The train carriages of Budapest’s Metro Line 3 were not merely refurbished but fully reconstructed by the Russian company Metrowagonmash, according to a statement issued by BKV on Tuesday. Budapest’s communal transportation company clarified that, as part of the modernization project, the Russian contractor decided to replace the entire structure of the carriages rather than repair them.
The Hungarian government approved the refurbishment of Metro Line 3’s rolling stock in 2014, following an evaluation of Budapest’s proposed renovation plans. The project was backed by a state guarantee. Subsequently, in November 2014 BKV launched a public procurement tender for the modernization of the metro fleet, which included refurbishing the carriages and supplying related equipment and services. The tender was awarded in July 2015 to Metrowagonmash, a Russian corporation.
The procurement process underwent scrutiny by the Public Procurement Arbitration Board, which found no irregularities and confirmed that BKV had acted lawfully throughout the tender process.
During the refurbishment carried out between 2016 and 2017, BKV contracted Metrowagonmash to modernize 222 carriages of varying conditions. After assessing the state of the trains, the Russian company determined that the original structures were in such poor condition that mere repairs would not suffice. Instead, it opted to construct entirely new carriages while incorporating both new and refurbished components—at no additional cost beyond the original agreement.
CEO of BKV Tibor Bolla reiterated this point during a meeting of the Budapest Climate, Transport, and Urban Development Committee. He noted that while the original agreement had anticipated repairs, the Russian company ultimately concluded that the carriage bodies were beyond salvage. As a result, the old structures were sent to Moscow, but what returned to Budapest were entirely new carriage bodies, not refurbished ones.
BKV emphasized that this approach aligns with standard international practices in transport refurbishment projects. It is common for some components to be replaced with newly manufactured parts while others are repaired and reused.
In summary, while everyone believed that the old carriages were merely refurbished, BKV reaffirmed that the Metro Line 3 refurbishment, carried out between 2016 and 2017, included a full reconstruction of the train carriages, which were entirely rebuilt by the Russian partner as part of the modernization process. Although this announcement comes rather later after the reconstruction process itself, it shows hope, as the completely rebuilt trains can be expected to last significantly longer than if they were built on the old structure.
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