27 km of railway lines in north-eastern Hungary are being upgraded

Renovation of the railway line between Miskolc and Mezőkeresztes-Mezőnyárád began in September. Experts and machinery are working day and night in two phases along the entire 27-kilometre section, , according to the website MÁV.

From midday to night, trains are guaranteed to run continuously on one track, while on the other, construction is on schedule, with work on both tracks at night to complete the track reconstruction by the 4 December deadline.

They underline that although this investment is still entirely financed by MÁV's own resources, it is already part of the infrastructure renewal chapter of the 5-point action plan announced by Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium. The upgrades will make train services more reliable and predictable from the end of the year, eliminating speed restrictions on almost 20 km and improving journey times by up to 5 minutes. The total cost of the works is around HUF 18 billion from MÁV's own resources, the information note adds.

How the work was scheduled

In the first phase, until 18 October, the left track will be renovated between Miskolc-Rendező railway station and Nyékládháza, as well as between Nyékládháza and Emőd, by MÁV's subsidiary, MÁV FKG Kft.. Since the start of construction, a significant portion of the planned work on the section between Nyékládháza and Miskolc has already been completed.

The work is carried out by around 200-250 specialists per shift, using a large number of large machines, railways and road vehicles. This involved a giant 210-tonne, state-of-the-art SMD superstructure replacement machine chain - a rarity in Europe - which the contractor used to replace the superstructure, i.e. the rails and reinforced concrete sleepers, in 9 days, according to the press release.

Bridge sealing, bedding, concrete substrate replacement

The large-scale machine bedding screening was also completed: nearly 37,000 tonnes of crushed stone were screened and replaced over 9.5 kilometres using a special rail machine. Earthworks were also needed to replace about 500 metres of ballast, and insulation work was completed on two bridges. Following the track and ballast replacements, work is continuing on track regulation, ballast replacement and the reconstruction of the road crossings.

On the section between Nyékládháza and Emőd, works are on schedule. Here, 21,000 tonnes of crushed stone are being moved over 5.5 kilometres for resurfacing and replacement. The sealing of three bridges has been completed, the sealing of the fourth bridge is still ongoing and two thirds of the approximately 9,000 concrete footings have been replaced. Still to be completed are the replacement of 95 120-metre-long rails, as well as the reconstruction of the road crossings, the paving and the construction of the trenches.

Information about the timetable change is available on the MÁV website .