Metro Line M1 (Budapest Metro)
Metro Line M1 | |||
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DC | |||
Operating speed | 60 km/h | ||
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Line 1 (Officially: Millennium Underground Railway, Metro 1 or M1) is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro, it was built from 1894 to 1896. It is known locally as "the small underground" ("a kisföldalatti"), while the M2, M3 and M4 are called "metró". It was the first underground on the European mainland, and the world's third oldest underground after the London Underground and Liverpool's Mersey Railway.[citation needed]
Line 1 runs northeast from the
History
The original line in 1896
Line 1 is the oldest of the metro lines in Budapest, having been in constant operation since 1896. The line was inaugurated on May 2, 1896, the year of the millennium (the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars),[2] by emperor Franz Joseph. The original name of the operator company was "Franz Joseph Underground Electric Railway Company" ("Ferenc József Földalatti Villamos Vasút Rt.").
The original purpose of the first metro line was to facilitate transport to the
The line ran underneath Andrássy Avenue, from
Diversion at Deák Ferenc tér in the 1950s
In the 1950s and in prepararation for the planned second line of the metro, the route of the line under
Extension and reconstruction in the 1970s
Between 1970 and 1973 the line underwent an extension and reconstruction of some sections. The most significant was the extension to Mexikói út. This involved the closure of the surface alignment through the Városliget, including both Állatkert and Széchenyi fürdő surface stations. In its place a new underground alignment was adopted, passing below the Városliget and serving a new underground through station at Széchenyi fürdő. Állatkert station was not replaced.[5][6]
At the same time Deák Ferenc tér station was rebuilt to connect with the M2 line, and the rolling stock was changed to Ganz MFAV multiple units, which still operate on the line, and the line’s left-hand traffic was changed into right-hand traffic. In line with the rebuilding of Deák Ferenc tér station, the section of tunnel abandoned some 20 years earlier was rebuilt to house the Underground Railway Museum, with access from the new station concourse.[4][7]
Renovation in 1995
During the past hundred years, none of the renovations touched the tunnel section under Andrássy út. As a result, the infrastructure of the tunnel (the masonry, the load-bearing steel structures, the water insulation, the railway tracks, the architecture of the stations) hadn’t changed at all or very little. From the middle of the 1980s, they started to show their age, and the serious damage and wear and tear prompted the necessity and urgency of a reconstruction. Renovation works took place during a planned closure between 15 and 18 September 1995.[citation needed]
Possible extension to Rákosrendező
As part of a new luxury development project at the Rákosrendező railway station, known as "Millenium City Center" or "Maxi-Dubai", the M1 line would be extended north from the current terminus at Mexikói út to provide better transportation links to the new site. It would serve brand-new apartments, office buildings, commercial properties, and what János Lázár, Hungary's Minister of Construction and Investment, labeled "Budapest's largest and most modern public park." It would also include a renovation of the existing railway station as well as a new pedestrian & cycle path to make it easier to access the new development center.[8][9]
Rolling stock
Due to the line’s small loading gauge, the line has used very small vehicles since its inception with low-floor passenger sections and high-floor cabs. The line has always been powered by overhead lines, possibly rigid. The voltage has variously been described as either 550 or 600 volts, but the exact voltage is unclear.
From 1896 to 1973
The line opened with 20 electrically powered motor cars built by the Hungarian subsidiary of
As originally built, the motor cars ran singly. But in 1959 to 1960, 16 four-wheel control trailers were built to run with them and provide extra capacity.[citation needed]
The cars, both motor and trailer, were retired from normal service by 1973. One of the original wood panelled cars is maintained in working order and is occasionally used on special services. One of each of the metal and wood panelled cars, and one of the trailers, are exhibited in the
From 1971 to present
With the extension and reconstruction of the line in the 1970s, new
In total 23 cars were built, comprising two prototypes in 1971, 19 production cars in 1971 to 1973, and two further cars in 1987 although originally two more were to be purchased at this time. All are still in service.[citation needed]
Stations and connections
(Vörösmarty tér – Mexikói út) | ||||
Travel Time minutes |
Station | Travel Time minutes |
Connection | Buildings / Monuments |
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0 | Vörösmarty tér |
11 | 2, 2B, 23 15 |
Vigadó, Café Gerbeaud , Ministry of Finance
|
1 | Deák Ferenc tér |
10 | 47, 48, 49 72 9, 16, 100E, 105, 178, 210, 210B, 216 |
Town Hall, Metro Museum (Földalatti Vasúti Múzeum) |
2 | Bajcsy–Zsilinszky út | 9 | 72 9, 105, 210, 210B |
St. Stephen's Basilica |
3 | Opera |
8 | 70, 78 105, 210, 210B |
Hungarian State Opera House |
4 | Oktogon |
7 | 4, 6 105, 210, 210B |
Theaters (Operette, Mikroszkóp, Miklós Radnóti,...) |
5 | Vörösmarty utca |
6 | 73, 76 105, 210, 210B |
House of Terror |
6 | Kodály körönd |
5 | 105, 210, 210B | |
7 | Bajza utca |
4 | 105, 210, 210B | |
8 | Hősök tere |
3 | 72, 75, 79 20E, 30, 30A, 105, 210, 210B, 230 |
Hősök tere (Heroes square)
|
9 | Széchenyi fürdő |
2 | 72 | Zoo and Botanical Garden
|
11 | Mexikói út | 0 | 1, 1M, 3, 69 74, 74A, 82 25, 32, 225 |
Gallery about archives
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Andrássy Avenuewith the Millennium Underground (1896)
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Completing the cut-and-cover construction
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Line under construction at Oktogon
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A train near theHősök tere(before 1973)
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Original rolling stock
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Preserved heritage rolling stock at the museum
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Old and new route map of M1 in City Park
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Vörösmarty tér during the socialism
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Deák Ferenc tér during the socialism
Gallery about the stations
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Vörösmarty tér
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Vörösmarty tér
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Deák Ferenc tér
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Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út
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Opera
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Oktogon
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Vörösmarty utca
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Vörösmarty utca
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Kodály körönd
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Bajza utca
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Hősök tere
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Hősök tere
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tunnel
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Széchenyi fürdő
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Mexikói út
See also
- Tremont Street subway, Boston's first underground railway tunnel and the first one built worldwide, after Budapest's Line 1.
References
- ^ "BKK In Numbers". bkk.hu. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Budapest M1: Inside continental Europe's oldest metro network". CNN. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "International". Seashore Trolley Museum. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Negyvenöt éve a föld alatt – A kisföldalattinak állít emléket a Deák téri múzeum" [Forty-five years underground - The Deák tér museum commemorates the little underground]. PestBuda (in Hungarian). Látóhatár Kiadó Lap-és Könyvkiadó Kft. 4 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ "A világ második földalatti vasútja". Cultura (in Hungarian). 2016-05-02. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Elfeledett, évszázados hidak bújnak meg a Városliget szélén". 24.hu (in Hungarian). 2018-02-11. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Millenium Underground Museum". BKV. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ "A New "Millenium City Center" to Be Built in Budapest". Hungary Today. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ "Dubai in Hungary: Budapest's over 100-year-old metro line may be extended". Daily News Hungary. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Budapest Metro 18". Seashore Trolley Museum. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "MILLFAV" (in Hungarian). BKV. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.