The Evolution of Hungary's Railway System: 30 Years of Closures & Reopenings
- 3 Jan 2024 9:27 AM
- Hungary Around the Clock
Governments have closed almost 2,000km of railway lines since 1990, leaving approximately 5,900km of track for passenger traffic in Hungary, Telex reports.
Three lines were closed in the ten years after the change of regime, affecting about 1,000 settlements.
The situation changed drastically on March 4, 2007, when the second Gyurcsány government closed 14 railway lines with a total length of almost 500km. During the great global financial crisis of 2009, the Bajnai government closed another 24 lines with a total length of more than 850km on December 13, 2009.
As a result, direct rail passenger transport for more than 520,000 residents in more than 200 settlements ceased.
Fidesz, which was in opposition at the time, attacked the closure of railway lines extremely fiercely, and reopened 11 lines after the parliamentary elections of 2010.
Seven of those re-opened lines are still operating today, but four were closed in 2023 by the Orbán government, along with a further six.
The total length of the ten lines closed in 2023 is 330km.
Consequently, direct rail passenger transport has ceased for more than 150,000 residents of 50 settlements, Telex adds.
MTI Photo: Zoltán Máthé
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