff will be posted at stations and on trains.

On the Sarmiento line, the Once-Moreno service will have an average frequency of 11 minutes. Between Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11, the stretch from Moreno to Mercedes will get three times as many trains: special services leave from 3 am and run until 11:30 pm on Wednesday, at intervals of about 30 minutes and with a fifth car.

On the San Martín line there will be extra trains between Pilar and Dr. Cabred on Tuesday and Wednesday, an option for getting close to Luján that requires finishing the trip by another means. For operating reasons, from 8 am on Monday 9 and from 4 pm on Tuesday 10 services reach only Villa del Parque, without entering Retiro.

The Mitre line adds trains in the early hours of Monday 9 on three branches, Bartolomé Mitre, José León Suárez and Tigre, and stretches them until 1 am on Wednesday. At certain times trains run only from Belgrano C to Tigre, and from Belgrano R to the terminal of José León Suárez or of Bartolomé Mitre. According to Página/12, Lisandro de la Torre and 3 de Febrero stations have no passenger stops from 6 pm on Saturday 7 until trains start on Thursday 12.

The Roca and Belgrano Sur lines, with its González Catán branch, also add early-morning trains on Monday 9 and extend operation until 1 am on Wednesday after Tuesday night.

Buses, volunteers and how to plan your transport

City-run bus lines will have more vehicles on the holidays of Monday 9 and Tuesday 10. According to Página/12, national-jurisdiction buses will use a weekday timetable from 6 pm on Sunday 8 until Wednesday night, the 11th.

According to Página/12, 24,000 SUBE cards were handed over for volunteers, who can use buses, trains and subways at no cost from Friday, November 6 to Friday, November 13, and an operation is being prepared to carry about 4,000 volunteers from the city to Luján on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10. The same source says air restrictions between November 8 and 10 could shift some flight times, so it is worth checking with your airline.

What changes for you

If you travel by subway on Sunday 8 or Monday 9, first look at which stations on your line are closed and between which points it runs. If you need to switch to another line, check that the transfer station is not among those that stay shut.

If your trip is on Tuesday night the 10th, keep in mind that Line D and several AMBA trains extend service until 1 am or 1:30 am on Wednesday. Before leaving by train, check the operators' channels, because the Mitre and San Martín lines have shortened stretches at certain times. The holidays do not lower frequencies: the plan is a weekday one.