Passenger trains are once again running between Komló and Dombóvár, marking the reopening of another railway line closed under the previous government. Scheduled passenger services resumed on Saturday after a three-year suspension, with officials describing the occasion as a milestone for Hungarian rail transport.

The reopening was celebrated by thousands of local residents, train enthusiasts and passengers, who gathered in Komló as the historic Zobák Express, hauled by a legendary 424 steam locomotive, arrived at the station.

MÁV restores regular services

Speaking at the reopening ceremony, MÁV CEO Zsolt Hegyi said it was perhaps the first event he had attended where the celebration centred on the return of passenger trains to a railway line.

He confirmed that regular passenger services have officially resumed between Komló and Dombóvár and announced that rail services between Miskolc and Tiszaújváros will also return, with operations scheduled to restart on 1 September.

According to Hegyi, recent maintenance work restored the line for trains travelling at up to 60 km/h, eliminated speed restrictions and significantly improved the infrastructure. Over recent weeks, railway workers:

  • carried out track alignment works along more than 18 kilometres of railway,
  • repaired fastenings at over 6,500 concrete sleepers,
  • renovated the Komló railway station building, and
  • upgraded passenger information systems.

He added that further investment is planned, including modernising Komló station’s signalling equipment, which is expected to reduce the amount of time level crossings remain closed to road traffic.

Government promises end to railway closures

Transport and Construction Minister Dávid Vitézy, who travelled to Komló aboard the heritage train, thanked MÁV employees for completing the works in time for the reopening. He said the government had ended what he described as the previous era of railway closures and had entered a new period focused on railway development.

Calling rail transport the most sustainable and environmentally friendly mode of transport, Vitézy argued that train lines should be modernised rather than closed. He described the closure of the Komló line and nine other routes under the previous administration as a mistake, adding that more previously discontinued passenger services will be restored in the coming months.

The next reopening, he confirmed, will be the Miskolc–Tiszaújváros line from 1 September, while preparations are also underway to restore passenger traffic between Debrecen and Nagykereki.

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Thousands celebrate the return of trains

The reopening turned into a major public celebration, with hundreds of people lining the railway to welcome the steam train and several thousand gathering at Komló station. The Pécs Railway Concert Wind Orchestra performed during the festivities, while local residents, railway employees and members of parliament from Baranya and Tolna counties joined the celebrations.

In a later Facebook post, Vitézy said the enthusiastic turnout demonstrated that claims about a lack of demand for the railway had been proven wrong. “The people want to use the railway,” he wrote, adding that the government’s responsibility is now to provide reliable, high-quality rail services.

Local MP Áron Kovács described the reopening as more than just the return of a railway line, saying it was proof that the persistence of the local community had finally been rewarded.