Visitors' centre opened to showcase the Southern Circular Railway project crossing the capital along the Rákóczi Bridge

A visitor centre showcasing the development of the Southern Circular Railway has opened in Budapest, the Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium (ÉKM) State Secretary for Transport announced at a press conference in the capital on Wednesday.

As we wrote earlier we wrote, the Southern Circular Railway project will expand railway capacity between Kelenföld and Ferencváros stations. The construction will be carried out by V-Híd Zrt., and the implementation design will be carried out by Kontúr Group Kft..

Bálint Nagy said that the facility in Újbuda, in the immediate vicinity of the construction site, will showcase one of Hungary's most significant railway investments. The Southern Circular Railway is one of the most important sections of the inland transport infrastructure, but its throughput capacity has been limited so far compared to the traffic, he said, explaining that the investment will allow for more modern and competitive rail transport, which will allow for more frequent services to the Budapest area from 2028, contributing to the reduction of road traffic. Faster and more convenient connections are therefore a "future-oriented" innovation, not only from an infrastructure point of view but also from an environmental point of view, he said.

Trains will run on up to four tracks

The Minister of State said that the ÉKM project will allow trains to run at higher speeds on three tracks instead of two, and on one section on four tracks instead of two. By increasing the axle load, the requirements of the European core network will be met, and the use of modern retaining walls will allow the extension of the section to be kept to a minimum. Bálint Nagy highlighted the railway bridge over Bartók Béla út, which will be a "feat of engineering" and a major urban landmark.

The largest since the development of Metro Line 4

The ministerial commissioner responsible for government investments in Budapest, ÉKM, has called the development of the Southern Circular Railway the largest transport investment in the capital since the construction of Metro Line 4. According to Balázs Norbert Kovács, the expansion of this critical section is of European significance and will solve several of Budapest's biggest problems, as it will reduce congestion on public roads by providing a new transport alternative for around 60,000 commuters.

He also highlighted the renovation of the railway embankment, neglected for decades, which will be transformed into a 3,300-metre-long green corridor with rest areas and sports facilities, and will be larger than the City Major and the Blood Field combined.

He added that partnership with the local community is equally important, so work processes are designed to cause the least disruption to everyday life. In the new visitor centre, visitors will also be able to learn more about the project, with an experiential presentation of the facilities and green corridor, including visual plans, construction milestones, a range of components and fittings, and a virtual tour of the section under construction. The visitor centre will continue to offer thematic events, consultations and technical presentations, in addition to the ever-expanding content, so it will be worth returning regularly, he said.

The development of the Southern Circular Railway linking Ferencváros and Kelenföld railway stations will involve the construction of 6 kilometres of new track and the reconstruction of 7.7 kilometres of track, the renewal of 7 railway bridges and the construction of 5.1 kilometres of reinforced concrete retaining walls, with a surface area of 35,000 square metres of noise barriers. On the Pest side, at the Közvágóhíd and on the Buda side, near the university district and the Infopark, a new railway station with lifts and escalators will be created, as well as new pedestrian and cycle underpasses at several points. In phase 1 of the project, the railway bridge over the Danube has been renovated, allowing trains to cross on three tracks. The net cost of the investment is HUF 364.52 billion, with HUF 210.4 billion of funding for Project II from the Széchenyi Plan Plus.