Knyaginya Maria Luiza Metro Station

Sоfia metro station

Knyaginya Maria Luiza
Княгиня Мария Луиза

General information

Location

1233 Maria Luiza Blvd., Sofia

Coordinates

42°42′50.89″N 23°18′47.12″E / 42.7141361°N 23.3130889°E / 42.7141361; 23.3130889

Owned by

Sofia Municipality

Operated by

Metropoliten JSC

Platforms

side

Tracks

Bus routes

Connections

Tram

1, 6, 7, 12

Trolleybus

1, 5

Bus

27, 60, 74, 77, 82, 85, 86, 101, 285

Construction

Structure type

triple-span

Depth

14–15 m

Platform levels

Parking

Bicycle facilities

yes

Accessible

an elevator to platforms

Architect

Sibel Yapage

Other information

Status

Staffed

Station code

2989; 2990

Website

Official website

History

Opened

31 August 2012 (2012-08-31)

Passengers

2020

70,000

Services

Preceding station	Sofia Metro			Following station
Central Railwaytowards Vitosha		M2 line		Han Kubrattowards Obelya

Location

M2 and M4 lines

All stations are wheelchair accessible

Legend

Obelya

Lomsko shose

cont. as 2

Pancho Vladigerov

(under construction)

cont. as 4

Knyaginya Maria Luiza

↖Serdika↘

↙Serdika II↗

NDK

SU St. Kliment Ohridski

2 To Dragalevtsi

1 To Business park

Station names in italics
are not confirmed.

Detailed track map

Line end

-8'

Vitosha

↑Opened 2016↑

-6'

James Bourchier

-4'

European Union

built 1981

opened 2012

Perlovska

-2'

NDK

built 1981

opened 2012

NDK II

Serdika

1 and 4

Serdika II

Vladayska

Lavov most

Central Railway Station

Knyaginya Maria Luiza

BDŽ National Rail

to Pernik-Kulata/Kyustendil

BDŽ National Rail

to Dragoman/Radomir/Bankya

00'

Future extension

00'

M5 Ilyantsi branch

Lev Tolstoy

Svoboda

Iliyansko shose

Ilyantsi

Ilyantsi branch end

Han Kubrat

Suhodolska

Nadezhda

11'

Beli Dunav

13'

Lomsko shose

↑Opened 2012↑

15'

Obelya

Kakach

Pancho Vladigerov

(under construction)

National Rail

to Dragoman/Radomir/Bankya

↑Opened 2003↑

RED line

to Depot

↓Opened 1998↓

-13'

Slivnitsa

-11'

Lyulin

-8'

Zapaden Park

Suhodolska

National Rail

to Pernik-Kulata/Kyustendil

-6'

Vardar

-4'

Konstantin Velichkov

↓Opened 1999↓

Vladayska

-2'

Opalchenska

↓Opened 2000↓

Serdika

Serdika II

↓Opened 2009↓

Sofia University
St. Kliment Ohridski

Orlov Most

Perlovska

Vasil Levski Stadium

Joliot-Curie

WTC

Novachitsa

10'

G.M.Dimitrov

12'

Musagenitsa

Darvenishka

14'

Mladost 1

00'

1 to Business Park

↓Opened 2015↓

16'

Aleksandar Malinov

18'

Akademik Aleksandar
Teodorov - Balan

Banishka

20'

Business Park Sofia

Mladost branch end

00'

↓Opened 2012↓

16'

Mladost 3

18'

Inter Expo Center –
Tsarigradsko shose

↓Opened 2015↓

20'

Druzhba

23'

Iskarsko shose

National Rail

to Ihtiman/Karlovo

25'

Sofiyska Sveta gora

27'

Sofia Airport

Terminal 2

Airport branch end

Knyaginya Maria Luiza Metro Station (Bulgarian: Метростанция „Княгиня Мария Луиза“) is the 21st station to open on the Sofia Metro in Bulgaria. It is situated near the Nadezhda road junction in the northern part of Sofia, at the intersection of Maria Luiza Boulevard and Gen. Stoletov Blvd. It opened on 31 August 2012 and is also known as the fifth station on the M2 line of the metro (station 5-II). It was also the first station on the path of the TBM, which worked on the section between stations 5-II and 9-II (part of phase I of the metro extension project), entirely constructed by the Turkish company Doğuş Construction, part of Doğuş Holding. The station is a shallow triple-span station with two rows of concrete and steel columns. It serves two central tracks and two side platforms. There are four street entrances, two on each side of the boulevard after which the station is named. They lead to a central vestibule, directly above the station.

Interchange with other public transport

Soure:

West side:

City Bus service: 77, 82, 85, 86, 101, 285

East side:

Tramway service: 1, 6, 7, 12
Trolleybus service: 1, 5
City Bus service: 60, 74, 77, 82, 85, 86, 101, 285

Location

The station is located at 116 Maria Luiza Boulevard. As development to the north is restricted by the ground-level mainline railway service passing east to west, this station serves mostly areas located to its south. It serves mainly the residential district of Banishora.

To the south:

Fifth General Hospital
Sofia County Cancer Center
John Paul Hematologic Diseases Hospital
Zora Eye Clinic
Nadezhda Trolleybus Depot

To the north:

The National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) Head Office
Tsar Boris III National Transportation General Hospital, owned by MTITC

Naming

Initially, in the project the station was named Banishora for the neighbourhood it serves. Afterwards, the official name was chosen to be in honour of Maria Luiza, Princess consort of Bulgaria, as one of four stations constructed under Maria Luiza Boulevard in Sofia, the other three being Central Railway Station, Lavov most, and Serdika II.

Construction

Construction began as part of phase I of the Sofia Metro Extension Project, funded by the ERDF under Priority Axis 3 of OP Transport 2007-2013, Improvement of Intermodality for Passenger and Freight, and the National Budget in the amount of €185,190,000. Phase I consisted in the construction of 4 stations and interconnecting tunnels and the inclusion of two stations built in the 1980s, plus another newly built station with national funding only. The TBM boring began a few hundred metres to the north-west of the station on 6 April 2010. It was decided to bore a single tunnel with a double track with a diameter of 9.4 metres which called for high ceiling stations for the TBM to pass through. Maria Luiza Station was the first station on its path and the TBM reached the station in the first week of October, 2010. By the end of November 2010 the station was constructively entirely completed. By 21 May 2012 the station was fully completed.

The station is a two-level underground station with the tracks and platforms on the lower level and a vestibule with turnstile gates and pedestrian underpasses on the upper level. It is a triple-span station with two rows of columns, one on each side-platform. Both tracks run in the centre and are powered by a third rail +825V. The platforms are 104 metres long. The station is accessible by elevators on all levels from all four entrances at ground level. Escalators are installed on all levels (including ground level) for ease of access going upwards. The main colours of the station are pale green and beige. The architectural project is credited to the Turkish company Doğuş Construction, part of Doğuş Holding.

The station was inaugurated as part of a grand opening ceremony for the inauguration of the entire second BLUE line on 31 August 2012 in the presence of Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso.