Metro Line M2 (Budapest Metro)

{{Short description|Rapid transit line in Budapest, Hungary}} {{Infobox rail line | logo = Budapest M2 Metro.svg | logo_width = 200px | linenumber = Line 2 ("Red metro") | stock = [[AM5-M2]] | linelength = {{convert|10.3|km|abbr=on}}<ref name="Line 2a">Árpád Bodnár: A budapesti metró két évtizede ("Two decades of the Budapest Metro"), Városi Közlekedés, Year XXXI, Vol. 3, pp. 119-121, Budapest, 1991</ref> | type = [[Rapid transit]] | system = [[Budapest Metro]] | status = Operational | stations = 11 | start = [[Déli pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Déli pályaudvar]] | end = [[Örs vezér tere (Budapest Metro)|Örs vezér tere]] | open = 2 April 1970 |lastextension = 1972 | operator = [[BKV Zrt.|BKV]] | gauge = {{RailGauge|sg}} | electrification = 825 V [[Direct Current|DC]] | speed = 70 km/h<ref name="Line 2a"/> | map = [[File:Budapest M2 Metro map.png|250px]] }} {{Line 2 (Budapest Metro)}}

'''Line 2''' (officially: '''East-West Line''', '''Metro 2''' or '''M2''', and unofficially: '''Red Line''') is the second line of the [[Budapest Metro]]. The line runs east from [[Déli pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Déli pályaudvar]] in north-central [[Buda]] under the [[Danube]] to the [[Inner City (Budapest)|city center]], from where it continues east following the route of [[Rákóczi út]] to its terminus at [[Örs vezér tere]].

Prior to the 2014 opening of [[Line 4 (Budapest Metro)|Line 4]], it was the only line that served Buda. Daily ridership is estimated at 350,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bkk.hu/en/about-bkk/about-us/bkk-in-numbers/|title=BKK In Numbers|website=bkk.hu|access-date=2021-02-10}}</ref>

==History==

The first plans for the second Budapest metro line were made in 1942, and the Council of Ministers authorised its construction in 1950.<ref name="Line 2b">András Koós: A 2-es metróvonal infrastruktúrájának korszerűsítése ("Modernization of the Line 2"), Városi Közlekedés, Year XL, Vol. 2, pp. 85, Budapest, 2000</ref> Line 2 was originally planned to connect two major railway stations, [[Budapest Keleti railway station|''Keleti'' (Eastern)]] and [[Budapest-Déli Railway Terminal|''Déli'' (Southern)]] ''pályaudvar.'' The Council of Ministers wanted to complete the first section by 1954 between [[Deák Ferenc tér (Budapest Metro)|Deák Ferenc tér]] and Népstadion (today [[Puskás Ferenc Stadion (Budapest Metro)|Puskás Ferenc Stadion]]), and the second section by 1955 between [[Déli pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Déli pályaudvar]] and Deák Ferenc tér.<ref name="Line 2c">Ágnes Medveczky Kovácsyné: 25 éves a budapesti metró ("Budapest Metro is 25 years old"), [[Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt.|BKV]], Budapest, 1995</ref> Construction was suspended for financial and political reasons from 1954 till 1963.<ref name="Line 2b"/> The ruling [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]] decided to restart the construction at a party congress in 1959.<ref name="Line 2c"/> It was finally opened with seven stations on April 2 (then a [[Communism|Communist]] holiday in [[Hungary]]) in 1970, and the second section in 1972.<ref name="Line 2b"/> The eastern end of the line was extended to [[Örs vezér tere]], instead of Népstadion.<ref name="Line 2b"/> Operation started in 1970 with 3-car trains, expanded to 4-car trains soon after, and 5-car trains since 1972.<ref>Botond Aba: 30 éves a budapesti metró ("Budapest Metro is 30 years old"), Városi Közlekedés, Year XL, Vol. 2, pp. 71, Budapest, 2000</ref> A major reconstruction of the track and stations was undertaken between 2004 and 2008, with new trains arriving in 2010. The new trains went into service two years later, in September 2012, and by April 2013 the line was solely served by new trains.

On December 5, 2016, an accident occurred on the line which involved an [[AM5-M2 and AM4-M4|AM5-M2]] rolling stock. An incoming train collided with a waiting train at the [[Pillangó utca metro station]]. This was the first serious accident in the history of the Budapest metro. The accident did not result in a fatality, but according to the prosecution, a total of twenty-one were injured, five of whom were classified as serious.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ugyeszseg.hu/vademeles-a-2016-decemberi-metrobaleset-ugyeben/|title=Prosecution for the December 2016 subway accident|website=ugyeszseg.hu|date=2020-01-20|access-date=2021-02-13|language=hu}}</ref>

M2 runs in an east–west direction through the city, and it was the first metro line to cross the [[Danube|River Danube]] and reach [[Buda]] (the western part of Budapest).<ref>Budapest City Atlas, Dimap-Szarvas, Budapest, 2011, {{ISBN|978-963-03-9124-5}}</ref> It has a transfer station with [[Line 1 (Budapest Metro)|Line 1]] and [[Line 3 (Budapest Metro)|Line 3]] at [[Deák Ferenc tér (Budapest Metro)|Deák Ferenc tér]], and a transfer station for [[Line 4 (Budapest Metro)|Line 4]] at [[Keleti pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Keleti pályaudvar]].

{| class="wikitable" !Sections<ref name="Line 2a"/> !Opened !Length !Stations |- |[[Deák Ferenc tér (Budapest Metro)|Deák Ferenc tér]] - [[Örs vezér tere]] |1970 |{{convert|6.7|km||abbr=on}} |7 |- |[[Déli pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Déli pályaudvar]] - [[Deák Ferenc tér (Budapest Metro)|Deák Ferenc tér]] |1972 |{{convert|3.6|km||abbr=on}} |4 |- |'''Total''' |1972 |{{convert|10.3|km||abbr=on}} |11 |- |}

==Rolling stock== {{Unreferenced section|date=June 2024}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Time period !! Name |- | 1970 – 2013 || [[Metrowagonmash|Metrovagonmash Ev, Ev1]] |- | 1980 – 2013 || [[Metrovagonmash 81-717/81-714|Metrovagonmash 81-717.2/714.2]] |- | 1998 – 2013 || [[Metrovagonmash 81-717/81-714|Metrovagonmash 81-717.2M/714.2M]] |- | 2000 – 2013 || [[Metrowagonmash|Metrovagonmash EvA]] |- | 2012 – present || [[AM5-M2 and AM4-M4|Alstom Metropolis AM5-M2]] |}

==Stations and connections== {| class=wikitable style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center" | colspan="5" style="background-color:#DD0000;text-align:center;font-weight:bold" | [[File:BKV metro 2014.svg|18px]] [[File:BKV m 2 jms.svg|18px]] Déli pályaudvar – Örs vezér tere |- !width="5%"|Travel Time min:sec !width="17%"|Station !width="5%"|Travel Time min:sec !width="27%"|Connection ! Buildings / Monuments |- | 0:00 || '''[[Déli pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Déli pályaudvar]]''' || 18:25 || align=left|[[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 17, 56, 56A, 59, 59A, 59B, 61 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 21, 21A, 39, 102, 139, 140, 140A, 221 [[File:Volán regional bus logo.svg|20px]] Regional buses [[File:Bkkvonat.svg|20px]] [[Hungarian State Railways|Hungarian State Railways (MÁV)]] || '''[[Budapest Déli railway station|Déli pályaudvar]]''' |- | 1:40 || [[Széll Kálmán tér (Budapest Metro)|Széll Kálmán tér]] || 17:00 || align=left|[[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 4, 6, 17, 56, 56A, 59, 59A, 59B, 61 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 5, 16, 16A, 21, 21A, 22, 22A, 39, 91, 102, 116, 128, 129, 139, 140, 140A, 149, 155, 156, 221, 222 [[File:Volán regional bus logo.svg|20px]] Regional buses || Post Palace Budapest, Városmajor |- | 3:27 || [[Batthyány tér (Budapest Metro)|Batthyány tér]] || 15:12 || align=left|[[File:Budapest H5 HÉV.svg|40px|link=BHÉV]] [[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 19, 41 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 11, 39, 111 || [[File:Budapest hev symbol.svg|20px]] '''[[Batthyány tér]]''' Batthyány tér Market Hall |- | 4:55 || [[Kossuth Lajos tér (Budapest Metro)|Kossuth Lajos tér]] || 13:45 || align=left|[[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 2, 2B, 23 [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 70, 78 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 15 || [[Hungarian Parliament Building]], [[Ethnographic Museum (Budapest)|Ethnographic Museum]] |- | 6:55 || [[Deák Ferenc tér (Budapest Metro)|Deák Ferenc tér]] || 11:50 || align=left|[[File:Budapest M1 Metro.svg|40px|link=Line 1 (Budapest Metro)]] [[File:Budapest M3 Metro.svg|40px|link=Line 3 (Budapest Metro)]] [[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 47, 48, 49 [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 72 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 9, 16, [[Budapest bus route 100E|100E]], 105, 178, 210, 210B, 216 || [[File:BKV metro 2014.svg|20px]] '''[[Deák Ferenc tér]]''' Town Hall, Metro Museum (Földalatti Vasúti Múzeum), [[St. Stephen's Basilica]] |- | 8:35 || [[Astoria (Budapest Metro)|Astoria]] || 10:07 || align=left|[[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 47, 48, 49 [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 72, 74 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 5, 7, 8E, 9, 107, 108E, 110, 112, 133E || [[Eötvös Loránd University|ELTE]]-Faculty of Humanities (BTK), [[Danubius Hotel Astoria]], [[Dohány Street Synagogue]] |- | 10:02 || [[Blaha Lujza tér (Budapest Metro)|Blaha Lujza tér]] || 8:40 || align=left|[[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 4, 6, 28, 28A, 37, 37A, 62 [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 74 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 5, 7, 7E, 8E, 99, 107, 108E, 110, 112, 133E, 217E || [[Boscolo Budapest Hotel]] |- | 11:50 || [[Keleti pályaudvar (Budapest Metro)|Keleti pályaudvar]] || 6:50 || align=left|[[File:Budapest M4 Metro.svg|40px|link=Line 4 (Budapest Metro)]] [[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 23, 24 [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 73, 76, 78, 79, 80 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 5, 7, 7E, 8E, 20E, 30, 30A, 107, 108E, 110, 112, 133E, 230 [[File:Bkkvonat.svg|20px]] [[Hungarian State Railways|Hungarian State Railways (MÁV)]] || '''[[Budapest Keleti railway station|Keleti pályaudvar]]''' [[Arena Plaza]] |- | 14:35 || [[Puskás Ferenc Stadion (Budapest Metro)|Puskás Ferenc Stadion]] ♿ || 4:07 || align=left|[[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 1, 1M [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 75, 77, 80 [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 95, 130, 195 [[File:Volán regional bus logo.svg|20px]] Regional buses [[File:BKV-Volánbusz-bus-symbol.svg|20px]] Long-distance buses || [[Puskás Aréna]], [[László Papp Budapest Sports Arena]], [[Kisstadion]] |- | 16:25 || [[Pillangó utca (Budapest Metro)|Pillangó utca]] ♿ || 2:10 || align=left|[[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 10 || [[Kincsem Park]] |- | 19:25 || '''[[Örs vezér tere (Budapest Metro)|Örs vezér tere]]''' ♿ || 0:00 || align=left|[[File:Budapest H8 HÉV.svg|40px|link=BHÉV]] [[File:Budapest H9 HÉV.svg|40px|link=BHÉV]] [[File:Logo tramway-budapest.svg|20px]] 3, 62, 62A [[File:Logo trolleybus-budapest.svg|20px]] 80, 82, 82A [[File:BKV busz symbol.svg|20px]] 10, 31, 32, 44, 45, 67, 85, 85E, [[Budapest bus route 97E|97E]], 131, 144, 161, 161A, 161E, 168E, 169E, 174, 176E, 231, 244, 276E, 277 [[File:Volán regional bus logo.svg|20px]] Regional buses [[File:BKV-Volánbusz-bus-symbol.svg|20px]] Long-distance buses || [[File:Budapest hev symbol.svg|20px]] '''[[Örs vezér tere]]''' Árkád Budapest |}

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Budapest, M2 metró, Déli pályaudvar, 10.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Széll Kálmán tér, 37.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Batthyány tér, 25.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Kossuth Lajos tér, 20.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Deák Ferenc tér, 29.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Deák Ferenc tér, 69.jpg File:Budapest, 2-es metró, Astoria.jpg File:Budapest, Astoria, aluljáró, 3.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Blaha Lujza tér, 19.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Keleti pályaudvar, 11.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Puskás Ferenc Stadion, 34.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Pillangó utca, 4.jpg File:Budapest, M2 metró, Örs vezér tere, 14.jpg </gallery>

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Budapest Metro lines]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 1970]] [[Category:1970 establishments in Hungary]]