The Electronic Locomotive Service Information Collection System (EMIG) has been restored and is once again available from Wednesday, the Minister for Transport and Investment announced on his Facebook page.
Series of scandals
Dávid Vitézy described the move as significant both in practical and symbolic terms, noting that “while not in the most modern form, and not with entirely the same functionality as before, it is once again possible to obtain real-time information on the position of individual trains and delays”.
The minister recalled that, on the instructions of János Lázár, and “in the wake of a series of scandals”, Hungary’s state railway company MÁV shut down both EMIG and the Vonatinfó system a year ago, thereby making it clear that the intention was not to resolve the problems of the national rail network, but simply to conceal them.
The Magyar cabinet will not let passengers down
“We intend to do precisely the opposite,” he wrote. “A year ago, following a Pentecost weekend, János Lázár decided to withhold real-time information from passengers. I make no claim whatsoever that everything functioned flawlessly this Monday—far from it.”
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He added that the appropriate response was not secrecy, but transparency, noting that as early as Tuesday morning he had instructed MÁV’s senior executives to restore at least the public accessibility of the previous system without delay.
He further indicated that, for the time being, the platform can only be accessed following registration, owing to earlier overload attacks, but he has urged MÁV to find a solution that would allow access without registration as soon as possible.
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