Construction started at Bucharest subway line to Otopeni Airport
Work has begun on the M6 line, which connects Bucharest's subway network to Otopeni Airport, according to Mihai Barbu, president of the Metrorex Administration Council.
The new line will be funded by the Romanian Government, the EU, and a loan from the Japanese Government.
"Work has started on the Tokyo section, as we call the station at the Băneasa shopping complex, up to the 1 Mai station. Work has begun at almost all the stations in this section, so they will soon start to drill. They are supposed to start at the end of July-beginning of August, as the contractor told us. By then, all stations up to 1 Mai, the surface-level stations, must be completed, so that the drill can pass through all the stations. They will start simultaneously,” Barbu told Euronews Romania.
The line passes through the Băneasa shopping complex, connecting 1 Mai and the future Otopeni stations.
“For the structural works, we have the money for the entire route. For the architectural works, we have money for a part, from Tokyo to Otopeni, received from the Romanian Government. And for 12 trains, we have European money. We rely on what we discussed, and certainly, the Government also wants the subway to reach the most important airport in Romania,” the official added.
Critics of the project say that there is already a train connecting Gara de Nord, where there is a subway exit, to the airport. Mihai Barbu argues that the subway connection is still needed and that it is more convenient to not have to switch between the subway and the train.
Bucharest citizens fear that delays will plague this project as they did the Drumul Taberei subway, which was promised in 3 years but ended up with a design phase that lasted 12 years and an execution phase that took 9 years.
"Now we do things differently, so this doesn't happen again, and if everything goes according to our predictions, by the end of 2027, one should be able to take the subway to Otopeni if nothing unforeseen happens. It's still three years,” Barbu said.
The president of Metrorex’s Administration Council also announced new expansions and projects for other lines, connecting the southern locality of Berceni to the subway line.
“District 4 City Hall intends to build three more stations inside the locality of Berceni, crossing the railway and the beltway, reaching into Ilfov County. Together with District 4 City Hall, we have a project to reach Jilava. We try to reach as many localities in Ilfov County as possible, localities that have developed a lot in terms of real estate,” he said.
(Photo source: Tupungato | Dreamstime.com)
