Metro Line M3 (Budapest Metro)

Metro Line M3
Overview
Line number	Line 3 ("Blue metro")
Stations	20
Technical
Line length	16.5 km (10 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Operating speed	80 km/h
Route map

The Metro 3 (Officially: M3, North-South Line, Unofficially: Blue Line) is the longest line of Budapest Metro. It runs in a general north-south direction parallel to the Danube on the Pest side, roughly following Váci út south from Újpest to the city center, then following the route of Üllői út southeast to Kőbánya-Kispest. Its daily ridership is estimated at 626,179. Like Metro 1, it does not serve Buda.

History

The first decree for the third line was made in 1968, construction started in 1970, the first section was opened in 1976 with six stations. The 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 and 16.5 km (10 mi), the longest line in Budapest. Soviet-made 81-717/714 carriages (prevalent in many Eastern Bloc metro systems) operate on this line. Operation started with 4 units in 1976, expanded to 6 units in 1984. Six unit-trains provide space for 1,097 people. It was planned for a daily ridership of 800,000 people.

M3 runs in a north-south direction (more exactly, from north-northeast to southeast) through the city and connects several populous microraion with the downtown. It has a transfer station with Line 1 and Line 2 at Deák Ferenc tér, and a transfer station for Line 4 at Kálvin tér.

Sections	Opened	Length	Stations
Deák Ferenc tér - Nagyvárad tér	31 December 1976	4.1 km (3 mi)	6
Nagyvárad tér - Kőbánya-Kispest	29 March 1980	4.9 km (3 mi)	5
Deák Ferenc tér - Lehel tér	30 December 1981	2.4 km (1 mi)	3
Lehel tér - Árpád híd	5 November 1984	1.7 km (1 mi)	2
Árpád híd - Újpest-Központ	14 December 1990	3.4 km (2 mi)	4
Total	14 December 1990	16.5 km (10 mi)	20

Stations and connections

Kőbánya-Kispest – Újpest-Központ
Travel Time minutes	Station	Travel Time minutes	Connection	Buildings / Monuments
0	Kőbánya-Kispest	31	68, 85, 85E, 93, 93A, 98, 98E, 136E, 148, 151, 182, 184, 193E, 200E, 201E, 202E, 282E, 284E 2200, 2201, 2210 Hungarian State Railways (MÁV)
3	Határ út	28	42, 50, 52 66, 66E, 84E, 89E, 94E, 99, 123, 123A, 194, 194B, 199
4	Pöttyös utca	27
5	Ecseri út	26	3 181, 281
7	Népliget	24	1 254E 626, 628, 629, 654, 660 (Volánbusz)	Népliget, Groupama Arena, Planetarium
9	Nagyvárad tér	22	24 281	Semmelweis University Nagyvárad Téri Elméleti Tömb (NET), Hungarian Natural History Museum, Ludovika Military Academy
11	Klinikák	20		Semmelweis University Clinic
12	Corvin-negyed	19	4, 6	Museum of Applied Arts
14	Kálvin tér	17	47, 47B, 48, 49 83 9, 15, 115	Fővárosi Szabó Ervin Könyvtár, Hungarian National Museum
15	Ferenciek tere	16	5, 7, 8, 15, 107, 110, 112, 115, 133, 178, 233, 239
16	Deák Ferenc tér	15	47, 48, 49 9, 15, 16, 105, 115	Deák Ferenc tér, Town Hall, Metro Museum (Földalatti Vasút Múzeum)
18	Arany János utca	13	72, 73 9, 15, 115	St. Stephen's Basilica
19	Nyugati pályaudvar	12	4, 6 72, 73 9, 26, 91, 191, 226 Hungarian State Railways (MÁV)	Nyugati pályaudvar, WestEnd City Center
21	Lehel tér	10	14 76 15, 115	Lehel csarnok
23	Dózsa György út	8	75, 79
24	Árpád híd	7	1 26, 32, 34, 106, 115, 120 800, 801, 805, 810, 815, 820, 830, 831, 832, 840
26	Forgách utca	5	32
28	Gyöngyösi utca	3	15, 105
30	Újpest-Városkapu	1	104, 104A, 121, 122, 196, 196A, 204 300, 302, 303, 305, 306, 308, 309, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 318, 319, 320, 872, 880, 882, 883, 884, 889, 890, 893 Hungarian State Railways (MÁV)
31	Újpest-Központ	0	12, 14 25, 30, 30A, 104, 104A, 147, 170, 196, 196A, 204, 220, 230, 270

Ongoing Reconstruction

Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky was warned in 2006 by BKV Zrt. that the line would soon need reconstruction, but no steps towards this were made before the new mayor István Tarlós took office in 2010. The trains started burning or smoking multiple times, but this has caused neither fatalities nor serious injuries as of yet. Tarlós reacted by ordering the retirement of all trains that were more than 40 years old. He also started the reconstruction of the tracks, because they were also reported as hazardous. In 2014 the mayor's administration finished laying out the plans for the complete reconstruction of the line and Viktor Orbán's government allowed the local government to finance the reconstruction of the trains by taking up loans. Repayment of the loans was guaranteed by the national government in case the municipal government was not able to pay.

The municipal government requested EU funds to finance the reconstruction of the underground infrastructure (tunnels and stations), the national government assured it would provide financing in case no or less EU funds were obtained than the necessary amount.

The first metro train was handed over in January 2016 to the Russian Metrowagonmash (the original manufacturer) to be reconstructed. Tarlós had preferred buying new trains, but he had been overwritten by the Orbán-government. The prototype of the reconstructed trains entered service on March 20, 2017. Since then, the number of reconstructed trains serving the line is scheduled to increase by 2 trains every month.

On September 4th, 2017 the contracts for reconstructing the whole tunnel and the stations of the northern section were signed. Reconstruction of the stations will be finished by December 31th, 2018. Reconstruction of the tunnel is set to end by August 24th, 2020.

Gallery

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  Újpest-Központ
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  Újpest-Központ
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  Újpest-Városkapu
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  Gyöngyösi utca
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  Forgách utca
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  Árpád híd
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  Dózsa György út
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  Lehel tér
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  Nyugati pályaudvar
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  Nyugati pályaudvar
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  Arany János utca
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  Deák Ferenc tér
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  Ferenciek tere
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  Kálvin tér
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  Kálvin tér
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  Kálvin tér
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  Corvin-negyed
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  Klinikák
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  Nagyvárad tér
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  Népliget
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  Ecseri út
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  Pöttyös utca
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  Határ út
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  Határ út
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  Határ út
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  Kőbánya-Kispest (2005)
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  Kőbánya-Kispest
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  First reconstructed train, Pöttyös utca