The Millennium
Underground Railway of Budapest - or the 'Little Underground' as the
locals call it - was built in 1896 as the first European continental
underground line. The 4.4-km-long line connecting Vörösmarty tér (5th district) and Mexikói út (14th district) has been functioning since,
without any major problems.The first European underground steam railway was built in London in 1860-63, but the first continental one was the Budapest underground. The motor railway was taken into use on the 2nd May 1896, and was presented by Hungarian king Franz Joseph I. According to the original plans a surface railway had been to be built on Andrássy út, but the authorities rejected the plans. The new plans of the construction were made by German firm Siemens & Halske.
The Tunnel Was Covered with Zsolnay Porcelain
The 6-meter-wide tunnel’s inner height is 2.65 meters, its base and side walls were made of concrete. The tiles covering the walls of the stations were made by the famous Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture. The cars originally run at the left side, between 6 AM and 11 PM in every 4 minute, and carried 34 thousand passengers daily. As an interesting fact it’s good to mention that originally a separated booth was to be built in one of the cars for the male smokers and another one for the females. The length of the line was 3.7 km until 1973, and it had 11 stations. The surface station at the Budapest Zoo was later closed, and 5 stations were renamed. The original terminal station of the underground was at Széchenyi Medicinal Bath.
The Line Became a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The reconstruction of the underground line began in 1923. That time the rails were becoming to constitute an accident hazard, so they were replaced, the voltage was changed from 350 V to 550 V, and the cars were painted yellow. During a later renovation the cars were reconstructed to run on the right side, and the safety and control equipments were also replaced. Between March and November 1995 a full reconstruction of the almost 100-year-old underground line took place. The tunnel, the rails, the ceiling, the coating, the cars and the stations were all redone. In 2002 the underground line and Andrássy út were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Source: www.budapest.com
