THE M4 METRO SEEN FROM A WHEELCHAIR
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A few days ago Esélyegyenlőségi Magazin had the opportunity to descend into the depths, and so together with my disabled wife I visited the Tétényi út Station of M4. What is the new metro going to be like with the eyes of one bound to a wheelchair?
Well, it will be a novelty even for us youths, as it will be the first driverless metro train in Hungary. It will perhaps be for us just like the escalator was for the older generation, they had to get used to it, as we will have accustom ourselves to the metro train run by digital technology. Almost all the stations are now ready and await the arrival of passengers in the first quarter of 2014. Many of you have asked us what the M4 metro will be like. Well, here are the answers to some of our questions.
When did the idea occur that Metro Line M4 was needed?
The idea to connect the south-western segment of Budapest with the north-eastern one by a metro line came up in the 1970s; actual planning and design work commenced in the second half of the 1990s, and construction could begin with building the stations in 2006.
Will all stations be accessible?
The primary aim of the designers was to have a quite different metro line than the existing ones, which could be a genuine alternative to car transport. It was part of this concept to provide a fully accessible metro line: not only would people with impaired sight and hearing, but so would those travelling in wheelchairs, the elderly and mothers prams be able to use it without difficulty. Therefore, apart from escalators, there will be lifts operating at every station of the line, from the surface down to platform level.
Are the stations accessible at transfer points?
At the transfer points, Kálvin tér and Keleti Railway Station, no further lifts are included in the designs, as the two other lines are not accessible, i.e. for nothing would the disabled reach the other lines from M4, they would not be able to use them. This might be reconsidered if the other two lines are going to be made accessible.
This will be the first driverless metro in Hungary. Don’t you think this might be somewhat unusual for many?
The M4 is being built with fully automatic train control, and the serial trains capable also of automatic operation are being delivered in Budapest continuously. The automatic mode will obviously be unusual and wholly new for the Budapest public; however, the trains will have attendants in the folding driver’s cabin in the first year, i.e. during the Test in Traffic Operation, until full harmony can be guaranteed between the trains and the system.
How many trains will be running in peak hours?
The line will have 15 sets of trains, each 80 metres long and consisting of 4 cars; in the peak hours, 12 trains will be running continuously with a planned gap of 90 seconds. This means that one can reach from one terminal to the other in a little over a quarter of an hour.
What happens if there is a breakdown? How can the disabled in wheelchairs be evacuated in this event?
If the trains cannot move in the tunnel, passengers will be evacuated on the emergency walkway and the door at the front of the train, which is enabled by the articulated design. If there is a fire, smoke extraction begins at the station behind, while passengers are evacuated on the emergency walkway and track and in the way described above towards the next cross passage - each at a frequency of roughly 300 metres - where they can go into the other smokeless tunnel.
When can we travel on M4?
The project is expected to be completed in a year’s time, in the first quarter of 2014, this is when the Test in Traffic Operation is meant to begin.
Author József Bratkó
Photos by Szabolcs Pető (DBR)