Hungary is to replace its ageing HÉV suburban rail fleet using European Union funds, Transport and Investment Minister Dávid Vitézy announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
New, modern, climatised HÉV carriages to arrive soon
He recalled that an agreement was reached with the European Commission on Friday, securing €16.4 billion in funding for Hungary. This will allow the government to allocate nearly 6,000 billion forints to national development in the coming period, with a substantial share earmarked for transport and housing projects.
Under the agreement, 42 new, modern electric multiple units—each 120 metres in length—will be procured. These will replace the current 45- to 60-year-old carriages on the Szentendre, Csepel and Ráckeve HÉV lines. The public procurement process is to be launched later this year, with the first trains expected to enter service as early as 2029. The minister stressed that the project will be financed entirely from EU funds.
Previous government cancelled the public procurement
Mr Vitézy also noted that more than a decade ago, under the mayoralty of István Tarlós, the previous government assumed responsibility for operating the HÉV network from the capital, partly on the grounds that only central government would have the resources required for its development. Yet, he said, no meaningful upgrades have been carried out since. He added that János Lázár, as minister, cancelled the procurement of new rolling stock at the start of the previous term “with a single stroke of the pen”, and during the most recent campaign managed only to launch a tender that attracted no bids.
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Mr Vitézy argued that one of the most pressing challenges facing Hungary’s transport system is suburban sprawl. In recent years, hundreds of thousands have moved either from the countryside into the Budapest metropolitan area or from the capital itself to its outskirts and surrounding agglomeration, often without adequate public transport links. As a result, road traffic has continued to rise, rendering the city centre increasingly difficult to navigate.
According to the minister, the only effective remedy lies in high-quality public transport. A central component of this, he suggested, is ensuring that the HÉV network offers a level of comfort, reliability and speed that can genuinely compete with private car use.
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