New transport minister Vitézy vows to rebuild Hungary’s railways after “years of decline”

The era of “dismantling Hungary’s railway system” is ending and will be replaced by railway developments, Dávid Vitézy, the incoming transport and investment minister, said on Saturday.

New transport minister: Time to rebuild Hungary’s railways

Travelling by train from Dombóvár to Komló, in southern Hungary, along with representatives of civil organisations to mark the closure of a railway line between the two cities in 2023, Vitézy said his visit heralded the end of an era in which Hungary’s railway network had been depleted and the beginning of a new one, spawning developments.

“Once we take over the heap of ruins that [outgoing transport and construction minister] János Lázár is leaving behind,” the new government, he said, would immediately launch the development of rural transport and railway services.

One of the first tasks, Vitézy said, would be to “lay new foundations” for railway services between Dombóvár and Komló, one of the ten lines closed down in 2023. “When the outgoing government started closing railway lines around Budapest, many interpreted Lázár’s words that ‘it was the turn of rural areas’ as a promise of developments. Instead, rural railway lines were also shut down,” he said.

Referring to barriers at rail crossings, Vitézy said technological solutions were available to prevent traffic jams on roads, ensuring that barriers did not remain lowered for long stretches of time.

Professionalism rather than political activity expected

Vitézy said he was expected to do professional work rather than political activities in his post, he said in an interview to Telex on Friday.

Concerning Budapest, Vitézy said the capital could benefit “if the policy of halting investment and turning the provinces against Budapest is dropped”. He said he had not contributed to the Tisza Party’s programme, but consulted Péter Magyar, the incoming prime minister, and Tisza experts about future directions. Vitézy said Magyar was asking him to implement Tisza’s programme rather than ideas of his own, which he said he would “gladly do”.

According to Vitézy, Magyar had also “made it clear very sharply that he would not tolerate any corruption or arrogance of position”.

In response to a question, he said that he and Magyar had discussed the fact that the future prime minister had called him a “Fidesz hack” during the local elections. Without providing details, he said that he believes what their parliamentary group and he personally did in the general assembly convinced Magyar not to view him that way.

Vitézy slammed the ministry of transport and construction for removing all public information concerning investments, as well as for “destroying the investment infrastructure and firing experts”. He also criticised the outgoing government for a lack of social dialogue concerning key projects. He said all those things should be fixed and that his task was also to “reemploy or retain the best experts.”

Difficult summer ahead

Concerning national railway company MÁV, Vitézy said he had been informed that “this summer will be more difficult than the last one” because fewer and fewer vehicles were functional. MÁV has not purchased any vehicles for years and the company is “under crisis management”, Vitézy said, and pledged measures to ensure that “there are as few problems and delays as possible” but added that “it is important to stay realistic”. He also added that access to European Union funding was crucial for further acquisitions.

Concerning tasks around Budapest’s public transport, Vitézy mentioned the renewal of local trains and other vehicles, upgrading transport on the outskirts, adding that it was a task for other cities, too.

Vitézy also called for a renewal of Hungary’s traffic rules with the aim of “protecting the defenceless in traffic”. “The goal is to reduce the number of fatalities on Hungary’s roads,” the incoming minister said. He also said that, while the prime minister was the person to appoint the state secretaries, he would make recommendations regarding the candidates.

If you missed it: Péter Magyar announces new ministers