Piața Victoriei metro station

Piața Victoriei is a metro station in Piața Victoriei (Victory Square), central Bucharest. It is near the Victoria Palace, the headquarters of the Romanian government. The metro station consists of two parts, set on different levels:

  • Piața Victoriei 1, serving Line M2, is above;
  • Piața Victoriei 2, serving Line M1, is below.
Piața Victoriei
The upper deck (M2 platforms) in 2009
General information
LocationVictory Square
Sector 1, Bucharest
Romania
Platforms3 – Island platform for the M1 line, side platforms for the M2 line
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
History
Opened24 October 1987 (M2)
17 August 1989 (M3, currently M1)
Services
Preceding station Bucharest Metro Following station
Ștefan cel Mare
towards Dristor 2
 Line M1 Gara de Nord
towards Republica
Piața Romană
towards Berceni
 Line M2 Aviatorilor
towards Pipera

Along with Piața Unirii, the Piața Victoriei station is one of the busiest metro stations in Bucharest.

The station was the setting for many parts of the documentary Children Underground.[1]

History

The station was opened in two stages. Piața Victoriei 1 was inaugurated on 24 October 1987 as part of the line II (now M2 line) extension from Piața Unirii to Pipera, while two years later, on 17 August 1989, Piața Victoriei was opened to the public as part of the line III (now M1 line) from Gara de Nord to Dristor, which later became the terminal section of the line.[2]

The station has suffered technical and aesthetical modifications over the years.

In June 2017 the original turnstiles were changed with new, modern ones featuring embedded digital card (magnetic stripe card) reader, smart card RFID reader (for contactless transport cards)[3] and POS terminal for contactless payments (starting 2020).[4]

After an incident in 2019 when a passenger was hit by a plane of glass that fell from the ceiling in the Universitate station,[5] the false glass ceilings were removed from most stations without any replacement, destroying part of the original architecture and an iconic element of the Bucharest metro. This measure also took effect in Piața Victoriei station, even though there had not been any such event recorded there in 30 years of operation. Currently, the frame of the false ceiling that was left in place and the real ceiling and wiring are exposed.

M1 platform of Piața Victoriei metro station.
M1 platform of Piața Victoriei metro station.

While the M2 station's design is mostly intact, the walls' finish has been modified many times in the M1 station, currently being a pink-orange colour. The mosaics in the hallways were painted over in 2022, even though they were not damaged and could have been cleaned.

M1 platform of Piața Victoriei metro station showing the tactile paving for visually impaired pedestrians.

Tactile paving was mounted towards the end of 2022 for visually impaired people.

References
  1. Ramsey, Nancy (30 June 2002). "A Story of Hope and Horror on Romania's Streets". Televisio/Radio. The New York Times. sec. 2, p. 25. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  2. Schwandl, Robert. "București". www.urbanrail.net.
  3. "Video Stații de metrou închise pentru modernizare". Stiri.tvr.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  4. "METROREX". www.metrorex.ro. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  5. "Incident grav la metrou, staţia Piaţa Universităţii: Un bărbat a fost rănit de o bucată de sticlă căzută din plafon". www.digi24.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-02-05.
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