Catastrophe unfolding? Train in Hungary forced to make “pee stop” after overflowing toilet spills into carriage

A routine InterRégió journey from Budapest Keleti to Eger turned into an unforgettable – and rather unsavoury – travel adventure on the last day of October, when a blocked on-board toilet forced the train to make an unscheduled “pee stop” at Vámosgyörk station.

Unforgettable, or rather unforgivable?

According to one passenger, trouble was already brewing the moment they boarded. A conductor and a cleaner were stationed at the locked lavatory door, disinfecting the floor outside the compartment. “You could already tell something was wrong with the toilet,” the traveller recalled.

With the only other toilet on the train also out of order, pressure from passengers eventually compelled staff to unlock the problematic lavatory after around 40 minutes. But the relief was short-lived. Not long after departing Hatvan, the movement of the train caused the overfilled toilet bowl to slosh its contents onto the floor – before slowly seeping under the door and into the passenger area.

As more passengers reported urgent needs, the train crew opted for an emergency stop at Vámosgyörk to allow travellers to use the station facilities. Unfortunately, those facilities were far from reassuring either, despite earlier government promises to renovate all station toilets nationwide.

The unplanned break resulted in a 25-minute delay, but it was the smallest problem. While Eger-bound travellers were only mildly inconvenienced, those changing towards Miskolc were less fortunate: their connection in Füzesabony did not wait.

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More and more complaints as

Over the past six months, there were toilet-related complaints from rail passengers almost every other week, writes Telex. These recurring issues prompted us to approach MÁV, the Hungarian State Railways, for clarification.

Before doing so, Telex also spoke with railway workers and experts familiar with MÁV operations. They pointed to a key issue: an increasing number of suburban electric multiple units (EMUs) have recently been reassigned to longer regional routes.