The Bucharest Metro is an underground rapid transit system in the capital of Romania, Bucharest. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979.The network is run by Metrorex, it is fully owned by the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Transportation. Metrorex has an average of approximately 500,000 passenger trips per weekday, compared to the 2,650,000 daily riders on Bucharest's RATB transit system. In total, the Metrorex system is 69.3 km long and has 51 stations. The Bucharest Metro network is under expansion, since the population increased 11,2 % within 2015.

There are 4 metro lines in operation, 1 under construction, and another 1 in the planning phase.
M1 Line is between Dristor and Pantelimon opened in 1979, circular with a North-Eastern spur. M2 Line is between Pipera and Berceni opened in 1986, completed in 1988, runs in a North-South direction, through the center. M3 Line is between Preciziei and Anghel Saligny opened in 1989, completed in 2008; Runs in an East-West direction, south of the center. M4 Line is between Gara de Nord and Parc Bazilescu opened in 2000, completed in 2011.

Metro Line 5
M5 is a metro line of the Bucharest Metro currently under construction and it is estimated to be open for traffic in 2018. The M5 Line will run from Râul Doamnei to Eroilor, and to Valea Ialomitei, in the first phase (7.2 km (4.5). After that, the line will be extended to Iancului, and from there under Iancului Road until it meets Pantelimon of the M1. The expected construction cost is €883 million. The project is jointly funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Romanian Government: €395m is financed by EIB and the remaining amount of €488m by the Romanian Government.
 

Fig.1 Metro Line 5 Drumul Taberei – Pantelimon

Construction on the first section of line 5 from the southwest (Drumul Taberei district) from Parc Drumul Taberei to Eroilor (6.1 km) started in 2011. This includes 4.85 km of bored twin tunnels, each with a diameter of 5.7 m. With construction of M5, distances between stations will be significantly shorter than on older lines. The line will later be extended to Pantelimon via Universitate and Piata Iancului. Contracts for Section 1 were awarded in March 2011 to a consortium of Spain-based Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), Italy-based Astaldi and local Romanian companies AB Construct and ACM Delta. The value of this contract is €267m and involves building the line and stations on the route and restoring the surface roads affected by construction. 39% in the joint venture belongs to Astaldi with €215m of the total contract value.

Future plans for Metro Line 6
Bucharest Municipality (PMB) published the decision on the approval of the Zonal Urban Plan for Line 6 - metro line, 1 Mai – Otopeni, section 1. The project is submitted to public debate until 29 July. Line 6 will follow the route: Calea Griviței, Pajura railway, Bd. Poligrafiei, Piața Presei Libere and Bucharest Ploiești/DN1/E60 national road and will have 12 stations - Pajura, Expoziției, Piața Montreal, Gara Băneasa, Băneasa Airport, Tokyo, Washington, Paris, Bruxelles, Otopeni, Ion I. C. Brătianu, Otopeni Airport.

The value of the project is estimated at 1,033 EUR million and part of the amount – 356 EUR million come from a loan granted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Metrorex estimates works will be launched in 2017, while operation is expected to start in 2020.