Hungarian-Russian development to significantly increase Chinese transit!

A Hungarian-Russian railway joint venture will be established this spring, enabling 1,000 Chinese freight trains to transit Hungary to western Europe each year, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Facebook on Thursday.

The minister noted that boosting rail cargo transport had featured on the agenda of talks between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 1.

Hungary has a vested interest in the highest possible share of Chinese rail cargo shipments transiting its territory, he said.

The logistics centre in Fényeslitke, in north-eastern Hungary, to be completed in a few days’ time, will reload containers along the European Union’s eastern border most quickly, Szijjártó said.

The Russian State Railways (RZSD), the world’s second biggest freight transporter, will be an excellent partner in this effort, he said. Referring to his recent talks with RZSD chief executive Oleg Belozerov, Szijjártó said the Hungarian-Russian joint venture will be set up this spring.

Featured image: illustration, the Metrans base in Csepel, Budapest.