Bicske's second intermodal hub built in the biggest development in its history

The first phase of the intermodal hub development was inaugurated in Bicske on 5 December. The Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium investment was carried out by V-Híd Zrt. for HUF 9.9 billion.

At the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, Péter Ágh, Minister of State for the Social Coordination of Public Investments ÉKM, reminded that the first interchange in Hungary providing smooth transfers between public transport lines was completed in Kaposvár in November 2022, while the one in Bicske is the second one to be inaugurated.

He said that in the first phase of the Bicske development, the area around the station building was cleaned up, where new bus stops, bus parking and bus turnarounds, two taxi stands, 336 P+R parking spaces and 172 covered bicycle parking spaces were built, and the pedestrian underpass for access to the platforms was extended and made barrier-free.

He said that a new 1.3-kilometre-long link road to the west of the railway station has been built, which can be used by passengers since December 2022, and a new public loading platform has been built, together with the necessary track network.   

Péter Ágh announced that the second phase of the project has already been approved, so it is hoped that construction can start soon. He added that the new station building will be built in a classical style, but will serve as a centre for rail services and the bus network in line with modern needs.

The State Secretary stressed that the pedestrian overpass, which was demolished in the first phase due to its poor condition, will be replaced by a new underpass that will provide road and pedestrian and bicycle crossing, thus creating a new road link between the two parts of Bicske. 

According to János Czermann, Deputy State Secretary for Strategy and Human Resources Policy at the Ministry of Defence, the military importance of the railway is demonstrated by the fact that it became an indispensable part of military logistics at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. As part of the Budapest-Hegyeshalom railway line and the trans-European railway network, Bicske is Hungary's busiest railway junction and is also of major importance for military mobility.   

He said that as part of the first phase of the recently inaugurated Bicske intermodal hub, a military loading facility was built with a HUF 1.2 billion investment, which was implemented in accordance with the requirements of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the NATO, and became Hungary's first military loading facility meeting the NATO requirements. It can load and unload an entire military railway train at the same time, the paved loading area is designed for the weight of military heavy vehicles and has a rigid concrete pavement for crawler-mounted technical equipment.   

He mentioned that the project included the construction of two loading tracks, each 300 metres long, with a load capacity of 22.5 tonnes per axle, and a 10-metre wide, 22-metre long double front-end loader. 

Zoltán Tessely, Fidesz Member of Parliament of the region, said that an invaluable asset has been created, which belongs to the people of Bicske and the citizens of the district who use the train and bus transport. He mentioned that János Lázár, the Minister of Construction and Transport, had assured him of his partnership and said it was realistic that the investment elements of the second phase could be implemented with national funding during the parliamentary term starting in 2026.   

Mayor Istvánné Bálint (Fidesz-KDNP) called the inauguration of the project, the largest development in the city's history, a day of celebration. She expressed the hope that the renovation of the railway track will also be completed soon, and that not only will it be possible to get on and off the trains in a civilised environment, but that the journey time will also be significantly reduced.