THE FIRST STATION OF METRO LINE M4 RECEIVES ITS COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

We are past a long and difficult period, the Project has and has had many who jitter for its failure in both politics and communication, pointed out Budapest Mayor István Tarlós after receiving the Certificate. He recalled that the “terribly disadvantageous” contracts of the M4 Project had to be amended by the city leadership. He emphasized that the project had no general contractor, and so the city had to “piffle about with 16-17 separate contracts”. The Mayor maintained that it is unprecedented even internationally that different firms manufacture the trains and their signalling and automation equipment. In the remaining period problems might arise from harmonizing the software of the two companies, he added. István Tarlós also mentioned that the former city leadership undertook to introduce a congestion charge in order to secure EU funds for the Project.

The Mayor also said that he had proposed to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office János Lázár to accelerate the permit procedure of the metro line, which “prompted quick results”, namely: the official Completion Certificate for Bikás park (Tétényi út) station has now been issued. He mentioned that, under the previous rules, some 300 permit procedures were to have been conducted, and as a result of the simplification coordinated by the Government Office for Budapest, this was decreased to 13 procedures (including the procedures for the 10 stations, the tunnels and its plant, the power supply system and the signalling equipment, and the two procedures for the Kelenföld depot).

István Tarlós also added that the completion certification procedures for Rákóczi tér will soon be completed, and the procedures for Móricz Zsigmond körtér and II. János Pál pápa tér are soon under way. The Mayor also highlighted that the city leadership prescribed a single deadline, the handing-over in March 2014, which is going to be met. “Hopefully, the anti-fans will not put political and communication obstructions in its way,” he said.

Imre Pesti, the leader of the Government Office for Budapest, pointed out that the cabinet commissioned his office to coordinate the permit procedures of the metro line this August. He also mentioned that the Certificate now handed over has already come into effect.

The President of the National Transport Authority, Gyula Győri, also present at the event, said that that the acceleration of the procedure required close cooperation between the parties, and even regulations could be amended where they were outdated or un-lifelike.

Photos by: Mihály Majtényi, budapest.hu