MAV said they will scrap the previous interconnecting system, which was broken up by county borders, and introduce much more logical, easy-to-remember, and paced timetables.

The changes include hourly bus services from Gyongyos to Kekesteto, the highest peak in the county and buses will run more frequently in the eastern part of the Matra, including in the Paradsasvar, Parad and Recsk areas.

Buses will link up directly with the Matra InterRegio trains arriving from Budapest every hour.

Passengers from the capital can reach Matrahaza, Kekesteto, Galyatető or Parád every hour with a single quick transfer in Gyöngyös, and train connections have also been improved in Pászto and Eger.

Vitezy: Ten OBB rail carriages enter service in Hungary

Ten passenger carriages from Austrian railways (OBB) have entered service in Hungary to support state railway company MAV during the summer season, David Vitezy, the transport and investment minister, said on Sunday.

In a post on Facebook, Vitezy said the collapse of the Dunakeszi vehicle repair company, inherited from the previous government, had left MAV with its worst-ever rolling stock shortage.

A quarter of its trains are currently out of service awaiting repairs or inspections, leaving the company with even fewer carriages than last year for the peak summer season, he said.

Thanks to a rapid agreement with OBB, four first-class, bicycle-friendly carriages are now operating on the Balaton Kek Hullam InterCity service, while two first-class and two second-class carriages have been added to the Bekes InterCity, he said.

Vitezy described the support as essential for the season while MAV addresses its backlog of maintenance and fleet management issues.

He also highlighted the recent agreement with the European Commission, securing 16.4 billion euros in European Union funds for Hungary, which, he said, would enable the purchase of 35 new InterCity trains.

In a follow-up post, Vitezy said he had visited the Dunakeszi repair facility with MAV's leaders over the weekend. He said the aim was to salvage the plant, which employs 780 workers and has been idle for a year. Its closure now threatened Hungary's rail services, he warned.

Vitezy blamed the situation on the Fidesz government's privatisation of the repair company, saying it had been sold to Russian-linked "and politically connected businesses". 

These firms, he insisted, had extracted profits before driving it into bankruptcy, leaving dozens of MAV's best carriages stranded at the facility, awaiting parts.

In a statement, opposition Fidesz said the Dunakeszi rail repair plant had been pushed into financial ruin by European Union sanctions, risking hundreds of jobs and Hungary's rail network.

The plant was involved in fulfilling a 1 billion euro Egyptian rail contract, but sanctions forced its Russian partner to withdraw in 2022, leaving the Hungarian firm to shoulder the costs alone, Fidesz's parliamentary group said.

By late 2024, the company faced 38 billion forints (EUR 107.9m) in short-term debts and 36 billion forints in losses, leading to liquidation orders in October 2025, they added.

The Hungarian government stepped in, with state-owned MAV repurchasing the facility to save jobs and production, Fidesz said.

MTI Stock Photo

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

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