Rail is the future of sustainable transport - Hungarian Rail Conference held

A country is successful if it has well-organised transport, stressed János Kerékgyártó, Deputy State Secretary for Transport Strategy and Public Administration, at the Hungarian Railway Conference organised by the Hungrail Hungarian Railway Association in Budapest on Thursday.

He added that Hungary must have a transport network that is capable of handling transit traffic in addition to performing internal economic tasks and serving the population.

It is in the strategic interest to shift as much transport as possible to rail

The Deputy Secretary of State for ÉKM said that

Rail is the future of sustainable transport. In order to achieve sustainability in economic and social mobility, rail must be emphasised alongside electromobility trends

- he said.

He recalled, among other things, that in 2010 there were 2.5 million cars in the country, now there are 4.5 million, and a significant part of freight transport has shifted to roads. He said it was in the strategic interest to shift as much passenger and freight transport as possible to rail.

Rail is a social issue

In his opening speech, László Mosóczi, President of the HUNGRAIL Hungarian Railway Association, emphasized that the conference invites to joint professional reflection, as railways are an economic factor and a social issue.

Zsolt Hegyi, CEO of the MÁV Group, said that thanks to the implemented fare reform, the demand for public transport has increased, with the number of trips on the group's MÁV, Volán and HÉV lines reaching 1 billion in 2024. Both suburban and long-distance traffic is growing, with more than 1.1 million rail journeys, 12.3 million bus journeys and 290,000 HÉV journeys per year.

The CEO of the MÁV group, referring to the Minister's ten-point commitment, highlighted, among other things, the delay insurance. He said that a total of 100 high-capacity locomotives will be in service by the beginning of 2027, and 133 of the 1 000 new buses that will arrive by 2027 are already in service. The aim is to have only IC-quality vehicles on long-distance trains in 2030 and only air-conditioned trains on the network in 2040, said the CEO of the MÁV group.

Further rail improvements planned

Róbert Homolya, President of Stadler Trains Magyarország, said that the group's global market is growing, and there is a significant demand for their motor train portfolio as high-speed networks expand. Green technology is also making inroads into the rail sector, with Stadler leading the world in the production of alternative propulsion vehicles.

József Pántya, Deputy State Secretary for Road and Railway Construction ÉKM, recalled at the infrastructure session that several railway infrastructures and stations have been renovated in the past year, and further improvements are under procurement and planning.

Speaker from Serbia on the Budapest-Belgrade line

Emese Lálity Urbán Urbán, State Secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, said at the conference that the Budapest-Belgrade railway line is of strategic importance, 183 kilometres of which are located in Serbia, and that the complete modernisation of the existing track and the construction of the second track are being carried out simultaneously. The line will be designed for mixed traffic, passenger and freight traffic. The 2025/2026 timetable will see the start of international services at the crossing point between Subotica and Kelebia. On the Belgrade-Budapest route, 8 pairs of passenger trains are planned and new modern trains will be put into service.

The awards of the profession are presented

At the conference, the Hungrail professional awards were presented. This year, the István Sipos Award was presented to Sándor Kálnoki Kis Sándor, a transport engineer, in recognition of his decades of service to the railway. The Together for Hungarian Railways Award, established this year in recognition of his work for the railways outside the sector, was awarded to Kristóf Péter Bakai, Deputy President for Professional and International Affairs of the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV).