Bucharest Metro Line 5 is a new underground subway metro being constructed by Societatea Comercială de Transport cu Metroul (Metrorex), a metro operating company in Romania. The 17.7km-long underground metro will operate from Drumul Taberei in the south-west zone of Bucharest to Pentelimon in the eastern side through twin track tunnels.
The project is intended to upgrade and enhance the existing metro network. Bucharest has four metro lines (Metro Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4) consisting of 70km of double track, 49 stations and four depots. The network handles about 600,000 passengers per weekday.
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Metro Line 5 constitutes phase IV of the Bucharest metro modernisation project and is considered as an extension of the existing underground metro network. It will be constructed in two sections. Contracts for Section 1, which is also known as Raul Doamnei-Eroilor, were awarded in March 2011. Construction commenced in the second quarter of 2011.
Project
Section 1 is a 9km-long route from Drumul Taberei to Universitate and constitutes a part of the short-term plans (2008-2012) of the metro expansion plan. Section 2 will be an 8.7km-long route from Universitate to Pentelimon and will be a part of the medium-term plan of 2013-2020.
The contract for section 1 was awarded to a consortium of Spain-based Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), Italy-based Astaldi and local Romanian companies AB Construct and ACM Delta.
The contract is valued at €267m ($372m) and involves performing of civil engineering work to build the line and stations on the route and restoring the surface roads affected by construction.
Astaldi holds 39% in the joint venture and accounts for €215m of the total contract value. Orifisa IKC, an engineering and consulting firm, performed the route technical study for FCC in 2010.
Project finance
The modernisation project is jointly funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Romanian Government. A financial contract was signed between the two parties in November 2009 for a total amount of €883m of which €395m will be used towards the construction of the new Metro Line 5.
The project amount will be disbursed in tranches until December 2014. The loan amount will be used to purchase a fleet of 37 new subway trains of which 21 will be used on the Metro Line 5 and 16 will be used to replace the obsolete fleet that is currently running on the existing lines.
The remaining amount of €488m is being financed by the Romanian Government.
Construction
Section 1 involves construction of two underground parallel tunnels each of 5.7m-diameter and 4.85km-long. A third tunnel measuring 260m-long will be excavated to link Metro Lines 1 and 5 at Eroilor station. A total of 240,000m³ of earth and rock will be excavated to construct the tunnels.
The construction is expected to last for about 25 months under the supervision of Systra.
Infrastructure
The initial 6.1km section will have nine underground stations located 15m-20m below the ground level.
A small segment of the line will lead to Brâncu°i area where a new depot will be constructed. This part of the project has been awarded to Max BOEGL of Romania.
The Râul Doamnei station will be 226.6m-long, 18.6m-wide and will serve as a terminus.
Trains will travel at top speed of 80km/h inside the tunnel and 50km/h at the stations. They will, however, maintain an average speed of 36km/h.
Rolling stock
The fleet that is currently operating on all the Metro Lines includes the six car set electronic multiple units. They are 114m-long and have a maximum capacity of 1,200 passengers.
