Hungary’s state railway glitch after clock change triggers false delays: passengers receive unexpected compensation!

Hungary’s switch to daylight saving time on Sunday morning caused an unexpected technical issue at the state railway company, MÁV. While most digital systems automatically adjusted to the new time, MÁV’s passenger information system failed to update accordingly, leading to widespread confusion.

For several hours after the clock change, the system incorrectly registered trains as being delayed by around 60 minutes, even when services were running on time or with only minimal delays, Telex reported.

False delays shown across the network

The issue became particularly visible on the Vonatinfó platform, where the map appeared flooded with delay indicators. At first glance, it suggested that nearly the entire Hungarian rail network was experiencing significant disruption:

In reality, no such nationwide breakdown had occurred. The problem was that the system “forgot” to advance the time, which resulted in incorrect delay calculations being shown to passengers.

Automatic compensation triggered

The glitch had an unexpected upside for some travellers.

Because MÁV’s system interpreted the situation as widespread delays exceeding 20 minutes, it automatically began issuing compensation payments.

Under the railway’s policy, passengers are entitled to partial refunds if their train is significantly delayed. Due to the error, even those travelling on time or with minor delays were flagged as eligible and received compensation.

Transport expert Dávid Vitézy also commented on the situation, noting that the system was effectively treating all trains as late and triggering payments automatically.

MÁV confirms IT error and resolves issue

By late Sunday morning, MÁV issued an official statement confirming that an “IT error” had caused the incorrect delay reports following the clock change. The company said the issue was resolved within a few hours, and the system has since been restored to normal operation.

Importantly, the railway company clarified that passengers who received compensation due to the error will not be required to return the money. The Ministry of Construction and Transport described the payments as a gesture of goodwill and an apology for the inconvenience caused.

According to MÁV, the number of affected passengers and services remained relatively low due to the typically lighter Sunday morning traffic.

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Additional disruption on Lake Balaton line

Separately from the IT issue, passengers travelling along the southern shore of Lake Balaton experienced genuine delays due to a signalling fault. In some cases, trains were delayed by more than 20 minutes.

However, because of the earlier system error, some affected passengers may not have received their compensation automatically. MÁV confirmed that these passengers will be reimbursed manually, with refunds expected by the following day.