Budapest Metro

The Budapest Metro (Hungarian: budapesti metró) is the metro system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It consists of three lines, each marked with a number and a separate colour. Metro Line 4 is currently being built and the plans for Line 5 are ready for implementation. Both lines are estimated to be operational in 2010.

History

Oktogon station on the Millennium Underground

The original purpose of the first metro line was to facilitate the transport to Budapest City Park, although the capital always opposed any surface transport on Andrássy Avenue – this has since become the most elegant road of Budapest, part of the World Heritage. The National Assembly accepted the metro plan in 1870 and the German firm Siemens & Halske AG was commissioned for the construction starting in 1894. It took 2000 workers using up-to-date machinery less than two years to complete it. This section was built entirely from the surface (with the cut-and-cover method). Completed by the deadline, it was inaugurated on May 2 1896, the year of the millennium (the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars), by emperor Franz Joseph.

The train ran along Andrássy út, from Vörösmarty Square (the centre) to City Park, in a northeast-southwest direction, but its terminus was the Zoo (this has since been replaced). It had eleven stations, nine underground and two overground. The length of the line was 3.7 km at that time; trains started in every two minutes. It was able to carry as many as 35,000 people a day (today 103,000 people travel on it on a workday).

The plans for the two further metro lines were made as early as in 1895, defining the main directions of north-south and east-west. The first plans for the present-day two lines were made in 1942, and the Council of Ministers' decree enacted its building in 1950. Metro 2 was originally planned to connect two major railway stations, Keleti (Eastern) and Déli (Southern) pályaudvar. They wanted to complete it by 1955, but construction was ceased for financial and political reasons from 1954 till 1963. It was finally opened with seven stations on April 4 (a Communist holiday) in 1970. It runs in an east-west direction, and as yet it is the only line to cross the River Danube and reach Buda (the western part of Budapest). It has a joint station with the existing metro at Deák Ferenc Square, which has since become a transfer point for the third line as well.

In 1973, both lines were extended (the first with one station, the second with four), so the first line reached its current length of 4.4 km, as well as the second, 10.3 km, consisting of eleven stations. The Budapest Transport Company (BKV) took over the maintenance in 1973, and this is which still runs the metro. The colour-marking of the metro lines was introduced in 1976, when the first section of the third line was opened to the public. This was when the first line was given the colour yellow, the second the red and the third the blue. (Additionally, the green colour is used to mark the suburban railways in and around Budapest, see HÉV.)

The first decree for the third line was made in 1963, its construction started in 1970, and its first section was opened in 1976, consisting of six stations. Its southern direction was complemented with five more stations in 1980, and the northern one in 1981, 1984, and 1990 with nine stations, reaching its current length of 20 stations, 17 km, the longest line in Budapest. M3 runs in a north-south direction (more exactly, from north-northeast to southeast).

In the 80's and 90's, M1 had major reconstructions. Out of its 11 stations, eight are original and three were made at the reconstructions. The stations recall the time of the millennium, including the floor, the benches, the wooden windows and the lighting. Every station is a little museum as well, with photos and information. – There is a Millennium Underground Museum in the Deák Ferenc Square underpass where the rest from these times can be seen.

Metro 4 (as of 2006, under construction) has a long history, reaching back to 1972. In the past decades, difficulties arose from the medicinal springs around its planned route (eg. Gellért Baths). There was a long debate over whether its construction would be safe, what part should be paid by the government and the capital, whether it could be paid from the Russian state debt towards Hungary, whether its route was appropriate and whether it was really that worthy (rather than, for example, helping the conurbations' growth and access with a connector line, see M5 below), and in what length it should be built in the first phase. If it is finished by 2009 (which is the best case), its history will comprise 37 years, the longest time of all the metro lines in Budapest.

Recent and planned developments

Metro 2 reconstructions

Metro 2 is currently under major reconstructions, with much of the track and eight stations being ready (Lujza Blaha Square and Lajos Kossuth Square renovated in 2004, Batthyány Square, Astoria and Eastern Railway Station in 2005 , Southern Railway Station, Moszkva tér and Deák Ferenc tér in 2006). These are currently the most modern stations in Budapest. The line will be completetely renovated by 2007. Elevators will be installed in the first phase at stations Kossuth Square, Lujza Blaha Square, Eastern Station, and Astoria. Besides, new carriages will be bought which provide air-conditioning. The renovations take place in the summer holiday (up to 19th august -the day before the day of Saint Stephen).

Recently, the Urban and Suburban Transit Association (Városi és Elővárosi Közlekedési Egyesület) presented a plan to unite line 2 with the HÉV from Gödöllő. The city government did not totally agree with the plan, but it still may be built after 2015.

Metro 4

Metro 4 will connect southwest Budapest (Buda) to northeastern Budapest (Pest). The first section between Kelenföldi Railway Station and Eastern Railway Station, with a length of 7,5 km, is due to be completed in 2009, comprising 10 stations. The second section (with four stations) between Eastern Railway Station and Bosnyák Square, with a length of 3 km, is to be completed in 2010. Between 2002 and 2004, preparations were made for it at Bartók Béla út and Fehérvári út, often along with the overall renovation of squares. On Móricz Zsigmond körtér and Bocskai út pedestrian underpasses were created, which will later become the disposal for Metro 4 passengers as well.

In 2005 construction works began on Baross tér (the square in front of the Eastern Railway Station). A new station exit will be constructed here, connecting the existing station of the metro line 2 to the surface in the area of the parking lot. The new station exit is needed to meet the significantly increase in traffic demand expected in the future. In addition to the current passenger numbers transported by metro line 2, 600,000 passengers are expected to use the new metro line 4 daily in the future. Secondly, the new exit is built to enable closing of the currently operating exit during the construction works of the metro 4 station. A new underpass will be constructed for the new exit, and new stairs will be built toward Festetics utca. The construction works were completed by december 2005.

March 27, 2006 - The founding stone for this metro line was laid [1]
May 15, 2006 - The building of Szent Gellért tér station began.
July 17, 2006 - The building of "Bocskai út" station began.

The building of the tunnels is due to commence in September 2006.

A schedule of the construction works can be found here: [2] (Microsoft Excel)

Metro 5

Metro 5 also seems to be fairly close. It will run along the Danube (crossing it at Margaret Island), connecting suburban railways going north and going south. Its building is planned to be started in Autumn 2007.

See also List of M5 metro stations

Extension of Metro 3

There are plans for the extension of Metro 3 towards north (Káposztásmegyer) and southeast (Ferihegy Airport), perhaps in this decade too. The option for the extension to Ferihegy airport becomes more unlikely since recent plans call for a train connection between the airport and Eastern Railway Station.

Usage

General information

At the moment, the only meeting point between the lines is Deák tér, however, the forthcoming lines are going to have other stations for changing: M4 will cross the M2 and M3 lines at different stations.

Tickets have to be validated at the entrance, before taking the escalator, with the orange-coloured machines, and they have to be kept until leaving the metro. At validation, the current date and time is printed on tickets, along with other information. Tickets are checked manually by inspectors, who usually turn up at stations near the escalators, but they may inspect tickets wherever in the metro area. Tickets or passes must be handed over to them on request. They wear a blue ribbon with golden inscription around their wrists, but they may hide it before the actual inspection. (An automatized entrance system is planned to be introduced in the metro in 2006 and later on all the other means of public transport in Budapest.)

To identify the required direction to take, one needs to know the name of the terminus; these are put out at the stations and usually at the escalators. The name of the stations are written on the wall of the tunnel in both directions.

None of the stations of either lines 2 or 3 has yet been made accessible for the handicapped or parents with pram, including recently renovated stations. Line 4 will have stations accessible from the street level by lift but people with wheelchair won't be able to use the underpasses when crossing a street. On line 1 (Millennium Underground) there are only three stations suitable for use by wheelchair users.

Travel conditions are the same for all the transport vehicles in Budapest, and they are available at the website of the transport company. These deal with the minimal age and health state of travellers, the maximum size of hand luggage (prohibiting some chemicals), transportation conditions for dogs (ticket/pass, muzzle and lead are required), prohibition of smoking, eating, and music, the accident insurance provided with the ticket, and the conditions for its use.

Types of tickets and passes

There is a single ticket (as of 2006, 185 HUF), the same as for the other means of transport in Budapest, and there are further tickets available specifically for the metro: a section ticket for up to three stops, a transfer ticket for a trip with one transfer, and a section transfer ticket for up to five stops including one transfer.

Except for the section ticket (which is valid for 30 minutes), all tickets are valid for 60 minutes, within Budapest. One-day tickets, tourist tickets (for 3 days), seven-day travelcards, fortnight, 30-day and yearly passes can be bought too, as well as discount coupon books containing ten or twenty pieces. [3] – A Budapest Card [4] is often recommended for tourists, enabling free public transport in Budapest, but it is only worthwhile if one intends to visit lots of sights and take part in many programmes within the given two or three days.

Working hours and frequency

The Budapest Metro trains start running at 4:30 in the morning, and the last vehicle leaves at 11.10 p.m. from the terminus. The rush hours are between 6 and 8 a.m. and between 2 and 5 p.m. on workdays, when trains leave in every two or three minutes. Early morning and night trains leave in every 10 or 15 minutes. On Christmas Eve (December 24) trains usually run only until about 3:00 in the afternoon, and there may occur other breaks as well at special holidays (these are advertised beforehand). Service time may be extended on New Year's Eve.

Trivia

Due to developments in the early 2000s, mobile phones can be used throughout the existing metro lines, although travellers are asked to switch them off.
On Metro 2 and 3 there are still the same Soviet vehicles running (like in Moscow and some subway services of Prague, as well as the only line in Warsaw). The trains are driven by two people, except for Metro 3, which has a "program carpet" controlling the trains' speed and stopping. This means that controlling the metro mostly consists of opening and closing the door. This latter system will be launched soon on Metro 2 as well. On the other hand, Metro 4 will be entirely automatic, functioning without human drivers.
Most of the stations are underground, and they can be reached with escalators (usually three or four at a station). Metro 1, however, has only stairs at its stations (except for their joint transfer station) and there are four stations on the other two lines that don't have escalators: Pillangó utca, Örs vezér tere (the eastern end of Metro 2), Nagyvárad tér and Kőbánya-Kispest (the southern terminus of Metro 3).
The deepest station is Moszkva tér.
The passengers' area is in the middle in most of the stations, but at some stations passengers have to use the stairs to take the opposite direction.
In case of an attack or a catastrophe, the Budapest Metro can provide shelter for 220,000 people, including fresh air (with an air-filter), drinking-water (3 l) and washing-water (27 l per person per day).
A film titled Kontroll was made in Budapest Metro in 2003. It was screened in Cannes and in the U.S.
The movie Underworld (2003) also has scenes shot in the Budapest Metro.

Statistics

The full length of the three metro lines is 31.7 km, comprising 40 stations (among them one for changing). For the forthcoming Metro 4, 12 new stations will be built and two further stations applied for transfer.

Budapest Metro serves about 1,270,000 people on a weekday (as of 2004, [5]). In 2003, there were 315 million travellers on the metro, which means 860,000 people for an average day ([6]).