The paper noted that European Union development funding may not be used for outmoded means of transport, which has excluded the Budapest Public Transport Company (BKV) from a number of tenders for grant money, but MÁV’s eligibility for such funding is far broader.

An internal study prepared by BKV puts the cost of upgrading the HÉV lines at 300 billion forints (EUR 908m).

This would include the cost of buying new rolling stock to replace the HÉV carriages, which are 40 years old on average, for one-third of the amount. The paper said MÁV may choose to run Stadler FLIRT trains, which it already uses on its own commuter routes, on the HÉV lines.

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