Why Is The Construction Of Budapest's M4 Subway Line Headed For Trouble?

The construction of Budapest's fourth metro line began in 2006, despite the fact that the Hungarian capital's public transit corporation and government agencies have been planning the construction of the line for over 30 years. Under current plans, the metro line is expected to have 14 stations and the first section (which will include 10 stations) will be 7,3km in length. This section of the M4 line will be completed by 2010.

According to many specialists, however, the problem with the current construction and business plan is that they are now essentially out of date. The real problem is that the M4 line does not connect Budapest's growing suburbs to the downtown core, but instead serves mainly the central districts of the national capital. Due to shifts in terms of which districts have seen the largest increase in population over the last decades, it is doubtful that the metro will ever run at its projected full capacity and it will not ease commuter congestion into the city. The other problem is that the planned 14 stations are much too close to each other, making it difficult for the metro to run at high speeds.

The major stumbling block for Budapest's M4 project is that recent news reports suggest that the European Union is not very keen on the current plans and may not provide adequate funds for the completion of the project. Under the original plans, the Hungarian government expected the EU to fund about 70% of the M4 project. This may no longer be the case and according to some reports, the EU may only fund about 30% of the project. Should the EU pull out to any degree, the Hungarian government would have to foot the bill and this is almost impossible considering that Hungary's 2006 deficit stood at nearly 10%.

Budapest currently has three functioning metro lines.