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How M6 Metro Line can ease the pressure on Bucharest traffic

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According to the TomTom Traffic Index 2025 (data for 2024), Bucharest ranks 3rd in Europe and 22nd in the world for traffic congestion. The average travel speed in the city is 13.3 km/h, and a driver loses an average of 171 hours a year because of traffic – the equivalent of 7 days and 3 hours.

According to the technical and economic indicators approved by Government Decision H.G. 930/2016, M6 Metro Line will have a transport capacity of 50,000 passengers per hour, in each direction. A study published in Nature Cities (2025) confirms that metro systems significantly reduce car use in European cities. Based on the experience of similar projects, between 15 and 25 out of every 100 passengers on a new metro line are former drivers who choose to leave the car at home — which, for M6 Metro Line, could mean thousands of fewer vehicles every day on the capital’s northern corridor.

On saturated arteries, a reduction of 15–20% in traffic volume increases the average travel speed by 20–35% for everyone — including those who continue to use the car. (Transportation Research Board – Highway Capacity Manual, 7th Edition, 2022). Thus, on congested roads, a 15-20% reduction in traffic volume increases the average journey speed by 20-35% for all traffic participants – including those who continue to use their cars. (Transportation Research Board – Highway Capacity Manual, 7th Edition, 2022).

European precedents confirm this trend: following the opening of the M2 metro line in Warsaw (2015), passenger numbers on parallel routes decreased significantly, according to Warsaw Metro. Cities with extensive metro networks, such as Vienna and Stockholm, consistently record some of the lowest congestion levels in Europe.

Less stress in traffic is not a slogan. It is a mathematical consequence of M6 Metro Line.

Sources: TomTom Traffic Index 2025 – Bucharest | GD 930/2016 – Technical and economic indicators, M6 Metro Line | Nature Cities (2025) – Prieto-Curiel et al., modal shift metro | Transportation Research Board – HCM 7th Ed. (2022) | Warsaw Metro – M2 Line

M6 Metro Line and the reduction of urban noise: the impact of a fully underground route

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Urban noise is not merely an everyday nuisance. At European level it is treated as an environmental and public health issue. Directive 2002/49/EC on the assessment and management of environmental noise establishes a common framework for identifying, preventing and reducing the harmful effects of exposure to noise, particularly in large urban areas and in areas affected by road, rail or air traffic.

In this context, investment in electric public transport is becoming essential. M6 Metro Line, which will provide a direct link between Gara de Nord and Henri Coandă – Otopeni International Airport, is one such project: an underground infrastructure with a direct impact on mobility and the potential to reduce surface traffic congestion along the capital’s northern corridor.

European data show that the issue of noise is not an abstract one. According to the European Environment Agency report Environmental noise in Europe 2025, long-term exposure to traffic noise is associated with significant effects on health and quality of life. The report estimates that, across Europe, this contributes annually to numerous health problems, including cardiovascular diseases and sleep disorders, as well as to significant economic costs. Furthermore, millions of Europeans are affected by severe sleep disturbances caused by traffic noise, and the economic impact of transport-related noise pollution is estimated at over 100 billion euros annually. The World Health Organisation has also drawn attention to this issue. The WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region, published in 2018, recommend a limit of 53 dB Lden for road traffic, which is stricter than the European threshold of 55 dB. The reason is simple: constant exposure to noise can affect sleep, cardiovascular health and, ultimately, quality of life.

For Bucharest and the Otopeni area, the implications are concrete. According to the technical and economic indicators approved by Government Decision 930/2016, M6 Metro Line will have a maximum transport capacity of 50,000 passengers per hour, in each direction. This capacity can absorb a significant flow of passengers who currently use road transport, thereby helping to reduce the number of cars on the DN1 and on the adjacent roads.

The more cars there are in traffic, the higher the noise level. Conversely, every journey shifted from the car to electric public transport means less pressure on the city. M6 Metro Line serves two purposes: it provides an underground service, with no surface noise, along the route from Gara de Nord to Otopeni Airport, and it helps to reduce road traffic on one of the busiest transport corridors in the Bucharest area.

The benefits will be felt both by residents of the areas along the alignment and by those who continue to use the DN1. Smoother traffic implicitly means less noise from engines, braking, acceleration and horns.

Quiet is rarely the first argument when we talk about infrastructure. More often, we discuss speed, capacity, connectivity or safety. But in the case of M6 Metro Line, acoustic comfort becomes part of the wider change the project brings to the city: mobility that is more efficient, cleaner and friendlier to people.

Sources: EEA – Environmental noise in Europe 2025 | WHO – Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region 2018 | Directive 2002/49/EC | GD 930/2016 – Technical and economic indicators, M6 Metro Line

M6 Metro Line: lower emissions on the route between Bucharest and Otopeni Airport

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Transport is one of the sectors in which Romania needs to reduce the pressure on the climate and air quality. According to Romania’s Long-Term Strategy for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Government Decision 1215/2023), between 1990 and 2019, emissions from the transport sector rose by 41%, reaching 18,937 kt CO₂ equivalent in 2019, with road transport as the dominant source – representing approximately 96% of the sector’s total.

source: https://sgg.gov.ro/1/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ANEXA-1-21.pdf

Along the DN1 – Otopeni – Bucharest corridor, this reality is evident every day: the link between the capital, the northern region and Henri Coandă International Airport relies heavily on private cars, taxis and other road vehicles. M6 Metro Line changes this equation, offering a fast, predictable public transport alternative with significantly lower operational emissions per passenger.

Car versus metro
We can make a comparison: let’s take as a reference the road distance of approximately 16-17 km between the Gara de Nord area and Henri Coandă / Otopeni International Airport. Our World in Data indicates, based on UK government reporting figures, approximately 170 g CO₂e/km¹ for a petrol-powered car and approximately 35 g CO₂e/passenger-km for domestic rail transport.
For urban light rail and metro systems, the 2024 UK government methodology (DESNZ – GHG Conversion Factors) indicates an average of 26.16 g CO₂e/passenger-km, whilst for the Glasgow Underground the figure is 34.70 g CO₂e/passenger-km. These values are international benchmarks for comparison, not official factors specific to M6 Metro Line or Romania.
Applying these benchmarks to a distance of 16-17 km, a car journey with a single occupant generates approximately 2.7-2.9 kg CO₂e one way, or 5.4-5.8 kg CO₂e for a return trip. For urban electric transport (26-35 g CO₂e per passenger-km), the same journey would generate approximately 0.42-0.60 kg CO₂e one way, or 0.83-1.19 kg CO₂e return.
The difference is significant: for every passenger who chooses the metro instead of a private car, the estimated saving is around 2.1-2.5 kg CO₂e one way, or 4.2-5.0 kg CO₂e for a return journey. Assuming a car with a single occupant, the metro can have a carbon footprint some 5 to 6.5 times smaller per passenger-km, depending on the emission factor used and on how heavily the system is loaded.

The other emissions matter too
CO₂ is not the only relevant pollutant. Road traffic generates nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter, PM10 and PM2.5. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) – Emissions of air pollutants from transport, the pollutants emitted by transport contribute to the deterioration of air quality and put pressure on human health. Although exhaust emissions have dicreased in recent decades, particles from the wear of brakes, tyres and road surfaces remain an important component of the pollution generated by road transport.
The electric metro produces no exhaust emissions along its route. Therefore, for journeys transferred from car or taxi to the metro, M6 Metro Line will help reduce local emissions in the areas it crosses and ease the pressure created by road traffic on the Otopeni – Bucharest corridor. The benefit is not only climatic but also urban: more public transport means more predictable mobility, a more efficient link with the airport and a real alternative for the residents, employees and visitors of the northern area of the capital.

M6 Metro Line is a public utility project of national interest, which provides the link between the metro network and Henri Coandă International Airport and contributes to the development of the trans-European transport network TEN-T. The project is not only an investment in infrastructure, but also an urban mobility measure with direct effects on emissions, air quality and connectivity between Bucharest and the airport.

¹CO₂e/km = carbon dioxide equivalent per kilometre. CO₂e (CO₂ equivalent) is a unit of measurement that includes not only carbon dioxide (CO₂) but also the other greenhouse gases, expressed as CO₂ equivalent. Cars also emit methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), not just CO₂. CO₂e adds them all into a single figure, converting them according to their global warming potential. In practice, for a car the difference from pure CO₂ is small, so when the article says “170 g CO₂e/km”, it can be read as “roughly 170 g of greenhouse gases per km, expressed as CO₂”. Per km means per kilometre travelled, with a single passenger in the car (or per passenger-km for public transport, where the emissions are divided by the number of people in the vehicle).

Sources:
Romania’s Long-Term Strategy (GD 1215/2023) | Our World in Data – Travel Carbon Footprint | UK Gov GHG Conversion Factors 2024 | CNAB – Statistical data 2024 | EEA – GHG emissions from transport | EEA – Pollutants from transport

Progress on M6: TBM “Sfânta Maria” breaks through at Piața Montreal station

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The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) “Sfânta Maria” broke through the wall of the future Piața Montreal metro station, today, on the alignment of the future M6 Metro Line.

Representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and of Metrorex attended the event.

The boring shield “Sfânta Maria” is excavating the Line 2 tunnel on the SOUTH Section of M6 Metro Line, and today it completed the third tunnel segment on this line.

The tunnel completed so far by the machine – 97 metres long, weighing 600 tonnes, with a cutterhead 6.60 metres in diameter – between the future Tokyo, Aeroport Băneasa, Gara Băneasa and Piața Montreal metro stations, totals almost 3 km (2,836 linear metres) excavated and 1,895 tunnel rings assembled.

The length of the underground tunnel that TBM “Sfânta Maria” will complete to 1 Mai station is 6.6 km.

“Metrorex continues to build for people, for the city, for Romania and for a sustainable future. The breaking through of the wall of Piața Montreal station by TBM “Sfânta Maria” is another important milestone in the construction of M6 Metro Line. The pace at which the works are advancing is the result of the good coordination between everyone involved in the project, from the contractors to the funders. M6 Metro Line will provide a fast and modern connection between the metro network and Henri Coandă International Airport, contributing significantly to the development of urban mobility in Bucharest,” said the Director General of Metrorex, who attended the event.

The Building Permit has been issued for the architectural works, track works, electromechanical and low-voltage installations for M6 Metro Line

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Metrorex announces that the Building Permit has been issued for the “Bucharest International Airport Rail Access Link Project (Metro Line 6. 1 Mai – Otopeni)”, covering the architectural works, the trackwork and the electromechanical and low-current installations.

The document marks the next major step in implementing the M6 Metro Line project, one of the most important public transport infrastructure projects in Romania and an integral part of the trans-European transport network TEN-T.

The value of the authorised works, excluding VAT, amounts to 1,037,578,107.47 lei, and the construction period is 31 months, calculated from the date the works actually begin. The works will be carried out by the joint venture SOMET S.A. – SALCEF GROUP – THEDA MAR S.A. – TIAB S.A. – UTI CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITY MANAGEMENT S.A. – ALTIMATE S.A., with SOMET S.A. as joint venture’s leader.

At present, the civil works are on going along the entire length of the future M6 Metro Line alignment. On the SOUTH SECTION, covering the distance between 1 Mai – Tokyo future metro stations, the civil works have reached 66%, while on the NORTH SECTION, the section between Tokyo – Aeroport Otopeni future metro stations, the civil works stand at 32%.

The progress made by the two operational TBMs is as follows:

– TBM “Sfânta Maria” (Line 2): has completed more than 2,819 linear metres of tunnel and installed 1,875 rings;

– TBM “Sfânta Ana” (Line 1): has completed more than 2,122 linear metres of tunnel and installed 1,410 rings.

“Bucharest International Airport Rail Access Link Project (Metro Line 6. 1 Mai – Otopeni)” is a public utility project of national interest, in accordance with Government Decision no. 496/2017, contributing to the development of the trans-European transport network. M6 Metro Line is a project for Romania! Follow the official website www.magistrala6.ro for updated information.

Yours sincerely,

DIRECTOR GENERAL,

Mariana MICLĂUȘ

Traffic changes at the access to the Băneasa Shopping Complex, due to works on M6 Metro Line

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From 24 April, traffic changes will be introduced in the access area leading from the DN1 to the Băneasa Shopping Centre, due to works on the future Tokyo metro station, which is part of the M6 Metro Line, 1 Mai – Otopeni project.

These interventions are needed in order to build the infrastructure of the new station, including its accesses and pedestrian connections.

Planned works: an underground pedestrian passageway will be built beneath Pană Buescu Street. It will serve Access B of Tokyo metro station, located in the IKEA car park area, allowing passengers to reach the station safely.

Traffic changes: for an estimated period of about seven months, the route of Pană Buescu Street will be altered before the roundabout under the road overpass, in order to divert traffic and allow the works to be carried out.

  • The overpass slip road will remain unchanged, with the existing vehicle accesses maintained;
  • Pedestrian traffic will be ensured safely, on prepared pavements and via signposted pedestrian crossings;
  • Viorel Ciurea Street will be connected to the DN1, providing an additional exit route from the Băneasa Shopping Complex.

The works are being carried out on the basis of the approvals issued by the competent institutions, namely the National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR), the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR), the Technical Traffic Commission of Bucharest City Hall and the Bucharest Traffic Police Brigade.

We thank traffic participants for their understanding.

Temporary traffic restrictions at the Piața Presei Libere underpass

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Access to the Piața Presei Libere underpass will be restricted on the nights of 21/22 April and 22/23 April 2026, between 11:00 pm and 05:00 am.

The restrictions are needed in order to install topographic equipment in the area of the future Piața Montreal metro station, on the South Section of the future M6 Metro Line. As part of these activities, survey reference points will be installed and used for the structural monitoring of the underpass and of the buildings within the zone of influence. The works are being carried out with the approval of the competent authorities.

Outside the periods indicated, traffic through the underpass will run normally.

Traffic on the carriageway outside the underpass will not be restricted and will not be diverted.

In order to reduce the impact on road traffic and the inconvenience to traffic participants, the works are being carried out at night only.

The works will be signposted in accordance with legal requirements, and once the activities are completed the road will be reopened and the road signs will be restored to their original state.

We thank traffic participants for their understanding.

Traffic diversion in Otopeni for the works at the future Bruxelles metro station

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In the context of the works for the future Bruxelles metro station, part of the M6 Metro Line project (1 Mai – Otopeni), new traffic measures will be introduced in the Otopeni area.

For an estimated period of about a year and a half, traffic on Oașului Street will be closed in the area of the future Bruxelles station site. Traffic will be diverted onto a newly built bridge, with two traffic lanes of 3 metres each, which will provide the link with the DN1 through the McDonald’s car park area, on the Oașului Street – DN1 – Otopeni route.

The extension of the site facilities will be carried out without affecting traffic on Șoseaua București–Ploiești (DN1).

At this stage, works will be carried out to relocate the utility networks, including electricity, water, sewerage and district heating. For the safety of pedestrians, a temporary pavement will be provided.

Motorists are asked to drive with caution and to observe the temporary road signs, as well as the instructions of the traffic controllers in the area.

The works are being carried out with the approval of CNAIR and of IGPR – the Road Directorate.

The M6 Metro Line: 1 Mai – Otopeni project is declared a public utility project of national interest, in accordance with Government Decision no. 496/2017. The new metro line will provide the direct link between Gara de Nord and Henri Coandă International Airport Otopeni, contributing to the development of the trans-European transport network and to improved mobility in the Bucharest – Ilfov metropolitan area.

T.U.C.B. students visit the M6 Metro Line site: a practical course about the future metro to Otopeni

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Third-year students from the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest – Faculty of Railways, Roads and Bridges took part today in a study visit to the M6 Metro Line construction site, within an open lesson organised by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in partnership with Metrorex.

The visit was initiated by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, as part of its efforts to strengthen collaboration with academic community and to support the training of future specialists in the field.

Together with Mariana Ioniță, Secretary General within the ministry, the students received detailed technical information about the project and were encouraged to develop their skills through ongoing dialogue with industry professionals.

The visit took place on the work site of the future Gara Băneasa metro station, where the participants had the opportunity to observe the actual construction processes. Representatives of the contractor gave technical explanations about the works on going, including the operation of the TBMs “Sfânta Maria” and “Sfânta Ana”, used to build the tunnels.

The site specialists presented the current stages of the project and the technologies used, giving the students a practical perspective on how large-scale metro infrastructure works are carried out.

The meeting enabled a valuable exchange of ideas between students and construction and public transport investment professionals. The discussions ended on an optimistic note, with participants expressing confidence in the projects that will help improve urban mobility.

M6 Metro Line will be the first direct, rapid link between Gara de Nord and Henri Coandă International Airport (Otopeni), integrating air, rail and road transport into a modern and efficient system.

The project includes:
• 14.2 km of double track
• 12 modern stations
• 12 new trains

The line will offer a fast, safe and comfortable solution for residents and tourists alike, contributing to the development of an essential mobility corridor between the airport and the centre of the capital.

Study visit on M6: future leaders in direct contact with major infrastructure projects

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The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, together with Metrorex, hosted a study visit focusing on the extension of the metro network and the challenges of urban mobility, at the request of the Academy of Public Leadership – Future Romania, through the Vintilă Brătianu Association.

The event gave participants the opportunity to gain a close understanding of the essential stages of a major infrastructure project, from rigorous planning through to actual implementation. The emphasis was on the importance of attention to detail and of sound execution, decisive factors in the success of investments on this scale.

M6 Metro Line, one of the most important projects currently under construction, was the focal point of the visit. The project is financed from European and government funds and through the support provided by JICA (the Japan International Cooperation Agency).

The participants visited the site of the future Gara Băneasa metro station, where they could see at first hand how the works are carried out and how complex the management of a large urban infrastructure project is. The visit proved a valuable experience for the participants, giving them a practical perspective on the development of urban transport and inspiring them to contribute actively to the future of infrastructure in Romania.