Bucharest
HISTORY OF THE BUCHAREST METRO
Mister M presents
Bucharest metro
Bucharest Metro Museum
The Bucharest Metro (Romanian: Metroul București) is an underground rapid transit system that serves Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979. The network is run by Metrorex. One of two parts of the larger Bucharest public transport network, Metrorex has an average of approximately 720,000 passenger trips per weekday (as of 2018), compared to the 1,180,000 daily riders on Bucharest's STB transit system. In total, the Metrorex system is 77.53 kilometres (48.2 mi) long and has 63 stations.
The first proposals for a metro system in Bucharest were made in the early part of the 20th century, by the Romanian engineers Dimitrie Leonida and Elie Radu.
The earliest plans for a Bucharest Metro were drafted in the late 1930s, alongside the general plans for urban modernization of the city. The outbreak of World War II, followed by periods of political tensions culminating with the installation of communism, put an end to the plans.
By 1970, the public transport system (ITB) was no longer adequate due to the fast pace of urban development, although the system was the fourth-largest in Europe. A commission was set up, and its conclusion pointed to the necessity of an underground transit system that would become the Bucharest Metro. The plan for the first line was approved on 25 November 1974 as part of the next five-year plan and the construction on the new metro system started on 20 September 1975.
The network was not built in the same style as other Eastern European systems. Firstly, the design of the stations on the initial lines was simple, clean-cut modern, without excessive additions such as mosaics, awkward lighting sources or excessive decoration. The main function of the stations was speed of transit and practicality. Secondly, the trainsets themselves were all constructed in Romania and did not follow the Eastern European style of construction.
TIMELINE STORIES
MAPLINE routes
TOTAL STATIONS
South square 6 930 339
University Square 6 507 055
Union Square 1 6 493 382
Unirii Square 2 6 463 504
Piper 6 433 783
Survival 6 116 815
Piata Romana 6.115.023
Bucharest Metro is a relatively young metro in Europe, opened in 1979 with the aim of improving the transport system of the Romanian capital. Plans for the construction of the Bucharest Metro appeared at the end of the 30s of the XX century, but the Second World War intervened in them.
The complete (and I think pretty good) extravaganza of Bucharest's superb metro was filmed at various times on Thursday 22 November 2018. All four lines are included in the video.
