Line 2 (officially: East-West Line, Metro 2 or M2, and unofficially: Red Line) is the second line of the Budapest Metro. The line runs east from Déli pályaudvar in north-central Buda under the Danube to the city center, from where it continues east following the route of Rákóczi út to its terminus at Örs vezér tere.
Prior to the 2014 opening of Line 4, this was the only line that served Buda. Daily ridership is estimated at 350,000.
History
The first plans for the second Budapest metro line were made in 1942, and the Council of Ministers authorised its construction in 1950.András Koós: A 2-es metróvonal infrastruktúrájának korszerűsítése ("Modernization of the Line 2"), Városi Közlekedés, Year XL, Vol. 2, pp. 85, Budapest, 2000 Line 2 was originally planned to connect two major railway stations, Keleti (Eastern) and Déli (Southern) pályaudvar. The Council of Ministers wanted to complete the first section by 1954 between Deák Ferenc tér and Népstadion (today Puskás Ferenc Stadion), and the second section by 1955 between Déli pályaudvar and Deák Ferenc tér.Ágnes Medveczky Kovácsyné: 25 éves a budapesti metró ("Budapest Metro is 25 years old"), BKV, Budapest, 1995 Construction was suspended for financial and political reasons from 1954 till 1963. The ruling Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party decided to restart the construction at a party congress in 1959. It was finally opened with seven stations on April 2 (then a Communist holiday in Hungary) in 1970, and the second section in 1972. The eastern end of the line was extended to Örs vezér tere, instead of Népstadion. Operation started in 1970 with 3-car trains, expanded to 4-car trains soon after, and 5-car trains since 1972.Botond Aba: 30 éves a budapesti metró ("Budapest Metro is 30 years old"), Városi Közlekedés, Year XL, Vol. 2, pp. 71, Budapest, 2000 A major reconstruction of the track and stations was undertaken between 2004 and 2008, with new trains arriving in 2010. The new trains went into service two years later, in September 2012, and by April 2013 the line was solely served by new trains.
On December 5, 2016, an accident occurred on the line which involved an AM5-M2 rolling stock. An incoming train collided with a waiting train at the Pillangó utca metro station. This was the first serious accident in the history of the Budapest metro. The accident did not result in a fatality, but according to the prosecution, a total of twenty-one were injured, five of whom were classified as serious.
M2 runs in an east–west direction through the city, and it was the first metro line to cross the River Danube and reach Buda (the western part of Budapest).Budapest City Atlas, Dimap-Szarvas, Budapest, 2011, It has a transfer station with Line 1 and Line 3 at Deák Ferenc tér, and a transfer station for Line 4 at Keleti pályaudvar.
SectionsOpenedLengthStationsDeák Ferenc tér - Örs vezér tere19707Déli pályaudvar - Deák Ferenc tér19724Total197211
Rolling stock
Time period Name 1970 – 2013 Metrovagonmash Ev, Ev1 1980 – 2013 Metrovagonmash 81-717.2/714.2 1998 – 2013 Metrovagonmash 81-717.2M/714.2M 2000 – 2013 Metrovagonmash EvA 2012 – present Alstom Metropolis AM5-M2
Stations and connections Déli pályaudvar – Örs vezér tereTravel timemin:secStationTravel timemin:secConnection Buildings / monuments 0:00 Déli pályaudvar 18:25 17, 56, 56A, 59, 59A, 59B, 61 21, 21A, 39, 102, 139, 140, 140A, 221 Regional buses Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) Déli pályaudvar 1:40 Széll Kálmán tér 17:00 4, 6, 17, 56, 56A, 59, 59A, 59B, 61 5, 16, 16A, 21, 21A, 22, 22A, 39, 91, 102, 116, 128, 129, 139, 140, 140A, 149, 155, 156, 221, 222 Regional buses Post Palace Budapest, Városmajor 3:27 Batthyány tér 15:12 19, 41 11, 39, 111 Batthyány térBatthyány tér Market Hall 4:55 Kossuth Lajos tér 13:45 2, 2B, 23 70, 78 15 Hungarian Parliament Building, Ethnographic Museum 6:55 Deák Ferenc tér 11:50 47, 48, 49 72 9, 16, 100E, 105, 178, 210, 210B, 216 Deák Ferenc térTown Hall, Metro Museum (Földalatti Vasúti Múzeum), St. Stephen's Basilica 8:35 Astoria 10:07 47, 48, 49 72, 74 5, 7, 8E, 9, 107, 108E, 110, 112, 133E ELTE-Faculty of Humanities (BTK), Danubius Hotel Astoria, Dohány Street Synagogue 10:02 Blaha Lujza tér 8:40 4, 6, 28, 28A, 37, 37A, 62 74 5, 7, 7E, 8E, 99, 107, 108E, 110, 112, 133E, 217E Boscolo Budapest Hotel 11:50 Keleti pályaudvar 6:50 23, 24 73, 76, 78, 79, 80 5, 7, 7E, 8E, 20E, 30, 30A, 107, 108E, 110, 112, 133E, 230 Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) Keleti pályaudvarArena Plaza 14:35 Puskás Ferenc Stadion ♿ 4:07 1, 1M 75, 77, 80 95, 130, 195 Regional buses Long-distance buses Puskás Aréna, László Papp Budapest Sports Arena, Kisstadion 16:25 Pillangó utca ♿ 2:10 10 Kincsem Park 19:25 Örs vezér tere ♿ 0:00 3, 62, 62A 80, 82, 82A 10, 31, 32, 44, 45, 67, 85, 85E, 97E, 131, 144, 161, 161A, 161E, 168E, 169E, 174, 176E, 231, 244, 276E, 277 Regional buses Long-distance buses Örs vezér tereÁrkád Budapest
Gallery
References