Technical demonstrations and visits in the Municipality of Budapest offered by Budapest Transport Privately Held Corporation (BKV)
The Budapest Transport Privately Held Corporation (BKV) owned by the Municipality of Budapest runs most of the vehicles (bus, tram, metro and trolleybus) of the extensive network of public transportation in Budapest. Other services include the famous Cog-Wheel Railway, the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular and public riverboat transport along the Danube. BKV transports approximately 1.4 billion passengers a year.
The rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital is the oldest electrified underground railway system in continental Europe: Budapest’s iconic Line 1 was completed in 1896 and Since 2002, the M1 line was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The metro consists of four lines (M1–M4), each denoted by a different colour. A complete renovation of the M3 line started in 2017 and is planned to be completed in the forthcoming years. The planned upgrades include renewing the stations, rebuilding the track, safety equipment, ventilation and tunnel insulation. The site visit could include a presentation on the state-of-the-art power supply and the automated systems installed along the line, including the metro vehicle control, the tram driver assistance and other related automated systems.
The environmental and climate protection, sustainable energy management along with decreasing our carbon footprint are not only our tasks but they are also our common interests. A cleaner and more liveable vision serves the objective of Budapest transport operator BKV to the fullest. The two bus storage facilities on the premises of the Kelenföld Bus Division along with the solar panel system installed on their roof are not only a new step in the realisation of the climate and energy strategy of BKV, but they are also an asset to realise a greener and more liveable Budapest. In the framework of a technical visit, visitors can also get familiar with the organization’s climate and energy strategy.
Technical demonstration offered by Hungarian Public Roads
The Megyeri Bridge is a spectacular cable-stayed bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, respectively the west and east sides of Budapest.
12,700 tonnes of steel structures were used for the construction of the entire bridge (while “only” 10,000 tonnes were used for the construction of the Eifel tower) 120 000 m3 of concrete were used for the construction of the entire bridge which is about 3 times more than the amount used for the construction of one of the biggest shopping malls of Budapest (Western City Centre)
The distance between the pylons is 300m,accordingly the 268 m long Hungarian Parliament would fit comfortably between the pylons A site visit would include a presentation on the construction process and operation of the bridge, as well as a visit to the top, with a 100 metres high observation point.
HungaroControl and Budapest Airport
As an option, HungaroControl offers a technical visit to demonstrate the SEE FRA (South East Europe Free Route Airspace). This is a Hungarian concept with the aim of organizing air traffic to minimize travel distance, thus consuming less fuel and having a smaller impact on the environment. HungaroControl can also present the Remote Tower, a way to operate air navigation independently
from the location. In this way, using advanced camera, display and communication technologies, air traffic controllers can work from a safe distance and will be able to control the air traffic at other airports remotely. Budapest Airport also offered a site visit at their cargo center (BUD Cargo City) which accounted for almost 175 tons of import and export cargo in 2021.