Bound track

Rail strategy: ten years to renew the rail network and rolling stock

Published

2023. 08. 11. 09:34

Magyar Építők

The ministry submits a comprehensive railway development programme to the government.

The Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium will present a ten-year railway development programme to the government, including the renewal of the track and the purchase of new rolling stock, János Lázár, Minister of State, said on the Rádió7 programme "Common Denominator 2023" on 3 August 2023.

As we recently reported in our article our article reviewing an interview with László Mosóczi, CEO of MÁV-Start, the domestic fixed-track vehicle strategy has already been completed as part of the comprehensive fixed-track strategy.

The Minister said that the aim is to modernise the ageing railway network and the fleet in ten years, step by step, focusing on the important tasks.

He said that in Hungary, the first place in public transport is occupied by the fixed rail system. In Budapest, the HÉV lines - both track and rolling stock - need to be upgraded, rail links between major cities and intercity and feeder lines in the county and district centres need to be improved. In conjunction with this, Volán must ensure access to the fixed rail link," the minister said.

Rail vehicle manufacturing is an industry worth investing in

János Lázár emphasised that this requires investment and a domestic railway vehicle industry. However, this is an area worth investing in, as it concerns the transport of 5 million people and, on the other hand, a new industry can be built up. At the end of July, we reported on the particular importance of railway vehicle manufacturing reported on the importance of railway vehicle manufacturing.

We explained that the production of railway wagons for shipment to Egypt is currently underway in Dunakeszi, and negotiations are already underway for further joint Egyptian-Hungarian production of rolling stock.

The politician said that there is currently no money in the budget for railway consolidation and development work. The necessary funds could be raised through the involvement of EU funds and even through money market instruments, which could amount to HUF 6 billion. Until then, however, the aim is to ensure accident-free daily operations, he said.

In the last year, not only the rate of delays has increased, but also the risk of accidents, the minister said, apologising to those who have recently had an accident or have been inconvenienced by delays and cancellations.

The implementation of the Southern Circular Railway and the Budapest-Belgrade railway remains a priority

János Lázár explained that during the epidemic the number of passengers dropped significantly, but in the last six months the demand for public transport has increased substantially.In 2022 the government decided to concentrate resources in rail transport in the area around the capital, and for this we need manpower, 100-150 people make a difference. The reallocation of human resources, in addition to ensuring accident-free transport, is part of the reason for the suspension of rail services on ten branch lines from August.

The politician pointed out that the Budapest-Belgrade railway line is of paramount importance for freight transport, as is improving the conditions for west-east transit traffic, where Budapest represents a bottleneck. The construction of the Southern Circular Railway has met with protests from residents of the 11th district, as we reported − but the government was open to compromise − for example, noise reduction – but it cannot compromise on the programme itself, as the country's interests cannot be overridden by political battles in Budapest.

Source : Link