If Bucharest does ever open a Tourist Information Centre (see discussion below this post) it is to be hoped that it will do a better job than the Romanian National Tourist office. Here’s their map of the Bucharest metro…
See that station at the eastern end of the red line, Antilopa? Doesn’t exist.
Still, I’m sure Elena will sort things out.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Actually, it’s because Piata Romana was built after the northern half of M2 opened. They had to build it around the existing tunnel. Talk about short-sightedness.
There are a few other planned (Basarab, Tineretului, Constantin Brancoveanu) and not planned stations (Gorjului – which reminds one of Batman’s Two-Face) that opened after the respective lines started revenue service.
As far as I know (I am no engineer) this happened because of the (relatively) tall, heavy buildings on the sides they did not demolish, respectively to the not so solid ground; also, it was not in the original plan, being added after the line was opened. But – once again – I might be wrong.
Excellent. Not called Antilopa though, is it?
PS Any idea why Piata Romana station is so, well, wierd? (You know, those wide pillars in front of the platforms?)
It is called Pantelimon actually and it is located close to the Antilopa, a shoe factory; only two wagon trains go from Republica (where the end of the line for regular subway trains) to Pantelimon twice an hour. This happens first because the tunnel was built too close to surface and vibrations damage the houses, and then because Pantelimon itself was conceived as a depot. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantelimon_metro_station