Shorter upgrade works at Bucharest subway stations in office areas

Those working in Bucharest’s northern office areas will have to do without subway transport for a shorter period than initially announced. The time for the modernization works at the capital’s subway stations with only one access will be shortened from seven to four days, the Bucharest subway operator Metrorex announced. At the same time, two of Bucharest’s busiest subway stations, Pipera and Aurel Vlaicu, will be closed for only three days, out of which only one will be a working day, Metrorex said. Both Pipera and Aurel Vlaicu stations, which have only one access point, are used by the people who work at the multinationals located in the northern area of Bucharest. Some 200,000 people are estimated to work in this part of the city. The modernization works entail the replacement of the 20-year old turnstiles with modern swing gates. The new schedule for upgrading works is as follows: Pipera – July 15 up to an including July 17 ; Aurel Vlaicu - July 29 up to an including August 1; Constantin Brâncoveanu – July 22 up to an including July 25; Tineretului - September 2 up to an including September 5; Apărătorii Patriei – September 2 up to an including September 5; Dimitrie Leonida – September 9 up to an including September 12; Costin Georgian - September 9 up to an including September 12; Pantelimon – September 16 up to an including September 19; and Berceni - September 16 up to an including September 19. “There is a technological process we cannot divert from but we have attempted to increase the mobilization and, at the same time, to open the access ways for travelers during the test periods. This is the only option that the technological process allows us to open the stations earlier than we communicated initially, in order to offer the optimal transport solution by metro under the circumstances,” said Marin Aldea, the general manager of Metrorex. The subway operator previously announced that the modernization works at the stations with one access will take one week, as it happened in all other stations in its network where the works were performed. editor@romania-insider.com