Bucharest, Romania is gaining a new metro line. Line 6 will connect the city’s commercial airport and northern business districts to Line 4, which connects with national and international rail services. A project is building the first section, from the 1 Mai station on Line 4 to a new station, Tokyo, in the direction of Henri Coandă International Airport in Otopeni. Once complete, passengers will already be able to travel on this section between residential, business and leisure districts in Sectors 1 and 2 and Romania’s largest railway station, Bucharest North, via 1 Mai.
Construction of Metro line 6 between ‘1. May’ station and the planned ‘Tokyo’ station.
- 04 July 2019
Six stations are being built for this first part of the 14.2 km Line 6. The project will buy 12 new six-coach metro trains for the line, to run through two parallel tunnels being built to a diameter of 5.7 m each. When the full 12-station line is finished, the journey between the airport and Bucharest North will take 30 minutes, including the change at Mai 1 station.
This fast, new connection is aimed at businesspeople, commuters, tourists and Bucharest residents to increase work and travel opportunities, improve the environment and improve local quality of life.
Serving busy districts
The new line serves an area with high potential demand for reliable, fast transport. The northern sector of Bucharest has become the site for many company headquarters and tertiary sector services, whose employees, customers and consumers need convenient, high-capacity travel to and from offices.
Districts around other parts of the Line 6 route will gain from better transport links, to attract customers and visitors or to increase outside work, leisure or commercial opportunities for residents. For other travellers, the route connects to two local rail stations along the route – improving connections for commuters from Bucharest’s suburbs – and the smaller Băneasa Airport, used for private and charter flights.
Furthermore, a new metro connection to Bucharest North, via 1 Mai, is a valuable option for domestic and foreign travellers. The station serves most mainline national and international routes in the region, and Line 6 makes these more accessible for people travelling into and out of the city.
Safer travel, cleaner air
As new parts of the city gain metro stations, people are expected to switch from cars to the Bucharest underground network. A feasibility study for the metro operator Metrorex AG shows that the line will improve people’s lives by saving travel time and reducing road traffic, vehicle noise and air pollution.
Safety should also improve. Travellers will risk fewer accidents on underground services compared with city streets, while clearer roads will allow fire and ambulance services to respond to emergencies more quickly.
Once the full line is finished, areas along the DN1 national road in north Bucharest will benefit from better transport connections within the city and reduced motor traffic to Otopeni.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Construction of Bucharest metro Line 6 (1 Mai - Tokyo)” is EUR 608 978 526, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 517 631 747 through the “Large Infrastructure” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Transport and energy networks”.