Budapest’s revamped M3 metro stations to look like space stations from the ’80s – PHOTOS
Metro line M3 is the longest underground in Budapest, and it transports the most passengers out of all the metro lines in the Hungarian capital. Since it is also one of the oldest, back in 2017, Budapest started the modernisation of the entire line and all stations.
According to Világgazdaság, the revamp of metro line M3 started in 2017 and would be implemented in three sections. The northern part of the underground was completed in 2019, and renovation works of the southern stations were finished by October 2020. The modernisation of the middle section in the city centre started in November 2020 and was expected to be fully completed in the first quarter of 2023.
However, the renovation of the most popular Budapest metro line, the M3, is to reach a new cornerstone by May. The capital’s public transport company, BKV Zrt, announced that they would open three renewed underground stations by the end of spring, and BKV has also posted a couple of the concept art photos until people in Budapest can see the final results.
The stations that will be handed over in the last but one term of the renovation are the following: Kálvin Square, Corvin District, and Semmelweis Clinics Stations.
As Telex wrote, these new stations will look like some sort of hub that came right out of a science fiction movie from the ‘80s, with vivid colours and interesting shapes.
According to the architects, the revamped stations aimed to combine the old, industrial look of the old stations with colourful elements and graphics that highlight the sort of rawness of the stations that were built five decades ago.
According to Telex, the designers said that in many places, the covering elements will be removed to expose the originally hand-mined structures to the public.
We have previously reported that metro line M3 will be the first place in Hungary to feature an inclined elevator. The basis of the elevator is technically the same as the funicular at the Buda Castle; there is a cabin and a counterweight, and the two are connected. When the cabin goes upwards, the counterweight moves down.
The reason for this relatively new and unique solution in Hungary was that the stations needed to be accessible for people with mobility impairment, but a traditional elevator shaft could not be installed.
Although the public will receive three new revamped stations in May, it seems that the rest of the renovation will be postponed from the 2023 deadline due to complications caused by the recent increase and limit of fuel prices, as well as the war in Ukraine.
Source: Telex.hu, Daily News Hungary