Line 4 (Budapest Metro)

Line 4
Overview
Stations 10
Line number Line 4 ("Green metro")
Website www.metro4.hu
Technical
Line length

7.4 km[1]
Phase II (planned): 3.2 km

Phase III (planned): 2.1 km
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 750 V DC
Operating speed 80 km/h[2]
Route map

Metro 4

Legend
 Keleti pályaudvar HSR (MÁV)
 II. János Pál pápa tér
 Rákóczi tér
 Kálvin tér
Fővám tér
 Danube
 Szent Gellért tér
 Móricz Zsigmond körtér
 Újbuda-központ
 Bikás park
 Kelenföld vasútállomás HSR (MÁV)
 Detailed track map 
0
13
 Keleti pályaudvar HSR (MÁV)
1
12
 II. János Pál pápa tér
2
11
 Rákóczi tér
4
9
 Kálvin tér
5
8
 Fővám tér
Danube
7
6
 Szent Gellért tér
8
5
 Móricz Zsigmond körtér
10
3
 Újbuda-központ
12
1
 Bikás park

13
0
 Kelenföld vasútállomás HSR (MÁV)

The Metro 4 (Officially: M4, South Buda–Rákospalota (DBR) Line, Unofficially: Green Line), is the fourth, or green line of Budapest Metro, and opened on 28 March 2014.[3]

The first section, 7.4 km in length and consisting of ten stations, connects the southwestern Kelenföld vasútállomás located in Buda, and the eastern Keleti pályaudvar in Pest, under the River Danube. While three additional sections — one an eastern extension to Bosnyák tér, the second west to Virágpiac, and a third further east to Újpalota — have been planned, these remain unfunded by the Budapest city government and the European Union.[4]

Before Metro 4 was built, only Metro 2 served the Buda side of the river. Daily ridership has been estimated at 421,000. The line operates using fully automated Alstom Metropolis train sets, which are also installed on the M2 line.[5]

In Hungary the construction of the line has been widely criticised as having an outdated route. It has been noted for its high costs and inordinate delays — 17 in total — during construction.[6][7]

History

The first plans for a fourth metro line were developed in 1972, the line was planned between South Buda and Rákospalota/Újpalota, later to Zugló.[8] The first decree was made in 1976 and the government wanted to start the construction in 1978, however the project was ceased in 1978, they preferred the extension of Line 3.[8]

The construction work eventually started in 2004, and the first section with 10 stations opened in 2014.

M4 has a transfer station for Line 2 at Keleti pályaudvar and for Line 3 at Kálvin tér station.

Sections[1][9] Opened Length Stations
Kelenföld vasútállomás - Keleti pályaudvar 28 March 2014 7.4 km (5 mi) 10
Keleti pályaudvar - Bosnyák tér planned 3.2 km (2 mi) 4
Kelenföld vasútállomás - Madárhegy planned 2.1 km (1 mi) 2
Total planned 12.7 km (8 mi) 16

Controversies

Construction works taking place at Szent Gellért Tér close to the Danube River, 2009

The construction of the line has been widely criticized as slow and incompetent. Critics have panned the constant delays of evidence of widespread government corruption.[10]

Delays

The Budapest city government delayed the opening of the line 17 times. Gábor Demszky, the liberal mayor of Budapest from 1990 to 2010, originally promised in 1998 that the first section of the line would be open by 2003. However, Viktor Orbán's first government (1998-2002) withheld funds necessary for starting the construction. The project restarted in 2003 under the socialist-liberal national government. In 2004, with construction of the metro still hadn't started, Demszky delayed the opening until 2008. The construction works finally started in 2006, in that year the opening was reworked to 2009. It was again reworked in April 2007 to 2010; in October 2007 to 2011.[11]

In 2008, Gusztáv Klados, the line's project manager, announced that the opening would be further delayed until the end of 2011.[12] In 2009, he stated the opening would be delayed until 2012.[13] Later that year, Klados further delayed the opening until 2012,[14] and one year later, in 2010, István Tarlós, Demszky's Fidesz successor as mayor, pushed the likely opening back to as late as 2015.[15]

In 2011, deputy mayor Gyula Hutiray reaffirmed the 2015 completion date.[16] Tarlós later clarified that a 2013 or 2014 opening were not outside the realm of possibility.[17][18]

The line was opened by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on March 28, 2014, one week before the parliamentary elections that saw his party, Fidesz, reelected to a second supermajority. Orbán made several references to his government's extensive infrastructure projects during the ceremony. Contrary to the transport facilities that were the infrastructure projects of the socialists, the projects started by Orbán's government were mainly cultural facilities. [19]

Costs

Construction of the line cost 1.5 billion Euros, or 1.5% of Hungary's annual GDP, of which 600 million came from European Union funds.[20] According to estimates the first section of the M4 will have cost approximately 452 billion HUF to build alongside an annual operating cost of 6 billion HUF, which is fourfold the operating costs of the M2 and M3 combined. These funds, critics claim, could have been funneled into other large-scale transportation projects such as the connection of M2 to the Gödöllő HÉV or the construction of new tram lines.[21] Rumors that the M4 would be the most expensive metro line ever built, however, have been rebuffed by contractors.[22]

Route

Critics have noted that the route served by Line 4 was already extensively served by a variety of tram (19, 47, 49) and bus (7, 7A, 7E, 173E) lines. The line has also been criticized for densely placed stations, some, such as Móricz Zsigmond körtér and Újbuda-központ, within a few hundred meters of one-another.[23] On the other hand, the city government has conducted research showing that the new line will reduce travel times on an already overused transit corridor, because travel in the subway is not slowed by the traffic jams of the surface.[24]

Unfunded extensions

Despite long-term plans, which included the eventual extension to Rákospalota, future extensions to the M4 are uncertain. Tarlós's Fidesz city government eliminated funding for the second phase of the line after taking over from Demszky's government, and the European Union has refused to provide additional funds.[25] Some critics claim that without the additional trackage, the current state of the line amounts to "several hundred-million forints thrown out the window."[26]

Operation

Except for the first year of operation, where a supervisor will be present, the trains on this line will be driverless. [27]

Stations and connections

Kelenföld vasútállomás – Keleti pályaudvar
Travel Time
min:sec		 Station Travel Time
min:sec		 Connection Buildings / Monuments
0:00 Kelenföld vasútállomás 13:45 19, 49
8E, 40, 40B, 40E, 53, 58, 87, 88, 88B, 101B, 101E, 103, 108E, 141, 150, 153, 154, 154B, 172, 172B, 173, 187, 188E, 250, 250B, 251, 251A, 272
689, 691, 710, 712, 715, 720, 722, 724, 725, 731, 732, 734, 735, 736, 760, 762, 763, 767, 777, 778, 799
Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) 		Kelenföld railway station, Intermodal junction
1:42 Bikás park 12:15 7, 58, 103, 114, 153, 213, 214
689, 691 		Market
3:52 Újbuda-központ 10:07 4, 17, 41, 47, 47B, 48, 56
33, 53, 58, 150, 153, 154, 154B, 212
1251, 1253 		Allee, Market Hall
5:10 Móricz Zsigmond körtér 8:45 6, 17, 19, 41, 47, 47B, 48, 49, 56, 56A, 61
7, 27, 33, 114, 213, 214, 240 		Major public transport hub, Lake Feneketlen
6:52 Szent Gellért tér 7:05 19, 41, 47, 47B, 48, 49, 56, 56A
7, 133E
 Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Gellért Thermal Baths and Swimming Pool
8:07 Fővám tér 5:55 2, 47, 47B, 48, 49
83
15, 115 		Corvinus University of Budapest, Great Market Hall
9:30 Kálvin tér 4:35
47, 47B, 48, 49
83
9, 15, 115 		Hungarian National Museum, Fővárosi Szabó Ervin Könyvtár
11:12 Rákóczi tér 2:47 4, 6 Market Hall
12:35 II. János Pál pápa tér 1:22 28, 28A, 37, 37A, 62
99, 217E 		Erkel Theatre
13:45 Keleti pályaudvar 0:00
24
73, 76, 78, 79, 80, 80A
5, 7, 7E, 8E, 20E, 30, 30A, 108E, 110, 112, 133E, 178, 230
Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) 		Budapest Keleti railway station, Aréna Plaza

References

  1. 1 2 Budapest Metro Line 4, main data
  2. ↑ Siemens.com Budapest Line 4
  3. ↑ "Orbán: Hihetetlen, de elkészült". origo.hu. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  4. ↑ Király, Dávid. "4-es metró: örülünk, de ez még nincs kész". http://bkvfigyelo.blog.hu. BKV Figyelő. Retrieved 8 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ ALSTOM Alstom delivers the first Metropolis for the Budapest Metro in Hungary 11 February 2009
  6. ↑ Meghúzzák és eltolják a 4-es metrót – Népszabadság, 2007. október 26.
  7. ↑ (Mandiner, 17 January 2014)
  8. 1 2 László Pintér - Tamás Várady: A 4-es (DB-Belváros-Zugló) metróvonal megépítésének indoklása, műszaki kialakításának lehetőségei, Városi Közlekedés, Year XXXI, Vol. 2, pp. 69-70, Budapest, 1991
  9. ↑ Budapest Metro Line 4, stations
  10. ↑ budapesttimes.hu Light at end of M4 tunnel: Mayor 25 April 2012
  11. ↑ Meghúzzák és eltolják a 4-es metrót – Népszabadság, 2007. október 26.
  12. ↑ Két hét múlva újra fúrhatják a metrót – Index, 2008. november 5.
  13. ↑ Csak 2012-ben indulhat a 4-es metró próbaüzeme – Index, 2009. április 9.
  14. ↑ Tovább késik a 4-es metró átadása – Index, 2009. október 15.
  15. ↑ Tarlós: 2015-re készülhet el a metró – 2010. október 13.
  16. ↑ 2015-től vihet utasokat a 4-es metró (Index, 2011. május 25.)
  17. ↑ 2014 elejéig átadják a 4-es metró első szakaszát - lapszemle (Inforádió, 2011. augusztus 26.)
  18. ↑ Kihaltak a 4-es metró fenti munkaterületei (Index, 2011. október 21.)
  19. ↑ Feher, Margit. "Budapest Opens 4th Subway Line". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  20. ↑ Feher, Margit. "Budapest Opens 4th Subway Line". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  21. ↑ (Mandiner, 17 January 2014)
  22. ↑ (HVG, 3 December 2009)
  23. ↑ (Mandiner, 17 January 2014)
  24. ↑ (BKK, June 2010)
  25. ↑ Király, Dávid. "4-es metró: örülünk, de ez még nincs kész". http://bkvfigyelo.blog.hu. BKV Figyelő. Retrieved 8 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  26. ↑ Király, Dávid. "4-es metró: örülünk, de ez még nincs kész". http://bkvfigyelo.blog.hu. BKV Figyelő. Retrieved 8 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  27. ↑ Railway Gazette International May 2014, pg 15.
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