Railway development is coming to the Hungarian Puszta too: Hortobágy station is being refurbished with an accessible platform and track works

Hortobágy railway station is preparing to modernise its passenger facilities MÁV Track Operations Zrt. – as our newspaper has learnt from the EU tender notice.

The design contract, worth 47.5 million forints net, was awarded to Reneszánsz Építő Kft.. Part of the remit

• the construction of an accessible high-level platform at least 170 metres long,
• the reorganisation of the rail network
• and the planning of the renewal of the associated railway infrastructure.

A new high-level platform following the demolition of the old one

The successful designer is required to prepare planning permission, construction and tender drawings, as well as tender documentation, for the development of passenger facilities at Hortobágy station, situated on the Debrecen–Füzesabony railway line (No. 108). The contract also covers the conduct of planning permission and conformity assessment procedures.

A key element of the project is the construction of a new, accessible mainline passenger platform at least 170 metres long and 55 centimetres high above the rail crown.

In parallel with the construction of the platform, part of the existing passenger infrastructure will need to be remodelled; consequently, the existing passenger platform next to Track 1 and the one between Tracks 1 and 2 will be demolished.

The rail network and associated systems are also being upgraded

In addition to the construction of the platform, the design brief includes the refurbishment of tracks 1 and 2, as well as preparations for the reconstruction of sidings 5, 7 and 9, the section of track between sidings 5 and 9, and the stub track following siding 7.

In order to improve conditions for pedestrians, a pavement approximately 35 metres long would be constructed between the existing and new platform crossings.

Technical design encompasses several disciplines. The work involves carrying out geodetic surveys and preparing geotechnical designs, as well as designing the railway track, signalling systems, outdoor lighting, public address systems, cable installations and utility networks.

A number of modernisation works have already been carried out on the railway line

A number of refurbishment and maintenance works have been carried out on the Debrecen–Füzesabony line in recent times. In our previous article, we reported on the modernisation of the track between Nagymacs and Balmazújváros, as well as the track network at Balmazújváros station, and the installation of the overhead line.

This also includes maintenance work carried out by MÁV using its own resources on the approximately 16-kilometre section between Hortobágy and Ohat-Pusztakócs. During the works carried out here, long sleepers were replaced, concrete sleepers were repaired and track realignment was carried out using heavy machinery. The aim of these works was to reduce speed restrictions and improve the reliability of train services.