Fourth Metro Line Now Operational in Budapest

On Friday, Budapest's UNESCO World Heritage Site underground transit system finally got a fourth line. This came about after an eight-year construction period marked by rows between Hungary's warring political parties.

Budapest's right-wing mayor Istvan Tarlos refused to invite his left-liberal predecessor Gabor Demszky to the opening, also attended by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, despite the project starting life under Demszky.

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Tarlos, a member of Orban's Fidesz party, told the Magyar Nemzet newspaper in February that the project was "fundamentally an unwise investment" and that contracts signed by Demszky "caused many problems".

Demszky meanwhile has blamed Tarlos and Orban's government, which took power in 2010 and which is tipped to win another term in elections on April 6, for delaying the project.

The 10.5-kilometre (6.5-mile), 10-stop "Metro 4" line in the Hungarian capital cost around 1.5 billion euros ($2.1 billion) to complete, according to the government.

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The tunnelling was done by Bamco, a joint venture of Strabag of Austria and Vinci Construction of France, while station work was carried out by Hungarian, Austrian, German and Japanese contractors.

Trains were supplied by French firm Alstom.

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The first line in the Budapest underground was opened in 1896 -- the second metro system to be built in Europe after the London Underground -- and was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2002.

Source-AFP