Shooting in Metro Lines

The two largest lines were built during the Soviet Era, but have mostly been renovated to modern standards. The forth metro line was designed by extravagant Hungarian architects whose award-winning architecture redefines our understanding of what a metro station can look like, and has consequently created a haven for those in search of sci-fi production locations. While some stations are merely located a few meters under the street level, many are much deeper, such as the deepest station on the Buda side which is 38 meters under ground level and can be accessed via Budapest’s four longest escalators. The Buda and the Pest side of the city are connected by two metro lines with tunnels stretching under the Danube River. An interesting fact is that many stations house artworks made by Hungarian artists of various generations.

The European Continent’s First Metro Line

The doors of the first metro line in Budapest opened in 1896 on the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Hungarians. This was an extremely outstanding way to celebrate since this was the first metro line on the European continent and the first electric one in the world! It astonishingly took only 21 months for this 4,5 km long line with 10 stations (the 11th was built later) to be constructed with the most modern technology available. It is amusing that since the metro line is so short, two of its stations only have a station’s worth of distance between each other. The line was named after Franz Joseph I, the reigning monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its stations are beautiful with cast-iron pillars and tiles made by the acclaimed Zsolnay porcelain manufacturer. Thankfully, it has always been restored in respect of the original design of the stations, so there have been no significant alterations in the last 130 years to most of its stations. The majority of the metro lines runs underneath the Andrássy boulevard and most of its elegant, yellow cast-iron metro entrances and stairs lead up to this road. In 2002, both this metro line and the Andrássy boulevard became a World Heritage Site. The metro line and its unique entrances have been used in many films and also fashion photoshoots, among which three were produced by Progressive. The historic charm and sophistication of this metro line enables it to easily double as any European city in the first half of the 20th century.

The Awe-Inspiring, Futuristic Fourth Line

Although this metro line was the last to be built, featuring it second highlights the strong contrast among the various styles of metro lines in Budapest. The planning for this metro line started in the 1970s, but its actual design and construction only commenced in the 2000s and got finished in 2014. However, it was definitely worth the wait, because it resulted in internationally acclaimed, stunning architecture which is quite unlike anything before! For two of the line’s stations the Hungarian architects were given the A+ international architecture award, which was founded by the Wall Street Journal and The Webbys. This 7,4-kilometre long line has 11 stations all with unique structures and features but it overall has a strong and unifying esthetic, featuring raw concrete walls and pillars, as well as iron structures. The aim was to create exciting spatial experiences with vast spaces, without hiding the structures, but rather presenting them in a slick, industrial way as one descends on one of the many escalators. One of their aims was also to create stations that did not have to be renovated often, so they used time-withstanding raw materials. This monumental, industrial and slightly cold atmosphere was aimed to be counterpointed by the wooden benches on the platforms and colourful decorations on the walls of the platforms. The most notable decoration consists of an enormous mosaic spiral covering the entire wall of one of the stations. This simple, but dramatic and vast spatial design makes these stations ideal for any film set in the future or that has action scenes which require a lot of space.

The Soviet Era’s Red Metro Line

Budapest’s second metro line was built as a response to the transport crisis that occurred after the Second World War, however, unlike the 1st metro line’s 21 months, this line took 22 years, from 1950 until 1972, to get constructed. This was partially due to Soviet technology and preferring to use miners to make the tunnels rather than modern tunnelling shields. Another reason that the majority of this long line with 11 stations on 10 kilometres is located significantly deeper underground is that it was also designed to function as an enormous underground bunker for 200,000 civilians in the case of a nuclear attack, a constant fear during the Cold War. Some stations are more than 30 meters underground level (mainly on the Buda side) with Budapest’s longest escalators, but there are also two stations above ground on the Pest side. Its station by a large stadium is significant due to having four train tracks instead of two with three platforms in a large hall. The line was stylized as the red metro line, which is undoubtedly due to red being a symbol of communist ideology. However, not much of the original Soviet design has survived renovations, with it now looking more simply like a typical contemporary underground line.

The Bustling Retro Metro Line

The third underground line is the largest in Budapest, covering 17 kilometres with 20 stations and is used by a staggering half a million passengers. This line was also built in the Soviet Era between 1970 and 1990 with an esthetic typical of that period. Its metro cars came from a factory in Moscow and these are the same ones that you can travel on today. However, both the carriages and the stations have been under renovation for quite a few years now, but only sections of the line are worked on at a time to minimise disturbance of traffic. This is why only a few stations are still in their old, haggard, retro state. The colours, materials and shapes of both the stations and the carriages were so typical of that era, the latter of which can still be seen on the renovated metro cars. The previously mentioned film called Kontroll was shot solely on this line. This line also has many long escalators in tunnels decorated in a variety of retro colours and shapes.

Diverse and Accessible

Therefore, Budapest’s underground system has a vast range of architecture to offer film productions. Not only does it have 48 stations, many of which were designed uniquely, but each metro line has its own character typical of a given historical age and architectural style. Stations vary from simple and charmingly historic, to contemporary with monumental and industrial structures. Thanks to the open-minded, experienced and collaborative company running public transport, filmmakers and other creatives can easily use these places as locations for shoots in the nighttime when the underground is out of service. Due to the countless productions shot here in the past, they have a well-developed protocol to enable swiftly gaining permits for these locations and to hiring carriages. Let it be either a period film or a sci-fi movie, Budapest’s underground has fitting locations for all!