The metro line linking Bucharest’s main train station Gara de Nord and the Henri Coanda International Airport in the north of the capital will only be ready in 2021, transport minister Dan Costescu estimates.

This might be a problem for Romania as the capital needs to have a direct link between from the airport to the city by 2020, when four football matches of the UEFA European Championship (Euro 2020) should take place in Bucharest.

However, the Transport Ministry has found an alternative and plans to repair the railway track that links Gara de Nord to the area where the airport is located. The Government is ready to allocate EUR 49 million to make the line functional and, once the work is completed, the trains will cover the distance in 23 minutes. This could happen as soon as this year, according to the transport minister, quoted by local Mediafax.

Gara de Nord is currently connected to the Henri Coanda International Airport by rail, but the trip takes 48 minutes because trains have to make a detour through Chitila, in order to avoid a damaged bridge in Mogosoaia. Once the bridge is repaired, the time to get from the train station to the airport will halve, Costescu said.

He also estimates that the rail connection will handle the increased tourist traffic during the 2020 UEFA European Championship. “For the championship, there is the option of having 48 trains per day, which would handle any peak of tourists coming from the airport to Gara de Nord,” the Minister said.

However, the train stop at Otopeni is 1.5 km away from the airport, which means that tourists who want to take the train to get from Gara de Nord to the airport also need to take the bus from the train stop to the airport's terminal. The bus ride is included in the train ticket's price, but is an extra hassle for the tourists.

UEFA urges Romania to extend Bucharest’s metro to the airport.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com