Watch: newly released video of train derailment at Budapest Keleti railway station

On Sunday evening, five carriages of the Claudiopolis InterCity 5 train from Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár) to Budapest derailed near Keleti station, blocking traffic at the main station. The technical rescue was still underway at dawn on Monday. A man traveling on the train broadcast the events on live video.

As we reported yesterday, on Sunday evening, the Claudiopolis InterCity 5 carriage from Cluj-Napoca derailed on the leading track section in front of the Keleti railway station, Budapest. No one was injured in the accident.

The technical rescue was still under way at dawn on Monday. Technicians are working continuously to recover the derailed wagons so that train services can resume as soon as possible. Keleti station is not accepting or accepting trains for an indefinite period, with trains arriving and departing from other stations in Budapest.

Train tickets are valid:

• M2, M4 metro and H8 HÉV on all lines,
• To get to Kőbánya upper station, take trams 23 and 24 between Keleti pályaudvar and Orczy tér, and trams 37 and 37A between Magdolna utca and Kőbánya upper station,
  to Rákos train station from Örs vezér tér by bus 97E, 161, 161E, 168E, 169E (97E and 169E also stop at Rákos).
• Replacement buses will run on the Keleti railway station (Kerepesi út bus terminus) – Kőbánya upper (Albertirsai út) – Rákos railway station section. The buses will run continuously.

VIDEO:

International railway lines

ICs from Szombathely and Sopron, Railjets, ECs from Vienna, and two-morning long-distance passenger trains from Hegyeshalom (9309, 9307) to and from Budapest-Kelenföld.

The Dacia international high-speed train from Bucharest to Vienna (346) does not call Keleti station. Instead, it can be caught at Ferencváros and Kelenföld stations in Budapest.

According to experts, it will take 1-2 days until normal traffic is restored on the Eastbound, please keep an eye out for more information.

Is the minister responsible for the accident?

After the accident, Dávid Vitézy, a transport expert and former candidate for mayor, sharply criticised János Lázár, the Minister of Transport and Construction, the condition of the capital’s main stations and the more than 50-year-old railway carriages, which, in his opinion, “are a shame to be used as long-distance trains at extra cost”.

So although we don’t know the cause of today’s accident, whether the derailment was caused by the track or by a vehicle failure, the transport minister bears a lot of responsibility, not only in the abstract political sense, but also in terms of direct decision-making – since his every action has not only failed to alleviate the growing crisis of the Hungarian railways, but has only deepened it in recent times

– he said.

UPDATE

One of our readers reported that the line between Gödöllő and Budapest is in chaos. During the morning, there were many delays, but there were also times when the train did not even start, and passengers were not informed.

UPDATE 2

Keleti Station reopening date announced after train derailment incident

Read also:

• Budapest’s iconic Keleti Railway Station turns 140 – here are 8 fascinating facts
• International train delays expected in Hungary next week: Czech, Slovak trains affected