National
Development Agency

In addition, standard platforms with handicap access will be constructed and both lines will be renewed to accommodate the new trams to be procured within the framework of the project. This naturally needs to be approved by Brussels as well; in any case, the Government classified this investment as a major project of the New Hungary Development Plan at the cabinet meeting held on 24 June. Mr Sándor Burány, State Secretary of the Ministry for National Development and Economy, presented the details of this development at a spokesperson’s press conference.  

On average, 3 and half million passengers use public transport in Budapest on a daily basis and approximately 10% of these passengers, i.e., 340,000 people per day, travel on tramlines No. 1 and No. 3. It is no mere coincidence that these two lines are among the busiest lines in Budapest.  

Residents of Budapest have been waiting for tramline No. 1 to finally to reach the southern part of Buda as well for quite some time. This long-existing plan can finally be realised with the help of European Union funding: by building two new stops, tramline No. 1 will be extended by 1450 metres up to Budafoki Road by 2011. Moreover, standard platforms with handicap access will not only be built along Nádorkerti and Budafoki Road, but along the entire line. Beyond the above, the track between Bécsi Road and Kerespesi Road and the power supply system will also be completely renewed; 7 new 54-metre-long low-floor trams with handicap access will travel along this renewed line.   

Tramline No. 3 will also be renewed and extended, if, following approval by the Government, the European Commission also approves the tramway project costing a total of nearly 44 billion HUF. 2 new stops with handicap access will be built on the new 600-metre stretch to be constructed along Határ Road and Helsinki Road, running parallel to the Ráczkeve suburban railway line, up to Upper-Pesterzsébet suburban railway station. Tracks along Mexikó Road, Ezsébet Királyné Road, Fehér Road and Mázsa Square will be rebuilt and renewed within the framework of this project; in addition, a second track will be laid along the Bihar Road stretch and a new subway will also be constructed on Üllői Road. Naturally, new standard platforms with handicap access will also be built along this entire line by 2011; 9 new 33-metre-long trams with handicap access will be at the service of passengers.  

The renewal of tramlines No. 1 and 3 will considerably improve public transport conditions in Budapest. If the project is given the green light by Brussels, the number of passengers travelling on these lines per day may reach 435,000. Travel time will decrease by 20% along tramline No. 1 and by 10% along tramline No. 3 as an outcome of the track renewal work, which may be why experts suggest that approximately 4200 people currently using their cars on a regular daily basis may instead choose these modern trams to commute to work.