Gloomy prospects: Hungarian State Railway’s trains may not survive this summer

The Hungarian State Railway, MÁV’s Intercity coaches may not survive this summer. Besides regional services, Intercity trains have serious shortcomings. Meanwhile, the government has halted the purchase of the new Intercity fleet for budgetary reasons.

New IC trains in MÁV’s fleet, the situation is still dramatic

Even though MÁV has added 120 electric trains to its fleet in the last 10 years, the former state secretary for transport says the situation of the Hungarian railway fleet is dramatic. In an interview with növekedés.hu, Dávid Vitézy pointed out that besides the regional services, Intercity trains are facing serious shortcomings.

“It happens every day that an InterCity train breaks down, and MÁV replaces InterCity coaches with outdated high-speed coaches without air conditioning, causing long delays and disruptions. This can become a limit to passenger growth,” said Vitézy. According to him, it is impossible to attract passengers with vehicles in such a condition.

Procurement stopped, questionnable how the fleet will survive this summer

He pointed out that the government has stopped the procurement of the new Intercity fleet for budgetary reasons. Meanwhile, the demand for new rail vehicles in Europe is now so high that manufacturers are working with a 4-5 year waiting list.

What is more, as he implied, it is questionable for him how MÁV’s long-distance fleet will survive this summer season, let alone the next 3-4 or even 5 years.

No airconditioner, windows closed

To illustrate the gloomy situation, this morning, an article was published by Index about the deplorable state of a MÁV carriage. Passengers on the InterCity train from Nyíregyháza to Budapest had a “breathtaking” experience on Sunday evening. Several passengers have complained of travelling in unbearable heat on one of MÁV’s trains, with people on the verge of feeling sick. The Railway Workers’ Union (Vasutasok Szakszervezete) said that more breakdowns should be expected in the future. MÁV responded that they are constantly planning improvements, but often face financial obstacles.

The carriage’s air conditioning was not working and the windows were opened only after an hour and a half of the journey.

According to one passenger, a ticket inspector did not open a window until several people had already called MÁV’s customer service to complain.

“It was terribly hot, I could see people sweltering, there were several children fanning themselves and everyone was trying to get something to drink,” a passenger on the train told RTL. The passenger added that although it was possible to buy water on the train, it was not offered for free despite the poor conditions.