Metro de Santiago, the city's subway operator, closed Departamental station on Line 2 on Tuesday, October 20, because of water buildup inside. At 15:15 it announced on X that the station was closed and that trains were passing through without stopping.
According to CNN Chile, the closure came as rain was affecting much of the Región Metropolitana, the Santiago metropolitan region. As a result, Line 2 service is running in two sections: from Vespucio Norte to Lo Vial and from Ciudad del Niño to Hospital El Pino. BioBioChile reported the same.
Accounts differ on where the water came from. CNN Chile and BioBioChile attributed the buildup to the rain. T13 reported on its T13 En Vivo channel that the problem may have been caused by an external leak unrelated to the frontal system.
According to T13, a stormwater cover may have burst because of the food businesses in the area. The channel said a "quite thick" smell, similar to sewage, could be noticed near the station. Metro has not commented on this account in the available sources.
Specialized Metro crews wearing white coveralls, gloves and masks were working inside the station. At the time of writing, passenger entry remained suspended.
The disruption happened in the middle of the evening rush hour. To deal with it, Metro arranged for Lo Vial and Ciudad del Niño to operate as shared stations for the duration of the emergency, and asked users in the area to head to them.
Before the closure, the company had reminded passengers that rain increases the risk of falls. It asked them not to run in stations and to use the handrails on stairs and in trains.
So far there is no estimated date or time for Departamental to reopen. Work continues at the site.
