Development of the Buda Tramway Network to Get Underway22 April 2009
Tramway transport in Buda will be renewed in the upcoming years with the help of EU funding. The assistance contract for the first phase of the several billion HUF-investment worth over 5.4 billion HUF was signed on 17 April. If plans are also approved by Brussels, the tram lines running between Óbuda and Batthyány Square and Moscow Square will be entirely renewed by 2010.
"Establishing interlinked tramway transport in Buda" – this is the title of the investment package, as a part of which within a space of just a few years passengers will be able to travel by tram from Óbuda right through to the Infopark in Lágymányos with fewer transfers than at present. The first phase of this development earmarked a budget of nearly 7.5 billion HUF targets the development of tramway connections between Óbuda and Inner Buda.
The investment package to be implemented with the help of EU funding amounting to more than 5.4 billion HUF primarily affects tram line 17. As a part of the project, among others, safety platforms will be built along the section of the line running from Margaret Bridge along Frankel Leó Street and Bécsi Street to Vörösvári Road, and tracks suitable for use by Tátra trams will also be developed.
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In addition, and also constituting a part of the first phase, tram line 17 will be connected to tram lines 4 and 6 via Török Street in the direction of Moscow Square and via Frankel Leó Street in the direction of Vörösvári Road, hence creating a direct tram connection from Óbuda to Moscow Square. In order to do so - and also constituting an integral part of the first phase - it will also be necessary to transform and upgrade the tramway terminal on Moscow Square. Once this part of the investment is completed, transport for 8,000 passengers per day will be made more convenient by summer 2010.
Tram line 17 will not only be extended in the direction of Margaret Ring; it will also be connected to tram line 19 by constructing tracks running from Vidra Street, via Germanus Gyula Park, under Margaret Bridge and along Bem Quay, to Batthyány Square. In order to complete this – and concurrently to the construction of the main waste water pipeline network of Buda - the current terminal of tram line 19 on Batthyányi Square will also be transformed. This part of the first phase of the development will ensure more convenient transport conditions in the inner city for 11,000 passengers a day.
The construction of the tram line along Műegyetem (University of Technology) Quay is planned as a continuation of the first phase to be completed in 2010, hence fully creating a north-south tramway network ensuring connections from Gellért Square right down to the Infopark in Lágymányos and by and large replacing bus traffic running from Óbuda to Inner Buda and on to South Buda. Consequently, in overall terms, the entire investment will make transport more convenient in Budapest for 100-110,000 people each day.