The programme, which will be unveiled next week, includes track reconstruction and electrification in many places, significant rolling stock purchases like acquiring locomotives and carriages, as well as rapid suburban railway (HEV) trains, and the construction of tram-train networks, Magyar said.

The programme will run in the next 2-6 years, and its first results will be visible in 2-3 years, he noted.

Magyar said the government is doing everything it can to make rail transport faster, more predictable, more comfortable and easier to follow than it is now. It has been a long time since Hungarian railways were in such a difficult situation, he added.

PM, transport minister detail HUF 3,500bn railway development plan

Prime Minister Peter Magyar and Transportation and Investment Minister David Vitezy outlined a HUF 3,500bn, ten-year plan to develop Hungary's railways at a press conference at a train station in the capital.

The Baross Gabor Plan aims to reduce the average age of the country's rolling stock, reduce travel time on main lines, increase electrification, improve regional rail service and shift the focus to passengers, Magyar said.

The plan will prioritise access to all county seats along with improved regional and suburban rail service, in partnership with Budapest, while upgrading international connections and developing cargo transport, he added.

Vitezy said HUF 1,100bn of spending in the framework of the Baross Gabor Plan would come from European Union cohesion funds, HUF 700bn from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), HUF 400bn from European Investment Bank (EIB) credit, HUF 400bn from concessions and HUF 950bn from commitments in the next 2028-2034 EU budget.

He added that the government would include the extension of Budapest's M3 metro line to the Rakospalota district, in the north of the capital, among EU-funded programmes.

He highlighted the contribution of the development plan to economic development, as well as to public transportation, pointing to improved competitiveness in less populated areas, increased labour mobility, and enhanced international ties.

He added that rail travel was the environmentally-friendly "alternative or complement" to travel by road.

Magyar said Hungary was "decades behind" in the regional competition to upgrade railways and faulted the former government's "apparent opposition" to the mode of transport.

He added that the average age of rolling stock stood at 43 years and half of that stock had no air conditioning, while speed restrictions were in force on around 40pc of the network.

Magyar said a goal of the Baross Gabor Plan was to raise mainline train speeds to "at least" 100km/h.

The plan also aims to harmonise bus and train timetables, upgrade Budapest's HEV rapid suburban rail system and add more tram-train solutions, he added.

The Baross Gabor Plan includes preparations for the construction of a rapid rail line connecting Liszt Ferenc International Airport with the centre of Budapest, the further study of construction of high-speed rail lines, and improving regional cooperation in passenger travel and cargo transport, he said.

It also includes the procurement of 35 new InterCity and 42 new HEV trains, he added.

Vitezy said the upgrade of the InterCity fleet would cost HUF 450bn, enough to buy 35 multiple units with 400-500 seats apiece. He added that the first of the trains could arrive in 2030.

The 42 HEV trains will cost about HUF 300bn. Production of the trains could start by 2030.

MTI Stock Photo

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

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