Budapest's fourth metro line, linking Kelenföld and the Keleti railway stations, was opened to the public on Friday, on which occasion a ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós at the Kelenföld terminus.
In his speech, the Prime Minister attributed the success of the project to the unity that emerged amongst Hungarians in 2010. He said Budapest will be a proud capital if it embarks on such ambitious projects, stressing the importance of cooperating with the central government.
To demonstrate further examples of projects successfully realised in the Hungarian capital, the Prime Minister mentioned the renovation of Kossuth Square, the Budapest Music Center, the Liszt Academy of Music and the Erkel Theatre, as well as the soon-to-be-completed Castle Bazaar, Ferencváros Stadium, the Ludovica Campus, the Tüskecsarnok Stadium and the reconstruction of Erzsébet Square.
Mayor Tarlós called the newly opened metro line one of Hungary's biggest investment projects over the past few decades and more "a result of chaotic preparations, then serious efforts”. The current expansion of the underground network indicates that the leaders of Budapest and the central government “are willing and able to cooperate”, he said.
The Mayor underlined that the international agreements concluded in 2005 and 2006 with regard to the construction of the metro line did not make any further consideration possible in 2010 about the continuation of the investment. He also stated that after renegotiating the contracts, the capital was able to regain tens of billions of forints, and instead of the “metro-politics” of previous leaderships, construction was finally realised successfully.
The metro line’s 15 vehicles, each with four wagons, will be controlled automatically, but monitoring will also be present during the test phase to ensure absolute safety.
The project was financed by the Hungarian State and the City of Budapest, with co-funding from the European Union. Its total budget was HUF 452.5 billion (EUR 1.5 billion), of which HUF 180 billion (EUR 600 million) was derived from EU funding, including a risk reserve of HUF 67.5 billion.
Passengers can travel on the new metro line free of charge until the end of service on Sunday.
(Prime Minister’s Office)
