Alstom obtained the type license for the metro 4 trainsets

Budapest will be the 12^th city in Europe where automatic metro operates

Budapest, 19 February 2013. Alstom Transport has just obtained the Type License for the new Metropolis trainsets intended for line 4 of Budapest Metro now in production, by the National Transportation Authority (NKH). This is an important milestone which enables Alstom to start the delivery of the serial trainsets for Budapest. Alstom Transport has already manufactured two prototype metros, in one of which the drivers cabin has been removed to reflect the final configuration of the trains interior. Just one year after entering into service, the new Metropolis of metro Line 4 will provide passengers with a unique travelling experience: they will be able to look out at the tunnel through the front and rear windows of the metro, while the vehicle is moving in the brand new tunnel.

Metropolis for new metro line 4 will feature four cars. The train-sets are air-conditioned with full-width gangways and have been designed to enable optimal quality of life on board and to provide maximum passenger comfort. Everything has been done to make the journey more enjoyable and comfortable: ergonomic seats, warm materials, air conditioning, new colours and lighting.

The train can run in automatic mode, but BKV and Alstom Transport will not leave the passengers of Budapest unattended, as they have been used to having metro drivers for the past 117 years of Metropolitan underground travel.

For the first year after the new metros enter into service, there will still be a drivers cabin on Metropolis metros staffed by a train supervisor, but the metro will run automatically. This means that metro departures and stops, the opening and closing of the doors and the travel time of the trainsets will be all controlled by reliable computers. As a result, the trains will comply more closely with the timetable, the travel time will be shorter and operation on the line will be safer. After one year, Alstom technicians will remove the wall separating the drivers cabin from the passenger area, which will allow passengers to look out of the front and rear windows of the metro as if they were metro drivers themselves.

41 automatic metros are now operating around the world such as in London, Paris, Barcelona, Singapore, Seoul or Tokyo. In Europe, there are 15 metro lines which operate fully automatically such as in Copenhagen, Barcelona, Turin or Paris. Budapest will therefore be the 12^th city in Europe where driverless metros will carry passengers.

Alstom, which has been manufacturing metros for more than 70 years, holds the world record in the field of fully automatic metros. Moreover Alstom built the worlds longest (45 km) automatic metro line the Circle Line in Singapore commissioned in 2010.

Further information

Attila Piskóti
Alstom PR / Premier Communications
E-mail: sajto@premeircom.hu