The HÉV may be renewed: trains that are more than half a century old will be replaced with low-floor models.

On Wednesday, the procurement of 54 modern, low-floor HÉV trains, each capable of carrying 600 passengers, was launched , announced CEO Zsolt Hegyi in his latest post on the official Facebook page of the MÁV group, adding that the first 18 vehicles are expected to arrive by the end of 2029. The document corresponding to the announcement also appeared among the EU public procurement notices on Wednesday morning.

The first 18 new vehicles will be financed largely from EU funds that have not been suspended. Given that the use of these IKOP Plus funds is subject to extremely strict time limits, the first 18 vehicles must arrive and be put into service by 31 December 2029 at the latest, explained the CEO.

Trains arrive first at the busiest front line

„This means that within four years, the track and rolling stock renewal programme on the H5 HÉV line in Szentendre, which many people in the MÁV group have been working on for a long time, will finally become a reality. This is an important milestone, as Hungary's busiest rail service can finally be renewed,” he added. The H5 line running between Szentendre and Békásmegyer is the HÉV line used by the most passengers.

According to public procurement data, it plans to put its newly acquired vehicles into service on the following suburban railway lines:

• the H6 Közvágóhíd – Ráckeve,
• H7 Boráros Square – Csepel,
• H8 Örs vezér Square – Gödöllő
• and on the H9 Örs vezér tere – Csömör section.

GDR products must be replaced

Zoltán Hegyi recalled that the Hungarian railway fleet is ripe for rejuvenation. This is particularly true of the HÉV, where vehicles often over 50 years old serve passengers, and more and more of these will have to be taken out of service in the near future. Most of these railcars were manufactured in the GDR, but they have survived the fall of the Berlin Wall. Although they operate with impressive reliability and durability (the HÉV's timetable accuracy is over 99 per cent), we would have retired them long ago if we could, said Zsolt Hegyi, among others.