Hungarian Railways 2023: ÉKM heralds a new era, MÁV and Volán radically transformed

The modernisation, continuous development and competitiveness of Hungarian railways is the central theme of the most prestigious event of the Hungarian railway industry. The Hungarian Railway Conference will be held for the 15th time by the HUNGRAIL Hungarian Railway Association on 5 October 2023 at the Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel. We will report in detail on the event in our column on the tied track, where our newspaper will participate as a media sponsor.

The event will feature nearly 30 speakers, including renowned company and business leaders and experienced professionals who will share their thoughts on a range of topics. The conference will focus on strategies and projects aimed at modernising the Hungarian rail network, making it more efficient, increasing its capacity, improving speed and efficiency and promoting environmental awareness. Methods of modern track maintenance and reconstruction are discussed in detail, as well as the benefits of digitalisation and automation in rail transport.

Radical redesign of the MÁV-Volán

Opening the event, Bálint Nagy, Minister of State for Transport Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium (ÉKM) made a major announcement: on behalf of the ministry, he announced a new era in the operation of MÁV.

A rail development concept for the next ten years will be presented to the government within days, aiming to rethink the Hungarian mobility system and give a major role to the fixed railways

- and added that this also requires financial predictability, so a new basis for financing the MÁV-Volán group and a new market financing leg for the development of the railways.

New resources are being brought in to run the railways

He said that the funding needs of the railway system are such that even if the expected EU funds were to arrive in Hungary, the funding needs for the renewal of the MÁV group would still exceed the budget possibilities. He added that therefore external sources and alternative funding should be explored and also stressed that "no new money will be poured into the old system".

The MÁV-Volán group is radically renewed in terms of its organisation, efficiency, modernity, passenger focus, management and day-to-day operations. Accordingly, new board members have been elected to lead the company, bringing market knowledge and experience, as well as a new approach to the company, he pointed out.

We will keep you updated with details of the Secretary of State and the opening speeches

There will also be a special session on vehicle development and climate protection.

As the speeches have shown, the Ministry of Transport plans to develop and implement a new rail vehicle strategy over the next ten years to ensure that public operators provide a flawless and reliable service in the long term. This will involve the purchase of new rolling stock and the renewal of the existing fleet. In a session on the development of the domestic rail vehicle industry, rail vehicle manufacturers with an interest in the domestic market will give their views on domestic plans and international trends.

Climate protection and environmentally friendly transport solutions will also be discussed: in a panel discussion, road, rail, freight forwarding and terminal operators will discuss the conditions for the efficient integration of road operators in intermodal transport.

At the event, HUNGRAIL received a certificate of membership from RailCert Hungary Ltd. The company is one of the few organisations in Hungary that deals with railway certification, checking and assessing the compliance of fixed-track and industrial investments with domestic and EU requirements. The certificate was received by Managing Director András Dégi.