Metro line 3 upgrade

Budapest transport company BKV demands metro 3 train maker pay EUR 2.6m penalty

Budapest transport company BKV has demanded that the manufacturer of trains for the third metro line, Metrovagonmas, pay a fine of 800 million forints (EUR 2.6m) for delivering reconditioned trains in an unacceptable condition, the company said in a statement on Friday.

BKV’s chairman and chief executive Tibor Bolla held discussions with the leadership of the Russian company and emphasised the unacceptability of the technical condition of the vehicles and demanded immediate action.

BKV said it would not send further metro trains for reconditioning to Metrovagonmas until the technical conditions are radically changed. The frequency of faults put regular passenger services at risk, it added.

All possibilities made available by the contract will be used to improve the situation, and unless Metrovagonmas makes significant improvements in a short time, further radical steps cannot be excluded, the consequences of which will have to be borne by the Russian company, the statement added.

The trains have been used every day on metro line 3 but their technical reliability is unacceptably low, BKV said. The majority of faults are minor and they can be repaired within two hours but they represent a serious problem in managing services for passengers, it added.

The first reconditioned train was introduced on March 20 and problems arose within a few days. Mayor Istvan Tarlos said at the time that these were impossible to avoid in the case of reconditioned trains. At the end of March, however, he said any problems persisting a month later would be unacceptable. In early June, BKV withdrew all reconditioned trains from services.

The contract is for 222 trains to be reconditioned at a cost of almost 220 million euros.

June 23, 2017

Electronic ticketing system in Budapest delayed and getting more expensive

BKK (Center of Budapest Transport) is trying to introduce the most modern electronic ticketing system of the world. The change is urgent, as Budapest has the most outdated ticketing system in the EU.

According to 444.hu, the capital’s representatives could manage to contract with German enterprise Scheidt and Bachmann in 2015. Budapest took up a loan from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). But with the funds came the conditions, so the procurement was carried out in their not too transparent process.

EBRD does not prefer local companies, moreover, they announced a company quite inexperienced in this field as the winner of the competition. Another unfortunate circumstance is that the project is expensive even compared to international standards.

According to BKK’s current management, the project was not prepared appropriately, as the complicated systems’ integration was not taken into account. Meanwhile, the data protection law and the government’s e-ticket concept were also changed. The former leadership stated that the project was managed badly, there were no proper experts attached to it. Whichever version is true, the German company will receive another 10.4 million euros from the congress despite the critical amount of delay.

Of the 55.3 million euros of the EBRD loan 10.4 million was a reserve, and most of the 15 million from Budapest still remained. The company separated approximately 7.1 million euros for the improvement, and intends to spend another 33 million for engineering in the following years.

There were a lot of circumstances that made the project difficult. First, HÉV rakes were transferred to MÁV. Then the outer city bus services were taken by the Ministry of National Development from the municipal. Due to these changes, BKK had to debate with multiple partners. The delays in the reconstruction of Metro 3 also cause further difficulties.

The integration of the current and planned ticket dispensers also came out to be more difficult than expected. 366 machines need to be upgraded and connected instead of the planned 300, and it creates additional expenses.

The only good news is that the loan contract was renegotiated, so the interest will be 6.5 million euros during the project’s nine years of refunding, so it saves approximately 325,000 euros.

Now the total sum of expenses increased from 117.8 million euros to 119.6 million, which is quite high concerning the 207.1 million euros of total income from ticket sales in 2016. The upkeep of the system will cost 6.5 percent of the total income during the nine years of refunding time.

The system should be put into work until the end of 2018, but concerning the current state of the process, it is quite unlikely. The system integrations, gates, manual ticket checking devices and validators for vehicles are all incomplete.

Moreover, public transport will not be unified in Budapest even after these problems will be solved, as according to the plans, the same tickets will be valid for transports both within the borders of the capital and the suburbs. As long as a passenger does not have a valid ticket, they can only travel with MÁV or Volán ticket.

Ce: bm

June 18, 2017

Budapest assembly: Opposition parties slam local authority on metro 3, Római levee

Opposition Budapest assembly representatives have highlighted the risks involved in a plan to build a mobile levee on the Danube in northern Budapest. They also objected to the method of financing the project to revamp the city’s crumbling third metro line.

Opposition parties and civil groups have long campaigned against plans to build a mobile flood levee on the Római embankment, which environmentalists say would harm the local ecology.

Green opposition LMP’s Antal Csárdi told a news conference ahead of today’s assembly meeting that the flood protection plans were “shockingly risky”. He said he would propose postponing the decision in order “to protect lives and property as much as the trees”.

Csaba Horváth of the Socialists proposed holding a local referendum on the levee.

Dialogue’s Gergely Karácsony said that the levee proposal before the assembly “badly underestimates” the number of trees to be felled. Further, the method of flood protection right on the riverbank “is far more risky” than other methods, he added.

Concerning relations between the central government and the metropolitan council, Jobbik representative Marcell Tokody said that the government “has given up on Budapest and is preparing to make the next city administration’s work as difficult as possible” while keeping the city dependent on it financially.

Meanwhile, the Socialists said they would propose moving the Liget Project to the brown field site behind Nyugati railway station to preserve the City Park, Horváth said.

Horváth also called on Mayor István Tarlós to account for the source of funding for the metro line 3 renovation, saying that the city should request government funding in light of the fact that Budapest residents contribute billions of forints to the state’s coffers. Horváth said the recent announcement to sell the metropolitan authority’s “Bálna” high-end shopping centre in order to contribute financing to the metro project “shows incompetence”.

The assembly voted to build the levee along the Danube embankment and instructed Tarlós to arrange for the launch of the necessary licensing procedures. Tarlos said some 5 or 6 professional opinions have already been sought regarding the project. He said “there is no time to wait”, and a solution was needed as soon as possible. Even the civil campaigners are divided about what they want, Tarlós said, adding that the mobile levee had opponents but also supporters.

According to the latest proposal voted for by assembly, the number of trees that need to be felled to accommodate the levee has been reduced to 480, including 40 that were diseased. A total of 78 trees in the area affected are suitable to be moved, the report said. The levee will be a total of 8,169 metres long and along some stretches a half-metre tall concrete wall will be built. Several playgrounds and rest areas will be built along the embankment and the design of catering units — the site is a popular place for eating out — will be streamlined.

Photo: MTI

June 14, 2017

Budapest to complete Metro 3 renovation budget, says mayor

The government has declined to provide additional funds to the renovation of Budapest’s third metro line but the city will use its own reserves to top up the budget, mayor István Tarlós told a press conference on Thursday.

Tarlós said that a Hungarian delegation would hold negotiations in Brussels next week to seek approval for financing justified extra costs of the M3 project from city coffers.

The mayor said the renovation project could “reasonably” start in late September on the northern section of the metro line, while new bids would be put out to cover two other sections.

At its Wednesday meeting the government “made it clear that it would not terminate its earlier agreement” with the city to contribute 137.5 billion forints for the project, Tarlós said. “That fund is available,” the mayor said, adding that the funds would be “sufficient” to cover the cost of renovation “on one section and along the tunnel”.

Government office chief János Lázár said the government would provide all possible help for the city to start the metro 3 revamp project. Lázár told a regular press briefing that the government supports Tarlós’s implementation plan.

Photo: Daily News Hungary

June 8, 2017

Metro 3 renovation contract expected to be signed at end-July

Budapest, May 9 (MTI) – The contract for renovating the infrastructure of Budapest’s Metro 3 line is expected to be signed at the end of July, paving the way for the project to start in the second half of the year, the business daily Világgazdaság said on Tuesday.

Work is already under way to rejig surface transport to accommodate the extra burden of traffic, and replacement buses are also on hand, the paper said.

Upgrades to the line will start at its southern section between Nagyvárad Square and Kőbanya-Kispest.

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Photo: Daily News Hungary

May 9, 2017

Metro line M3 – no end to the problems?

The debut of the new carriages of metro line M3 did not really go as planned so to say. Bkvfigyelo.24.hu states that it was rather a catastrophe.

According to the site, the difficulties all started when the Russian Metrovagonmas won the investment even though their carriages fail the modernity standards and their reference carriages are only in the testing phase in Moscow. In turn, the 0.5 million people travelling on M3 daily need a modern metro that is produced according to the standards.

Besides, the EU sanctions against Russia ruled out purchasing new carriages. That is why the government decided to announce the tender/apply for a loan to renew carriages. However, the carriages operating in Budapest are anything but renewed, for it is the driver’s cabin only that was kept from the original one.

Yet, new carriages are due to be purchased in every 30-40 years, so the people of Budapest surely deserve to get ones which would operate well in any city of the world. Furthermore, the author writes that, with a few colleagues, they visited the factory of Metrovagonmas in November, and a leader of the company there told them that they do not produce this type anywhere else, because it is unmarketable.

Also, modern metro carriages (like two lines in Budapest as well) do have air conditioners to avoid the high temperatures, as in the case of the Combino trams, which were at first purchased without air conditioners, but after the temperature was measured and it turned out that not even animals should have been transported in such circumstances, all of the trams got installed with air conditioners.

When István Tarlós, chief Mayor of Budapest, was asked about the air conditioner, he compared its necessity to giving every passenger a flower bouquet upon taking on, implying how useless it would be. Moreover, the whole investment is also really expensive: while Metrovagonmas did not offer a generally favorable price for the investment, somehow the Estonian Skinest Rail (who offered the cheapest prices) got excluded from the tender.

It would have taken 15-20 billion HUF (48-64 million EUR) to purchase better carriages, which could have been suitable. Although this is quite some money, the site notes that the government spends incredible amounts on silly and completely useless things. Thus, by considering the expenditures a bit more, 0.5 million passengers could have had carriages that are not regarded as the worst on the market.

Photo: MTI

Ce: bm

March 28, 2017

Opposition: Budapest transport company should hold back payment until revamped metro trains work perfectly

Budapest, March 22 (MTI) – The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) party has called for payment to Russian firm Metrowagonmash to be held back until the revamped trains on metro line 3 operate “normally and completely properly”.

The party’s Budapest representative told a press conference on Wednesday that they were calling on Mayor István Tarlós to instruct the Budapest transport company BKV to hold back the payment of 70 billion forints (EUR 226m). Referring to the “Russian metro scam”, Erzsébet Gy Németh said the revamped trains “couldn’t handle a single day”.

The city council has paid 69 billion forints for the revamp, including 60 billion forints from a loan, the burdens of which Budapest taxpayers will be bearing for decades, she said. DK voted against loan at the general assembly meeting, unlike the opposition Socialists, she added.

According to news portal Index, which carried out a survey, users of the trains spotted bad workmanship and problems with ventilation among other gripes. News portal 24.hu reported travellers had posted videos of being told to get off one train due to a software malfunction related to the operation of the doors. HVG.hu speculated there had been political pressure to deploy the trains before being fully tested.

Photo: MTI

March 22, 2017

First revamped Budapest M3 metro carriage in operation – PHOTO GALLERY

The first revamped metro carriage has begun its run on the M3 metro line, portfolio.hu reports. So far, four new metro carriages have arrived in Budapest, and the first one has been running since Monday afternoon.

The contract between the Russian Metrowagonmash and Budapest Municipality was signed in August 2015, detailing the renovation of 222 metro carriages. The first carriage has been introduced in traffic on the M3 line, the rest will be running by summer 2018.

The new carriage has a modernised pneumatic system and braking system, and the drive system has also been fully renovated, lowering the carriage’s energy consumption by 30pc. The passenger cabin has vandal-proof seats and handholds, and every material in the cabin is fireproof.

The driver’s compartment is equipped with air conditioning, while in the passenger cabin, air quality is managed by ventilation. This, combined with the fact that the carriages don’t produce heat, will hopefully make rides on the M3 line more comfortable in the summer months. A surprising feature of the new carriage is the power outlets placed at both ends of the cabin, which allow passengers to charge their electronic devices.

The Budapest Transport Corporation (BKV) had judged the price of new carriages to be 92 billion forints, and the renovation to be 62 billion. Metrowagonmash took on the job for 69 billion forints, thus the revamp project costs 306 million forints per carriage.

Photos: MTI

ce: bm

March 21, 2017

Budapest mayor: Four revamped metro carriages on line 3 from March

Budapest, March 17 (MTI) – The first four revamped metro carriages will be introduced in traffic on line 3 before the end of March, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós said in an interview with news portal Index published on Friday.

He said the necessary funding is available for the entire revamp of the metro line and expressed hope that this time round the bids to be submitted for the project will not be overpriced.

The Budapest transport company BKV earlier wanted to win time by inviting bids based on the initial licensing plans of the project but that only attracted “overpriced bids at such an extent that nobody had expected”. They were some 50 billion forints higher than originally budgeted and the city could not afford that, he added.

He said the city had been trying to find ways to launch the revamp project since 2012. The modernisation of the metro trains started a year ago, some tracks have already been replaced, too, and authentic expert opinions show that the third metro line is currently not dangerous to use.

He admitted that the project had been delayed more than justified. The initial problem is that the current city management inherited this issue from the previous management which “unnecessarily built a new metro line instead of revamping the third one”, he added.

Photo: Transzmasholding

March 17, 2017

Budapest assembly – Budapest approves final 2024 Olympic locations, opposition slams mayor

Budapest, January 25 (MTI) – The Budapest assembly on Wednesday approved the final proposal on locations selected under the Hungarian capital’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics. Budapest’s mayor, István Tarlós, has failed to discuss proposals concerning renovating the third metro line or handling the capital’s current smog problem, a Socialist representative said.

Budapest assembly approves final 2024 Olympic locations

The proposal sponsored by Mayor István Tarlós and deputy Mayor Balázs Szeneczey includes converting temporarily the Kincsem Equestrian Park into a pentathlon complex and organising the mountain bike events at Testverhegy hills instead of the originally planned site of Hármashatárhegy.

The proposal was passed with 21 votes in favour, four against and four abstentions.

The assembly rejected a motion submitted by LMP representative Antal Csárdi on initiating the withdrawal of Budapest’s Olympic bid.

Photo: MTI

SOCIALISTS

Csaba Horváth told a news conference before a meeting of the assembly that smog caused the deaths of several thousand people each year and Tarlos had not considered a proposal among others to make public transport free of charge during periods of heavy smog.

He also noted that “two weeks after one day of snowfall”, many roads and pavements were still in a dangerous state because they had not been cleared of ice. Whereas in 2010, 130 vehicles were deployed to clear snow, only 75 have been put into action this year, he added.

On the topic of Budapest’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, Horváth said “a small, power elite” are deciding arrangements for the Games, flying in the face of democratic principles, and the possible impacts and risks associated with hosting the event have not been presented to the public.

“We are not against the Olympics; we are against corruption and in favour of a referendum,” he said.

On the subject of the recent findings of Europe’s anti-fraud office OLAF into the circumstances surrounding construction of Budapest’s fourth metro line, Horvath said until the report is published, no one can know whether allegations made by the government are founded or not. He said the Socialists demand immediate publication of the OLAF report.

JOBBIK

Jobbik representative Marcell Tokody also urged making public transport free of charge during periods of heavy smog. Tokody told a press conference before the assembly meeting that Jobbik had already submitted a related motion. This would hand Budapest residents a “positive motivation” to choose public transport, a scheme that has proven successful in several cities in other countries, he said. Jobbik will call on the Budapest assembly to ask Budapest Mayor István Tarlós to start talks with the national government on making travel by train and distant bus services free of charge within the capital’s administrative districts.

Commenting on Budapest’s Olympic bid, Tokody said Jobbik upheld its “yes in principle” to supporting it. But he argued that a national referendum would have made sense before submitting the application. He said Jobbik will stop backing the bid if the proportion of Hungarians supporting it in a survey to be carried out by the Hungarian Olympic Committee is lower than 60-70 percent.

LMP

Opposition LMP representative Antal Csárdi said LMP supported making public transport free of charge during periods of smog and he called current regulations such as banning cars with certain number plates “uncontrollable and unviable”.

Commenting on the Budapest Olympics, he told a press conference that LMP had been the first to reject the bid, arguing against the excessive costs.

Democtratic Coalition

The Democratic Coalition’s (DK) Erzsébet Gy Németh also rejected the Budapest Olympics, arguing that the project would lead to Hungary’s bankruptcy. The budget earmarked for the 2024 Games would be better spent on education and health care, she told a press conference.

In connection with the OLAF report, she said DK it made no sense for the government not to release the document “unless it contains details detrimental to the government”.

Photo: Brick Visual

January 25, 2017

Socialists protest delay in Metro 3 refurbishment, Olympic plans

Budapest (MTI) – Speakers in a protest organised by the opposition Socialists criticised the management of Budapest for delays in the refurbishment of the city’s third metro line, the transfer of municipal assets to the state, and Budapest’s 2024 Olympic bid, on Friday.

Ágnes Kunhalmi, the party’s Budapest leader, said that not only the metro but schools and hospitals were also in a bad state. She added that “Fidesz keeps pointing backwards” and blames the previous governments while they have been in power for seven years.

Kunhalmi insisted that users of Budapest’s public transport – some 500,000 people each day – “cannot understand why there is no money for metro repairs” whereas other projects like a small railway in the prime minister’s native Felcsút are granted financing. “How do they want to host the Olympics when they cannot fix 20 metro stations?” she asked.

Kunhalmi also demanded that the government should publish a recent report compiled by the European Union’s anti-fraud office (OLAF) concerning fraudulent activities involved in the construction of Budapest’s fourth metro line.

In response, ruling Fidesz suggested that the Socialists should “turn themselves in” at the prosecutor’s office and testify rather than “keep holding demos”.

“The Socialists now have a written certificate that they have stolen one third of the Metro 4 construction budget,” authors of the statement insisted.

Photo: MTI

January 21, 2017

Weekly government press briefing about Putin’s visit, new wave of migration and other interesting topics

Budapest, January 19 (MTI) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Budapest on Feb. 2, János Lázár, the government office chief, announced on Thursday. Preparations are needed to contain migration in the event Turkey fails to meet its related obligations, Lázár told a weekly press briefing. Lázár said that he will file a criminal complaint over the construction of Budapest’s fourth metro line, based on a recent report by the European Union’s anti-fraud office (OLAF).

Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Lázár said Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó would leave for Moscow next week to make preparations for the presidential visit.

Lázár said Putin’s visit was part of a fixture of annual meetings in which both leaders reviewed topical business and political issues. “This will be an important meeting but nothing out of the ordinary,” Lázár added.

On another diplomatic topic, Lázár said 2017 would be an important year for Hungarian diplomacy, not only because of the inauguration of a new American president and Brexit, but also because the government has decided to shift focus from pursuing multilateral ties to fostering bilateral relations.

Lázár said it was in Hungary’s interest to seek “fair and correct” agreements both with the United States and the United Kingdom. He added that Brexit should be completed on a basis of mutual benefits “so that it is good for both Europe and Britain”. On the same subject he added that the Hungarian government must protect the interests of Hungarians working in the UK.

Concerning migration, Lázár highlighted that the first contingent in a new border police unit, over 500 “border hunters”, had taken their oaths last week. He added that a second fence would be necessary to be built in parallel on the Hungarian side of the border with Serbia.

NGOs

Answering a question, Lázár said that the intelligence services have compiled a report about attempts by organisations, including those associated with American financier George Soros, to influence the politics of countries in central Europe, Lazar said, adding that the report was being considered by parliament’s national security committee. “Soros calls himself the opposition of [prime minister] Viktor Orbán and tells the US press that he is waging a campaign to change political conditions in Hungary. This is something the national security committee should evaluate,” he said.

USA

Asked about President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks concerning NATO and its “obsolescence”, as well as the possibility of a European defence system independent of the US, Lazar said Hungary’s standpoint is that Europe must have its own defence capabilities. The Hungarian government is ready to get behind a proposal for an independent defence capability, he said, adding however that “it is too soon to bury NATO”.

In connection with Hungary’s own defence capability “which has been described as currently central Europe’s-and perhaps Europe’s-weakest”, he said the government would discuss in February a development concept for Hungarian defence. This concept will outline how many soldiers and what kind of hardware developments are needed. Lazar added that the defence budget would be expanded. He also made clear that there were no plans to restore national service.

Hungary’s ambassador to Washington will represent the country at Trump’s inauguration, Lázár said.

Lázár warns of possible new wave of migration

János Lázár said the government is expecting the migration situation to deteriorate. Hungary must be prepared to protect its own and the EU’s borders independently of Turkey, he said.

Lázár noted that the interior ministry was working to re-introduce the detention of illegal entrants.

Lázár to file criminal complaint over metro 4 construction

Briefing the press, Lázár noted that OLAF had conducted an investigation into alleged criminal activities involved in the metro’s construction financed using EU funding.

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Lázár insisted that the project constituted a “crime by the international left” and that nearly all public procurement bids in the project had been conducted fraudulently.

Answering a question whether the government would publish the OLAF report, Lázár said he thought OLAF itself would do so. “The government was not the investor, the government did not conduct the investigation; the government was just informed,” he added.

In response to a question about why the criminal complaint does not name the main persons in charge of the investment project, Lazar said the OLAF report discusses contracts and in the majority of cases shows the initials of the people that signed contracts. In response to another question on where former Mayor Gábor Demszky and his “number one, two and three” deputies Csaba Horváth, János Atkari and Miklós Hagyó, stand in the line of responsibility, he said “they stand in first, second and third place”.

In connection with accountability, he said the OLAF report includes several company names, including “Siemens among those at the front”.

Metro line 3 upgrade

Commenting on a planned demonstration by the opposition Socialists in connection with the third metro line, he said the same people who had “left Budapest’s cupboards bare” are protesting for the revamp now.

“The Socialists are hungry, and they perhaps think there is an opportunity for theft in the capital just as with the fourth metro line…” Lázár said.

Concerning the revamp of the third metro line, he said the city council enjoyed the government’s support with 138 billion forints of EU funding available. He expressed agreement with Mayor István Tarlós that the revamp project could start in the summer.

Socialist prime ministerial candidate

Commenting on Szeged Mayor László Botka’s nomination as the Socialist party’s prime ministerial candidate, he said the “jostling” for power had started among members of the opposition but the government would maintain its distance. He confirmed that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will meet Botka in Szeged on Jan. 30 to discuss city development plans.

Hungarian state support granted to a soccer teams

In connection with 3 billion forints of Hungarian state support granted to a soccer team in Serbia, he said some 27 billion forints support had been granted to ethnic Hungarian organisations beyond the borders at the end of last year. Kindergartens in the Carpathian Basin received 9 billion forints and sports clubs in Osijek (Eszék) in Croatia, Dunajska Streda (Dunaszerdahely) in Slovakia, Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) in Romania and Vojvodina in Serbia also received Hungarian government support.

Gas supplies

He said Hungary’s natural gas supplies were sufficient and rejected opposition criticism in connection with the reserves.

Budget 2018

The first round of consultations between ministries on the 2018 draft budget will be held in March and the government wants it to go before parliament earlier than last year, Lázár said.

Photo: MTI

January 19, 2017

Budapest mayor says metro renovation could start next summer

Budapest, December 31 (MTI) – The tender for the renovation of the capital’s third metro line could be drawn out until April, but the renovation works will get under way in summer, Budapest Mayor István Tarlós told the Saturday edition of the daily Népszava.

Tarlós suggested that “someone may deliberately be trying to stall” the project, noting that Hungary’s public procurement law bars applicants that have previously been disqualified from a tender from reapplying for a period of 90 days, but he declined to name any companies.

The mayor expressed hope that the renovation would cover the installation of elevators at every station of the metro line, as opposed to just the most vital upgrades. But he said the scope of the renovation would depend on the offers the capital would receive for the upgrade of the stops.

Photo: Daily News Hungary

January 1, 2017

New law to allow data protection authority to reject release of passenger trains’ technical specs

Budapest, December 15 (MTI) – A bill recently approved by parliament would allow the data protection authority to reject the release of data on the technical details of passenger trains if doing so could be considered a national security risk or if it is found to hamper crime prevention, the authority told MTI on Thursday.

MTI turned to the National Data Protection Authority (NAIH) over press reports suggesting that the recently approved amendment to the law on railway transport would classify information on the condition of Budapest’s metro trains as a secret for up to 30 years.

NAIH chief Attila Péterfalvi clarified that under the amendment, the data protection authority will be obliged to reject the release of information on technical specifications directly linked to the safe operation of passenger trains for a period of up to 30 years or until the end of the given train’s useful life if releasing the data in question is considered a national security risk or if it is deemed harmful to certain crime prevention efforts.

Péterfalvi also said that NAIH had found the restrictions in the amendment to be fully in line with Hungary’s constitution. The amendment deals with data “that need to be protected so that they cannot be used for terrorist plots”, Péterfalvi said.

Péterfalvi stressed that the law would only apply to information that directly concerns the safe operation of passenger trains. The restrictions do not apply to other related data, for example, operational or maintenance costs or the environmental effects of railway transport, he added.

Photo: Daily News Hungary

December 15, 2016

Weekly government press briefing about PISA, mayor’s wage, migration and other topics

Budapest, December 8 (MTI) – The government has instructed the human resources minister to call an education roundtable with teachers’ unions and education organisations to review recently published results of the PISA 2015 tests, government office chief János Lázár told on Thursday. Brussels is trying to “corner” Hungary when it comes to migration issues, he told a weekly government news briefing.

Lázár refers PISA results to education roundtable

Lázár said the government does not want to ignore the results, therefore it will call for a review and start dialogue to determine changes needed in the content or methodology of courses.

Lázár said the government will not “hold teachers accountable” for the poor results, but “we need to sit down and talk about them”.

Hungarian students performed worse in reading comprehension and science in the PISA test conducted last year compared with 2012. Participants in the 2015 test showed similar results in maths as three years earlier. But in all three areas they scored below the average of OECD countries, the report said.

Asked about responsibility, Lázár said neither he nor the state secretary of education stood in front of the blackboard and tests were done by students not by members of the government. The government provides a framework for education, he said, adding that the issue was not about financing. The latest EU report shows that Hungary spends above the EU average on education, he said.

He noted that the PISA tests showed similar results to eastern European countries, except for Poland which was much better thanks to its social reforms of recent years.

Lázár said a social debate on the national curriculum is expected to be held in January.

He said a five-party consensus has emerged on wages for mayors and a new system could enter force once the percentage figures are agreed on. The plan is for the Budapest mayor to get the same wage as a minister while mayors of cities with district rights and district mayors would receive the same wage as a state secretary. All other mayors will get a percentage of these, Lázár said. If a small town or village is unable to pay the mayor’s wage, the interior ministry will step in with the funds. If possible, the wages should be paid from local tax revenues, he added.

In response to a question, he said budget reserves would be spent on developments this year and no end-of-year bonuses would be paid out.

Digitalisation

Lázár said Hungary still suffers from a “serious drawbacks” as regards digitalisation, and digital capabilities in education, the economy and bureaucracy need to be developed. Currently around 20 out of 100 public administration transactions are done electronically and the preferred number would be 70-80, he said.

Budapest metro

In response to questions about the Budapest metro, he said the government is ready to help if the Budapest mayor requests it. The metropolitan council, as the operator, must decide on what constitutes a crisis situation and when a metro line should be shut down, he said, adding that the government was offering all necessary support.

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EU seeking to ‘corner’ Hungary over migration

Brussels is trying to “corner” Hungary when it comes to migration issues, but the government will maintain its standpoint, “whether it has supporters or not”, he added.

According to Lázár, “pro-migration forces” are preparing for a “breakthrough” at the European Council’s next meeting on Friday. He also noted that the working documents of the EU now contain phrases like “mandatory distribution” and “mandatory solidarity”. He suggested that “Germany and others” are pushing for a decision to be passed in the next few weeks.

The Hungarian government is not in a position “nor is ready to” grant approval for the mandatory distribution of migrants, because “its hands are tied” by the results of a referendum, as well as decisions by parliament and the Constitutional Court, Lázár insisted.

He added that the government wants a total 150 billion forints (EUR 480m) for Hungary’s border fence to be included in EU solidarity expenses.

While the EU is proposing the automatic distribution migrants, Hungary’s standpoint is that migrants should not be allowed to enter the EU, and those already within the Schengen borders should be taken outside and made to go through immigration procedures, he said, adding that Hungary’s and the EU’s positions were “antagonistic”. Hungary supports voluntary mechanisms rather than a binding system, he added.

Community funds

On the subject of community funds for Hungary, Lázár said the government supported an opposition proposal to set up an ad-hoc committee to monitor funds received from the EU since 2007. He added that the government would start talks with the parliamentary parties to simplify the tender process of EU funds. He added that by the end of this year, a total 1,600-1,700 billion forints in grants will have been paid out to winning bidders.

Open Government Partnership

Answering a question about Hungary’s recent decision to pull out of the Open Government Partnership, Lázár said the government had expected “fair treatment” in the partnership but Hungary had been “denied” the opportunity to have its positions included in reports.

Romanian election

Concerning Hungary’s support for the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party in the Romanian election campaign, Lázár said it was the only Hungarian party with a chance of winning seats in the Romanian parliament. “There are more questions on which we see eye to eye than areas of disagreement, and we must focus on cooperation,” he said.

Photo: MTI

December 9, 2016

Opposition parties in Budapest express concerns over metro

Budapest, December 7 (MTI) – Opposition parties in Budapest on Wednesday expressed concerns about safety on the capital’s metro lines.

On Wednesday morning services on third metro were disrupted due to a malfunction and earlier in the week on Monday an accident on the second line resulted in several serious injuries.

Marcell Tokody of the opposition Jobbik party said that sudden stoppages on the third metro line had become a daily occurrence. He told journalists that it appeared there were insufficient resources to ensure the requisite level of public safety on Budapest’s transport system.

Csaba Horváth, the Socialist Party’s Budapest representative, told a news conference ahead of a meeting of the metropolitan council that the city should set up an investigative committee in order to uncover any systemic problems. “Never before have such serious injuries been suffered in a metro accident as in Monday’s accident,” he said.

Erzsébet Gy Németh of the Democratic Coalition said pressure should be kept up on the government to ensure that the revamp of the Soviet-era third metro line goes ahead has quickly as possible, and to this end she called for a public signature-collection campaign. In a separate news conference, she said Monday’s accident should be investigated without delay, and DK supports the Socialist Party’s related proposal.

Anral Csárdi of green party LMP said the safety systems of the whole metro network should be examined in light of Monday’s accident. He added that LMP supported the Socialist Party’s proposal to set up a committee to investigate any systemic shortcomings.

Budapest mayor István Tarlós dismissed the opposition charge that that problems were systemic, telling a debate in the general assembly that “there is no general metro issue”, and attempts were being made to conflate the various incidents. He insisted there were three separate problems and the consequences of two had not been serious.

He rejected the opposition parties’ related proposals concerning the revamp of the third metro line as well as their demand to establish an investigative committee to examine operational problems across the network.

Photo: MTI

December 7, 2016

BKV withdraws metro line renovation tender

Budapest, November 28 (MTI) – Budapest public transport company BKV has withdrawn a tender for the renovation of the capital’s third metro, the latest issue of the Public Procurement Gazette shows.

Mayor István Tarlós said ten days earlier that the city’s public procurement manager had recommended invalidating the tender because all of the bids were well over the project budget. It also proposed launching a new procurement procedure.

Tarlós said at the time that the renovation could realistically start in June of next year.

[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/mayor-budapest-wants-guarantees-metro-upgrade-funding/” color=”orange” newwindow=”yes”] Related article: MAYOR OF BUDAPEST WANTS GUARANTEES FOR METRO UPGRADE FUNDING[/button]

November 28, 2016

Tarlós: Metro line 3 revamp could start in June 2017

Budapest (MTI) – The revamp of Budapest’s third metro line is expected to start in June 2017, Mayor István Tarlós said on Friday.

He told a press conference in response to a question that the June date for commencement of construction work was “realistic”. He added, however, that further delays could be expected if the bids submitted were not “more reasonable”.

The mayor’s office criticised a pamphlet being distributed by the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) which says the condition of the metro line carries serious risks to public safety. It said DK’s campaign falsified reality and would instill fear in the public.

DK councillor Erzsébet Gy Németh told MTI on Friday that engineers of safety assessment company TUV Rheinland had signalled that the metro carriages on line 3 had been in a “catastrophic” condition as far back as 2012. The engineers had said there were 11 components in each carriage whose malfunctioning could lead to fatalities.

Socialist councillor Csaba Horváth slammed the government for “behaving like a noble stranger” in connection with the upgrade of the metro line. He said figuring out a way to replace the services of the third metro line while it undergoes renovation was “far more important” than building a rail link between Liszt Ferenc International Airport and downtown Budapest. He said Tarlós’s estimate that the metro upgrade could begin next June had “confirmed” that “nothing will happen” before next July’s World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

November 19, 2016