Line M3 (Officially: North-South Line, Metro M3, and unofficially: Blue Line) is the third and longest line of the

Budapest Metro The Budapest Metro (, ) is the rapid transit system in the Hungary, Hungarian capital Budapest. Opened in 1896, it is the world's second oldest electrified underground railway after the City and South London Railway of 1890, now part of the Lon ...

. It runs in a general north-south direction parallel to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

on the Pest side, roughly following

Váci út Váci út (, Váci Avenue, lit. ''Road to Vác'') is one of the widest and busiest avenues in Budapest, Hungary. It is about long and has four to eight traffic lanes. Location It starts by the Grand Boulevard next to Nyugati Railway Station ...

south from

Újpest Újpest (; , ) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary in 1838. Újpest was a village ...

to the

city center A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in ...

, then following the route of

Üllői út Üllői út (Üllői Avenue, lit. means "Road to Üllő", ) is a major transport artery in Budapest, Hungary. Üllői út is the longest avenue in Budapest. It is 15.6 km long and nearly perfectly straight. It starts at the edge of Inner Cit ...

southeast to Kőbánya-Kispest. Its daily ridership is estimated at 500,000. Like metro line M1, it does not serve

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

History

The first decree for the third line was made in 1968. Construction started in 1970, and the first section was opened in 1976 with six stations. It was extended five stations to the south in 1980, and to the north in 1981, 1984 and 1990 with eventually nine extra stations, reaching its current length of 20 stations and , the longest line in Budapest. Reconstructed

81-717/714 The 81-717/714 is a Soviet/Russian metro car model, designed in the Soviet Union in the mid-1970s. The cars were made from 1976 to 2014 by Metrovagonmash and the I. E. Yegorov Vagonmash factories of Mytishchi and Saint Petersburg, respectively. ...

carriages, made by the Russian manufacturer

Metrowagonmash Metrowagonmash, also Metrovagonmash (), is an engineering company in Mytishchi, Russia. Metrowagonmash (MWM) is one of the leading enterprises in Russia operating in the field of transport machine building. It specializes in development, designing ...

, with the model number ''81-717.2K/714.2K'' carriages operate on this line. Operation started with Ev3 carriages, made by Mytishchi Factory (later known as Metrowagonmash) in 1976, expanded to 81-717.2/714.2 trains, built by the same manufacturer, in 1980. Six-car trains provide space for 1,097 people. It was planned for a daily ridership of 800,000 people. Line M3 runs in a north-south direction (more exactly, from north-northeast to southeast) through the city and connects several populous

microraion A microdistrict or microraion is a residential complex—a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet states, post-Soviet and former socialist states. Residential districts in m ...

with the downtown. It has a transfer station with line M1 and line M2 at

Deák Ferenc tér The Deák Ferenc square ( Hungarian: ''Deák Ferenc tér,'' ), named for Ferenc Deák, is a major intersection and transport junction in Budapest. Károly körút, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, Király utca, Deák Ferenc utca, and Harmincad utca conve ...

, and a transfer station for line M4 at

Kálvin tér Kálvin tér (English: Calvin Square) is a major square and intersection in the city center of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was named after the French Protestantism, Protestant Reformer John Calvin (''Kálvin János'' in Hungarian langu ...

2017–2023 reconstruction

The Mayor of Budapest

Gábor Demszky Gábor Demszky (, born 4 August 1952) is a Hungarian politician, lawyer and sociologist by qualification. Demszky was the Mayor of Budapest from 1990 to 2010. He was a founding member of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) between 1988 and ...

was warned in 2006 by BKV that the line would soon need reconstruction, but no steps towards this were made before the new mayor

István Tarlós István Tarlós (; 26 May 1948) is a Hungarian politician who served as the mayor of Budapest from 2010 to 2019. He also served as the mayor of the 3rd district of the city (Óbuda-Békásmegyer) between 1990 and 2006 as an independent candidate ...

took office in 2010. Some trains were prone to burning or smoking issues, but this had caused neither fatalities nor serious injuries so far. Tarlós reacted by ordering the retirement of all trains that were more than 40 years old. He also started the reconstruction of the tracks, because they were reported as hazardous. In 2014, the mayor's administration published the plans for the complete reconstruction of the line and

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

's government allowed the local government to finance the reconstruction of the trains by taking up loans. Repayment of the loans was guaranteed by the national government in case the municipal government was not able to pay. The municipal government requested EU funds to finance the reconstruction of the underground infrastructure (tunnels and stations), and the national government guaranteed that it would provide additional financing in case insufficient EU funds were obtained. In January 2016 the first train for reconstruction was handed over to the Russian

(the original manufacturer). Tarlós had preferred buying new trains, but was overruled by the Orbán government. The prototype of the reconstructed trains entered service on 20 March 2017. From then on, the number of reconstructed trains serving the line was scheduled to increase by 2 trains every month, and from 3 April 2018 onwards only reconstructed trains run on this line. On 4 September 2017 contracts for reconstructing the tunnel and stations of the northern section ( Dózsa György út – Újpest-Központ) were signed. The stations were to be finished by 31 December 2018, but in fact were only reopened on 30 March 2019. After the reopening of the stations, Újpest-Központ was renamed to ''Újpest-központ'', to be in line with metro line M4's '' Újbuda-központ'' station and Újpest-Városkapu, originally planned to be renamed to ''Újpest vasútállomás'' to help navigation, ended up being renamed to ''Újpest-városkapu.''

Árpád híd Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...

station was planned to be renamed to ''Göncz Árpád városközpont'', but only ended up being renamed in January 2020. Dózsa György út station had to be closed from 14 May 2022 all the way until 22 May 2023, as there wasn't an elevator installed when the station reopened, and was only reopened when the full reconstructed line was able to be used. The reconstruction of the southern section (

Népliget Népliget or People's Park is the biggest public park in Budapest, Hungary. It is located southeast of the city centre, and covers an area of . It was established to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the union of Pest, Buda and Óbuda. The p ...

– Kőbánya–Kispest) was started on 6 April 2019. On 22 October 2020, the southern, renovated section of line M3 was opened. Originally, Kőbánya-Kispest station was planned to be renamed to ''Kőbánya-Kispest vasútállomás'', for a similar reason as Újpest-városkapu, but this change never took place. The reconstruction of the middle section ( Klinikák –

Lehel tér Lehel (; died 955), a member of the Árpád dynasty, was a Magyar chieftain and, together with Bulcsú, one of the most important figures of the Hungarian invasions of Europe. After the Magyar defeat at the Battle of Lechfeld, he was executed i ...

) started on 7 March 2020 with Arany János utca and Ferenciek tere stations, Corvin-negyed and Klinikák stations on 11 July 2020 and

, Nyugati pályaudvar and

stations on 7 November 2020. The stations slowly reopened, with Klinikák (renamed to ''Semmelweis Klinikák''), Corvin-negyed and Kálvin tér stations reopening on 16 May 2022, Ferenciek tere and Deák Ferenc stations on 23 January 2023, and with Arany János utca and Nyugati pályaudvar stations on 20 March 2023, the line operated in one section once again, instead of the previous 2 (Kőbánya-Kispest – Kálvin tér, Göncz Árpád városközpont – Újpest-központ) sections. Finally, on 22 May 2023, with Nagyvárad tér and Lehel tér stations, the -year-long reconstruction finished. After this reconstruction, the renewed trains will probably stay in service for more than 20 years before having to be replaced.

Criticism

Civil groups voiced their concerns over the lack of accessibility and air-conditioning. In response, Tarlós promised modular AC units would be installed on the trains and the government agreed to make all 20 stations accessible.

Timeline

Reconstructions

Rolling stock

Stations and connections

Gallery about M3 metro stations before the reconstruction

File:Budapest, metró 3, Újpest-Központ, 6.jpg, Újpest-Központ File:Budapest, metró 3, Újpest-Városkapu, 12.jpg, Újpest-Városkapu File:Budapest, metró 3, Gyöngyösi utca, 13.jpg, Gyöngyösi utca File:Budapest, metró 3, Forgách utca.jpg, Forgách utca File:Budapest, metró 3, Árpád híd, 6.jpg, Árpád híd File:Budapest, metró 3, Dózsa György út, 8.jpg, Dózsa György út File:Budapest, metró 3, Lehel tér, 13.jpg, Lehel tér File:Budapest, metró 3, Nyugati pályaudvar, 44.jpg, Nyugati pályaudvar File:Budapest, metró 3, Arany János utca, 2.jpg, Arany János utca File:Budapest, metró 3, Deák Ferenc tér, 23.jpg, Deák Ferenc tér File:Budapest, metró 3, Ferenciek tere, 8.jpg, Ferenciek tere File:Budapest, metró 3, Kálvin tér, 24.jpg, Kálvin tér File:Budapest, metró 3, Corvin-negyed, 4.jpg, Corvin-negyed File:Budapest, metró 3, Klinikák, 13.jpg, Klinikák File:Budapest, metró 3, Nagyvárad tér, 5.jpg, Nagyvárad tér File:Budapest, M3 metró, Népliget, 2.jpg, Népliget File:Budapest, metró 3, Ecseri út, 8.jpg, Ecseri út File:Budapest, metró 3, Pöttyös utca, 6.jpg, Pöttyös utca File:Budapest, metró 3, Határ út, 2.jpg, Határ út File:Kőbánya-Kispest, metro.JPG, Kőbánya-Kispest

Gallery about M3 metro stations after the reconstruction

File:Budapest, M3 metró, Újpest-központ, 42.jpg, Újpest-központ File:Budapest, M3 metró, Újpest-városkapu, 21.jpg, Újpest-városkapu File:Budapest, M3 metró, Gyöngyösi utca, 41.jpg, Gyöngyösi utca File:Budapest, M3 metró, Forgách utca, 10.jpg, Forgách utca File:Budapest, M3 metró, Göncz Árpád városközpont, 28.jpg, Göncz Árpád városközpont File:Budapest, M3 metró, Dózsa György út, 16.jpg, Dózsa György út File:After the renovation of the Lehel tér metro station in 2023.jpg, Lehel tér File:Budapest, M3 metró, Nyugati pályaudvar, 31.jpg, Nyugati pályaudvar File:Budapest, M3 metró, Arany János utca, 11.jpg, Arany János utca File:Budapest, M3 metró, Deák Ferenc tér, 59.jpg, Deák Ferenc tér File:Budapest, M3 metró, Ferenciek tere, 8.jpg, Ferenciek tere File:Budapest, M3 metró, Kálvin tér, 37.jpg, Kálvin tér File:Budapest, M3 metró, Corvin-negyed, 15.jpg, Corvin-negyed File:Budapest, M3 metró, Semmelweis Klinikák, 9.jpg, Semmelweis Klinikák File:After the renovation of the Nagyvárad tér metro station in 2023.jpg, Nagyvárad tér File:Budapest, M3 metró, Népliget, 6.jpg, Népliget File:Budapest, M3 metró, Ecseri út, 6.jpg, Ecseri út File:Budapest, M3 metró, Pöttyös utca, 5.jpg, Pöttyös utca File:Budapest, M3 metró, Határ út, 2.jpg, Határ út File:Budapest, M3 metró, Kőbánya-Kispest, 38.jpg, Kőbánya-Kispest

References

{{Budapest Metro Budapest Metro lines Railway lines opened in 1976