Timişoara is the largest Romanian city in the west of the country. The development of the public transport system is on its investment list as the city needs a transport infrastructure capable to ensure its accessibility, connectivity and to meet the citizens’ mobility needs.
Mayor Nicolae Robu announced that he was planning to build a metro line to connect the city centre to the airport. The project could be initiated in 2015. The line would have 8 km and 5 stations. To receive financing, the project would be included in the budget framework 2014-2020, but the financing source has not been announced. The metro railway will start from Gara de Nord, will cross Gara de Est and up to Timișoara International Airport.
“At present, the city of Timişoara is divided in two by the train railways. The situation creates many problems as the number of crossings of these railways is reduced: two underground crossings and to level crossings. There are more, although also not enough, crossings over the Bega River”, declared Nicolae Robu.
There are three solutions for solving the transport problem in Timişoara: create bridges to elevate the railways, move the railways outside the city or to the underground. From the technical and financial points of view, moving the railways outside the city is the simplest solution. However, since there is an integrated development vision Timișoara-Arad (the two cities create a development pole) supported by a World Bank study (according to the declarations of the mayor), the line will no longer be part of the exterior area of the city, but the lines could once again be part of the city after some time, when development will be much more intense.
According to the Mayor’s declarations, a technical, economic, aesthetics and functional analysis has been carried out development and the conclusion of this analysis is that underground transport is the best transport solution for easing surface traffic, encouraging public rail transport and creating an efficient transport system.
“Moving the railways to the underground is a solution which, according to the opinion of important architects, seems to be the best long-term alternative. It is more expensive than the other alternatives and more difficult to implement, but its benefits recommend it compared to other solutions, if we find the necessary financial resources”, said Robu, adding that a new, ultramodern boulevard could be thus created on the surface of the current train railways. The problem would be solved irrespective of the further extension of the city and the arrangement could also work for public transport.
In January, the mayor announced that he had given “green light” to contract a feasibility study on the construction of a metro system in Timişoara using special funds. The cost of such a project would amount at around EUR 2 Billion. “The problem is financing. Obviously, we cannot begin the implementation of such a project relying only on local budget funds and we cannot use the usual European funds either, but I consider accessing special funds”, the mayor said.
by Pamela Luică
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