Hungary’s oldest light railway fumes again

Zsuzsi, the 134 years old light railway will be awaiting tourists at the weekend in Debrecen, writes travelo.hu. On this special day Debrecen offers programmes such as travelling by Zsuzsi, taking photos, planting flowers, watching majorettes performing, fishing, hiking and having a gourmet dinner.

The oldest light railway of Hungary with a narrow rail-gauge has been operating since 1882 without stopping. Its line, though, has changed quite a lot over the years. In the beginning it was continually expanded, from Debrecen to Nyírbéltek (49 km) but then it got shortened, and today travelers can take it on the way from Debrecen to Hármashegyalja (16 km). Originally, it was used for transporting wood, then the locals of the surrounding ranches could also hop on it. In 2011 it got renovated, and, for a while now, Zsuzsi has been taking passengers on scenic excursions.

On April 23 the railway will take off at Hétvezér Street and, according to the schedule, will go 5 lines, of which the first starts at 8:55 am and the last at 3:10 pm. To return from Hármashegyalja the first starts at 10 am, while the last at 5 pm. The steam-engine, which was bought in 2006, will be used for the first time this year, the journey begins at 10 am and the train returns at 12.45 pm. The trains finish the 16 km long trip in 50 minutes.

The programmes of the event begin at Hármashegyalj. Visitors can see the performance of traditional folk dancers, then watch the children theatre’s play and the majorettes of Nyíradony. In addition, all the attendants can take photos of the locomotive, plant flowers around the Természet Háza (House of Nature) in honour of the Earth Day. Also, only on Saturday, there is a special offer by which two people buying tickets for the train will have to pay only half of the price.