The Swietelsky Vasúttechnika Kft. repairs the 150-metre section blocking rail traffic in Transdanubia

The restoration of the closed section of the railway line between Veszprém and Ajka can begin.

According to the announcement by Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium, the construction contract will be signed on 3 February, and Swietelsky Vasúttechnika Kft. will take over the work site on Friday. According to the announcement, the contractor will complete the restoration of the affected section of railway line 20 within a maximum of 150 days.

 

The report of the Ministry of Construction states that the result of the public procurement procedure aimed at involving external professional resources was previously challenged in court, but the dispute has now been resolved, allowing the project to get underway.

Inadequate drainage accelerated track deterioration

The ÉKM reminds us that significant railway construction work needs to be carried out on the infamous „150 metres” of the Veszprém-Ajka railway line, because during track maintenance several years ago, the previous management of MÁV intervened in the infrastructure with a cheaper but technically less durable solution.

Due to inadequate drainage, track deterioration accelerated, and the line had to be closed in December 2024. Since then, the MÁV group has used its own resources to clean the deep drains.

The final phase of work can be carried out alongside train traffic.

The ÉKM points out that However, the 150-metre section most affected has been damaged to such an extent that the construction of the approximately nine-metre-high (actually „deep”) structure and the work involved in moving 15,000 cubic metres of earth justify the involvement of external contractors.

The entire project will take 150 days to complete, but the work planned for the final phase can be carried out while train services continue to run. This means that by the end of May, there will be no need to transfer to a bus between Veszprém and Ajka, and the InterCity train will once again provide direct service on railway line 20 from Budapest to Szombathely and Zalaegerszeg.