Tarlós: Metro line 3 revamp could start in June 2017

Budapest (MTI) – The revamp of Budapest’s third metro line is expected to start in June 2017, Mayor István Tarlós said on Friday.

He told a press conference in response to a question that the June date for commencement of construction work was “realistic”. He added, however, that further delays could be expected if the bids submitted were not “more reasonable”.

The mayor’s office criticised a pamphlet being distributed by the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) which says the condition of the metro line carries serious risks to public safety. It said DK’s campaign falsified reality and would instill fear in the public.

DK councillor Erzsébet Gy Németh told MTI on Friday that engineers of safety assessment company TUV Rheinland had signalled that the metro carriages on line 3 had been in a “catastrophic” condition as far back as 2012. The engineers had said there were 11 components in each carriage whose malfunctioning could lead to fatalities.

Socialist councillor Csaba Horváth slammed the government for “behaving like a noble stranger” in connection with the upgrade of the metro line. He said figuring out a way to replace the services of the third metro line while it undergoes renovation was “far more important” than building a rail link between Liszt Ferenc International Airport and downtown Budapest. He said Tarlós’s estimate that the metro upgrade could begin next June had “confirmed” that “nothing will happen” before next July’s World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

Source: MTI