BUCURESTI Municipal Council approved a feasibility study on October 12 for a metro line to connect Piata Victoriei in the city cenre with Henri Coanda airport at Otopeni.
The 15·8 km line will serve 19 stations and include a dedicated depot. All of the stations will be built below ground.
Construction work is expected to last until 2014, and once open, the line will carry up to 50 000 passengers/h using a fleet of 21 six-car trains.
The municipality expects that funding for the estimated €1·1bn project will come from 'funds from the local and state budget, as well as from external credits contracted by Romanian state'.
The decision to choose Piata Victoriei as the city centre terminus is a change from previous plans that had envisaged the line running to Gara de Nord. The municipality believes that the new terminus will offer better connections with the existing metro and tram networks.
