​Metro Line No. 3 Is to Be Reconstructed

July 24th, 2014 The agreement of the preparation or the reconstruction of the Metro Line no. 3 was approved. The reconstruction includes the renewal and the lengthening of the line towards the north. The work requires a HUF-1.2 billion self-government source.

The development agreement of the preparation or the reconstruction of the Metro Line no. 3 was approved by the Metropolitan Assembly on the 30th June with 29 affirmative votes. The reconstruction may require a HUF-1.2 billion self-government source, and the project can also get a HUF-635 million EU source, if the BKK Centre for Budapest Transport makes the construction contract by the 8th July.

The Technical Condition of the Line Is not Appropriate

The assembly decided the reconstruction must be started in the 2014-2020 government era, because given the poor technical condition of the line the safety of the passengers can no longer be guaranteed. During the 35 years of its use the condition of the line became inappropriate, and no large-scale reconstructions have been done yet, thus technical issues became more and more frequent. More than 540 thousand passengers use the line day by day, so the reconstruction became inevitable. 

History of the Metro Line No. 3

Metro Line no. 3 is the longest line in Budapest: its current length is 16.3 kilometers, and the number of the stations is 20. The line running between the terminals Újpest-Centre and Kőbánya-Kispest was started to be built in 1970 and the constructions were finished in 1990. It was originally running between Újpest-Centre and Határ út. During the construction a decision of lengthening the line was made: the new terminal was to be Káposztásmegyer, because a new residential area was being built there. The length of the line was to be 20.5 kilometers with 24 stations, but at the end the plans weren’t realized. The line was opened in 5 sections: the last one, connecting Árpád Brigde with Újpest-Centre was inaugurated in 1990. Since the technical condition of the line became worse and worse, the speed limit was decreased in 2011. In 2013 a decision of lengthening the line was made, and the to-be-started reconstruction has also been planned for a long time.

Sources:
www.portfolio.huhu.wikipedia.org