Disastrous conditions: 2024 saw 7 years’ worth of delays at Hungarian railways

Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) reported its worst annual performance since adopting a revised delay-tracking methodology in 2018, with trains accumulating 6.9 years of total delays in 2024. While the company’s public communications emphasised that 78.5% of its 1.14 million trains ran “on time,” critics argue the statistics mask systemic issues, particularly on regional routes.

Revised metrics and rising delays

Since 2018, MÁV has counted trains as “on time” if delays remain under six minutes—a threshold critics call misleading, 444.hu writes. Even by this lenient standard, 21.5% of trains (244,000) missed the target in 2024. Delays exceeding 20 minutes—which will qualify for partial refunds starting summer 2025—affected 5.9% of services (67,656 trains).

The total delay time reached 3.6 million minutes (3.8% of all travel time), a sharp increase from pre-pandemic levels. For context:

• 2018: 4 years of delays (2.54% of travel time)
• 2020: 3.1 years (1.95%)
• 2023: 5.7 years (3.23%)
• 2024: 6.9 years (3.8%)

Regional disparities and “statistical tricks”

Urban-suburban routes, such as Budapest’s HÉV lines, skewed national averages with 99.6% punctuality. Meanwhile, rural services lagged dramatically:

Route	Punctuality (sub-6-min delays)
Székesfehérvár-Szombathely	45.3%
Budapest-Győr	74%
Budapest-Esztergom	Over 90%

Analysts like Dávid Vitézy note that MÁV’s aggregated data obscures poor regional performance by emphasising high-frequency suburban services.

Infrastructure strain and response from the government

MÁV attributed delays to ageing infrastructure and increased demand following 2024’s fare reforms, which boosted passenger numbers. However, Construction Minister János Lázár admitted the system’s dire state, likening modernisation efforts to “building castles from mud”.

Contrast with Buses and HÉV

While trains faltered, MÁV’s bus services achieved 97.7% punctuality, with regional buses outperforming Budapest-agglomeration routes. HÉV suburban railways maintained world-class reliability at 99.6%.

Prospects

MÁV’s pledge to refund tickets for 20+ minute delays marks a transparency shift, but experts question whether financial penalties alone can address infrastructure decay. With rural delays persisting and urban networks straining under demand, 2025 will test the viability of Hungary’s rail modernisation promises. The 2024 data highlights a stark difference: while Budapest’s commuters enjoy relative efficiency, regional passengers face a reliability crisis—one that revised metrics and refund policies alone cannot resolve.

Read also:

• Delayed train or bus in Hungary? Get half your ticket back!
• Here’s how MÁV would improve its services in Hungary in the future