Budapest M3 Underground Line Renovation Complete

The renewed stations of metro line 3 at Lehel Square and Nagyvárad Square were inaugurated in Budapest on Monday morning and will be open to passengers in the early afternoon. The five-and-a-half-year reconstruction of the ‘blue’ metro line is now complete.

Speaking at the opening of the last of the renovated stations at the final event of the reconstruction of Metro Line 3, at the Nagyvárad Square station, Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics said that the project is important not only for Budapest and Hungary, but also for the European Union (EU). With the renovation, the cooperation between the government, the capital and the EU has taken tangible shape, he said, adding that he hoped that more such cooperation could be established in the future, when EU funds arrive.

He stressed that Budapest's transport, "the position and location of the capital", is crucial for the whole country. Not only in economic and cultural terms, but also in terms of everyday life. Virtually every second Hungarian "encounters Budapest" in some form of daily activity, he added.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony thanked the government, the EU, the people involved in the project and the patience of the people driving in Budapest. He said the renovation of the metro line was a big challenge for the city, but he hoped that when people use the renewed, accessible metro, they will think it was worth it.

“The world around us is clearly unsustainable, and if we want to build a new city, a new country, a new Europe, it cannot be exactly the same as the old one," the mayor said, stressing that this often takes courage and public debate about how the city can work and be greener.

Tibor Bolla, CEO of the Budapest traffic company BKV Plc, said: one of the most modern metro lines in Europe is being inaugurated. During the project, the tracks have been renovated, 40,000 square meters of paving have been laid, and the length of the power lines laid is long enough to reach as far as Barcelona. In addition, inclined lifts have been installed for the first time in Hungary and the entire metro line is barrier-free, he said.

Tibor Bolla said that during the five-and-a-half years of the reconstruction, the work did not stop for a single day and 3,500 people worked on the renovation. The metro replacement buses covered 22 million kilometers during the reconstruction, he noted.

Katalin Walter, CEO of the Budapest Transport Center, said Metro 3 is the busiest railway line in the country, carrying more than half a million passengers a day. The development and operation of a sustainable public transport system cannot be achieved without repairing the infrastructure, she stressed.

Agnes Monfret, Head of Unit at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, said that the renovation of Budapest’s M3 line has been the largest project ever to receive EU funding under the 2014-2020 Cohesion Program.

The EU supported the renovation not only because "the blue metro line is green", but also because the modernization made Metro 3 safer, faster and more user-friendly, she said.

The renovation works started on November 6, 2017 and cost a total of HUF 225 billion, of which the EU contribution amounts to HUF 172.7 billion, or about 77% of the total.