Some 30 Stadler FLIRT trains have become inoperable due to the extreme heat, and it is not yet clear how the situation will end, Minister of Transport and Investment Dávid Vitézy said on Tuesday.
Vitézy said on Facebook that the Swiss company’s trains are among the most modern, air-conditioned units in national railways MAV’s fleet. He added that they have also been one of the most-purchased railway vehicles in Europe in the past twenty years, “but even these modern cars cannot withstand the current extreme heat.”
When the vehicles were procured, the technical requirements set for the manufacturer typically called for reliable operation up to an outside temperature of 35 Celsius degrees, he said. In recent days, however, temperatures exceeding 40 degrees have been recorded in several parts of the country, he added.
Vitézy said that climate change called for even more resources to be allocated to public transport and specifically to the development of railways, “which is the most sustainable form of transport”.
According to MÁV, the metal roof structures of the trains and some of their interior spaces essential for operation reach temperatures of 60–70°C under the scorching sun.
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