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Track renewal on the Small Boulevard
As I mentioned before, the supplementing bus service during the subway reconstruction used the tram's reserved track between Astoria and Deák Ferenc tér. But of course, the articulated buses had an impact on the tracks, so they had to be changed.
Interestingly, this was done with the old "conrete panels
with block rails" technology (also known as "BKV panels" in Prague) which
hasn't been used (fortunately) for years.
Track construction works on the vicinal (interurban) railway to Szentendre
The inner section of the HÉV (suburban or interurban/vicinal railway) to Szentendre was temporarily closed between Árpád híd/Szentlélek tér and the inner terminus at Batthyány tér. The trains (EMU's built in East Germany by LEW Henningsdorf) terminated at Árpád híd.
Because there's no crossover here, the two tracks between
the nearest crossover, Aquincum elágazás and this place were used
as two parallel-running one-track lines. One train went to the temporary
terminus on one track, then came back on the same track, while another
train did the same on the other track.
A Viennese works car in Budapest
One day I've got a call from Austria, that the track measuring tram of Wiener Linien - the Vienna urban transit operator - is in Budapest. It sounded like a bad joke, but it turned out to be true. There it was: Number 6117, Type Em, equipped with laser sensors to measure the characteristics of the rails.
"She" (yes, she - this car even has a name: "Eva") visited Budapest for three nights, during which they tested a few of BKV's lines.
At Népliget: this vehicle - as most Viennese trams - is unidirectional, while out tram network was built for bidirectional trams. Therefore, the vehicle had had to go backwards (in reverse) for kilometers!
I liked the fact that this visitor sported the traditional color for Budapest trams: yellow ;-)
It was hard to belive that this is not a montage: the Viennese tramcar at Móricz Zsigmond körtér, next to an Ikarus 280 articulated bus on night route 6É.
During the first night the car examined the Grand Boulevard. Next day came route 3/62. This picture was taken at Élessarok.
Örs vezér tere.
On the third night the car scanned route 1/1A. This is
a long line without a reversing loop at its end, so the car rode more
than 10 kilometers backwards!
The underside of Erzsébet híd (Elisabeth Bridge) was repainted, and because this route 18 was cut into two halves: one running between Szent János kórház and Döbrentei tér (northern part), and the other between Fehérvári út and Albertfalva kitérő (southern part).
A modernised Tatra (=T5C5K) double-set at the temporary terminus Döbrentei tér.
Because there's no crossover there, the trams used only one track between this terminus and the crossover...
... at Szarvas tér.
The northern terminus of the southern section (gosh, this is getting complicated...) was the reserve track in the middle of Fehérvári út, near Móricz Zsigmond körtér.
This track was meant as the inner terminus of route 41, but fortunately that service was extended to Batthyány tér, leaving this third track unused!
Of course since route 41 also passes under Erzsébet híd, it was cut back to here this weekend, too.
The third track seen from south.
Algebra as route number: 11-(49)
On the same weekend, route 19 - another tram line passing under Erzsébet híd normally - was detoured to Deák Ferenc tér as route "19-(49)".
What a strange route designation!
Grand Boulevard routes also shortened
And that was still not the end of the day: the tracks on Margarite Bridge were renovated on weekends, so I could take these photos of route 4 and 6...
... terminating and reversing at Oktogon.
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