The Hungarian government would use EU money to build a bridge for military purposes

The Hungarian government is seeking EU funding for five railway projects, some of which are for military purposes. One of the projects would cover the new Danube Bridge, which would replace the Gubacsi Bridge.

The Hungarian government is planning rail programmes for military purposes, part of which would be financed by the EU’s financial instrument for the financing of the European network. János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport, submitted the proposals.

This has resulted in five project plans:

• Improvement of the interoperability of Szolnok station to meet civil and military dual-use requirements. The project will include the reconstruction of the main tracks of line 100 and the relevant sidings, the modification of the telecommunication system, the cable network, the overhead line system and the safety equipment.
• The current dilapidated Gubacsi railway bridge would be replaced by a new one over the Soroksári-Duna branch, 15 metres north of the current bridge. The railway line between the bridge and the Corvin road junction would be upgraded to a double-track network. This will ‘allow the transport of large military cargoes by rail to the Csepel Free Port’.
• “To make the railway infrastructure suitable for civil protection dual use at the stations of the national railway network in Eastern Hungary which are located on the TEN-T (trans-European) core network: Szob, Felsőzsolca, Szikszó, Forró-Encs, Hidasnémeti, Cegléd, Szolnok, Szajol, Kisújszállás, Demecser, Záhony, Mezőtúr, Békéscsaba.”
• Preparation of a new loading dock near Tata railway station, environmental studies, preparation of permit plans.
• The bridges potentially used by NATO, which in their current state require reinforcement, would be rebuilt, with an increase in capacity for civil/military dual use. These bridges to be reinforced are located on the main roads 74 (4) and 8 (8) in Western Hungary, 2 (3) in Northern Hungary and 52 (3) in Eastern Hungary.

The proposed investments would total HUF 107 billion (EUR 276,050,534.25), nearly half of which would come from EU funds, index.hu reports.