Foreign minister: China’s peace plan is the closest to Hungary’s concept

china hungary foreign ministers beijing

High-level cooperation with China is key to the competitiveness of Europe and Hungary, and severing those ties would have tragic consequences, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Monday, after talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing.

The main topic of the talks with Wang Yi was the war in Ukraine, and ways to end it, Szijjarto said. He thanked China for its “extremely active role in the peace effort”.

China’s peace plan is the closest to Hungary’s concept on the matter, as “it admits that the conflict cannot be solved on the battlefield,” he said.

Like Hungary, the Chinese peace plan posits that the longer the war rages, the worse the chances for peace, he said.

While Europe is gripped by a “war psychosis”, the majority of the world wants peace in Ukraine, he said.

Szijjártó also touched on the “extremely worrisome” situation in Israel, and warned that unless an escalation can be avoided, the conflict could lead to “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in human history”.

Szijjártó and Wang also discussed the two countries’ economic ties. Hungary’s economy would struggle to “remain on a growth path” without Chinese investments, Szijjártó said. Hungary is expected to double last year’s investment record of 6.5 billion euros, with much of those investments coming from Chinese companies, he said.

Hungary, a meeting point of western and eastern investments, has manufacturing sites of the three largest German carmakers, and soon five of the 10 largest battery makers in the world, he said. Those investments ensure economic growth and prevent mass job losses, he added.

The revamping of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line is the flagship of Hungarian-Chinese cooperation, and will put Hungary in a leading position in moving goods from Greek ports to Europe, he said.

The upgrade will be ready by 2025, he added.

Szijjártó also warned against severing the economic ties between Europe and China. Those with Russia “were severed one by one in the past 18 months, despite the fact that they were the foundation of economic growth,” he said.

The European economy would not be competitive without cooperation with China, and severing those ties would be “tragic and contrary to Hungarian interests”, he said.

“Hungary will reject and obstruct all unreasonable proposals that would limit or sever Chinese-European cooperation; we will not support tariffs or other obstructions on the Chinese electric car industry, and we will resist the pressure from western Europe to cut back economic cooperation with China. “Any other approach would mean that we could create fewer jobs and couldn’t guarantee this degree of economic growth,” he said.

As we wrote today, the Hungarian government signs important economic cooperation agreements in China, details HERE.

The entire Budapest-Vienna railway line will be closed: chaos will reign?

Railway MÁV Budapest-Vienna line

The Budapest-Győr-Hegyeshalom-Vienna line stands as Hungary’s most bustling railway line, facilitating the commute of numerous international trains between the two capitals. The Minister of Transport and Construction, János Lázár, unexpectedly decided that a section of this line, between Szárliget and Biatorbágy, should undergo immediate renewal. This is where the issues commenced. As of October, the entire line shall be closed to traffic.

Previously, we reported that neither the ministry nor MÁV, the Hungarian State Railways, possessed the manpower or equipment necessary for the reconstruction work. Consequently, RM International Ltd., a business closely associated with Lőrinc Mészáros, had to reorganise its workforce. As a result, they halted their work on the Budapest-Belgrade railway construction project. This led to the consternation among the Chinese, as they doubt that the consortium of the two Chinese companies and Mészáros’s firm will be able to complete the project. This is partly why PM Orbán is scheduled to travel to Beijing next week to resolve matters with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. We dissected this issue earlier HERE.

Meanwhile, the commencement of work on the Biatorbágy-Szárliget route encountered numerous difficulties. Initially, travel times substantially increased between Biatorbágy and Budapest due to the replacement buses being delayed during rush hours. Furthermore, despite maintaining international railway traffic on one line (whereby only one train per hour could run between Vienna and Budapest), trains departing from Budapest struggled to adhere to the schedule. Consequently, Austria disconnected Hungarian trains from the Western railway network, resulting in Hungary losing its direct connection with Austrian and German cities.

A new section and comprehensive closure

On 27 October, a new phase of the renovation project is set to commence, leading to the entire Budapest-Vienna line between Biatorbágy and Szárliget being closed. This means that, for three weeks, commuters will rely on replacement buses to travel between these two locations. Additionally, during the nighttime, railway operations will cease between Budaörs and Szárliget.

MÁV-Volán has commiteted to deploying twice as many buses as previously to cater to passengers’ needs to the best of their abilities. They aim to synchronise their services with the requirements of passengers. However, they urge all passengers to anticipate extended travel times.

That is not the sole railway line in Hungary undergoing alterations due to the railway renovation. As of 27 October, cargo trains that would typically operate on the Budapest-Vienna line will be rerouted to railway line number 5, which runs between Székesfehérvár and Komárom, according to index.hu.

Consequently, passenger trains will no longer serve individuals travelling between Székesfehérvár and Komárom. Instead, passengers will have to utilise replacement buses. MÁV has clarified that this three-week train replacement is a temporary and exceptional measure in a statement published on their website.

Read also:

  • Ryanair must pay gigantic fines in Hungary

VIDEO: MÁV’s new leased locomotive had a problem on its first trip

MÁV train

On Monday, the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) launched the first newly leased train in Hungary. However, on the return journey, there was already a problem with a door control.

New MÁV train

“He’s on the move! The first MÁV-START locomotive 182 has been redesigned,” MÁV announced on Facebook at 8 AM on Monday morning. It posted a video of the locomotive, painted in the colours of the railway company, pulling the Tokaj InterCity train, as it pulled out of Keleti railway station.

This was the first trip of the first of the second-hand Siemens locomotives recently leased by MÁV in Hungary. It did not end well, as the locomotive broke down at Kőbánya-Kispest station on the way back, where it was stranded for 35 minutes instead of the planned one-minute wait, hvg.hu reports.

The train left on Monday morning at 7.25 AM, but was delayed there a minute because the short film, which was also shared by MÁV on Facebook, had to be recorded. The delay was made up for when the train arrived in Nyíregyháza, where it arrived on time and left on time.

Immediate delay and problem

The Intercity then started going back and arrived 6 minutes late at Kőbánya-Kispest. Here it waited 35 minutes instead of the planned 1 minute. “On the Tokaj IC, a door control error occurred at Kőbánya-Kispest station. The fault was rectified on the spot and the train continued its journey,” MÁV said.

It is not known for how much MÁV leased the 15 Siemens locomotives. Previously, they were said to be used locomotives in excellent technical condition. According to press reports, the locomotives were all put into service in 2004, so they are all 19 years old.

Asian guest workers flood Hungary but Chinese, Korean plants may never start operation

guest worker from india hajdúnánás

Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians work in Western European countries for higher wages. Therefore, 60-80 thousand people are missing from Hungary’s labour market. As a result, the government made it easy to import Asian workforce to Hungary, but the Chinese plants those people come to may never start operation due to the significant problems of the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV). Meanwhile, the liberal leadership of Budapest seems to veto the employment of Phillippine bus drivers in the capital.

Guest workers coming to Hungary in large numbers

According to a Philippine newspaper, Hungary is “opening its doors to more than 6,000 factory and skilled workers in the Philippines”. That comes after almost 4 thousand Filipino workers came to Hungary in 2022. According to G7, the Hungarian government granted a shortcut for the employment of Filipino workers and protection for them. During the summer, news appeared about the planned employment of 10 thousand Phillippine workers.

Before, the Hungarian government was negotiating with Vietnam about attracting local workers to Hungary. The new workforce is needed for the new battery manufacturing plants the Chinese and South Koreans plan to build. The government supports that scheme because it believes the future lies in the e-cars, and despite an almost decade-long anti-migration campaign, they help foreigners to come to Hungary to work. Only the new CATL plant in Debrecen will need 9,000 employees from the beginning of 2025.

Read also:

  • Hungarian government paves the way for hundreds of thousands of guest workers – Read more HERE
  • Guest workers cause problems at Hungary’s best-known spa

Hungarian state railway network unsuitable for such capacities

However, there might be a problem with the new battery plants. According to hvg.hu, the Hungarian railway infrastructure did not follow the grandiose development plans. In contrast, MÁV’s railway network has been deteriorating for decades. That is why the government ordered the rapid renovation of a segment of the Vienna-Budapest line. However, all lines are devastated and overcrowded, so the new plants will not be able to transport goods easily. When the government attracted the investments to Hungary, that viewpoint was mitigated, but now it emerges with an overwhelming power.

Transport is essential for such investments. The raw material comes from Koper, Triest, Rijeka, Hamburg or Ukraine, while the products would also leave Hungary on the train. However, the Belgrade-Budapest train line project stopped because the Chinese and Hungarian companies could not build it properly, following the EU’s directives. Moreover, due to soaring inflation, costs grew sky-high, and the budget is empty. Therefore, the Chinese are worried about how they will transport goods. As a result, PM Orbán travels to Beijing to settle things with Xi Jinping.

Not everybody is happy because of the guest workers coming from Asia. RTL Klub asked locals in Hajdúszoboszló who said they were afraid of the Asian people, and the guest workers told the news outlet the same. Meanwhile, Arriva Bus, a German subcontractor providing drivers for Budapest’s transport company, BKV, said they would like to employ 20 Phillippines from 2024. However, the leadership of Budapest became outraged, and Deputy Mayor Ambrus Kiss said they would not allow the employment of Far Eastern drivers because allowing communication between the drivers and their passengers is crucial.

Important change: Austria to disconnect Hungarian trains from western network two days later

railjet vienna budapest railway

Contrary to the original plans, westbound Railjet express trains will not be cut off in Vienna on Monday and Tuesday, Mávinform reports, according to information from the Austrian railway company on Sunday evening.

Until Wednesday, Railjet trains from Budapest-Keleti station to Munich via Vienna every two hours between 7:40 and 15:40 will continue to operate on the full route, without changing trains in Vienna.

As we wrote earlier, ÖBB announced earlier that from 2 October to 26 October, several Railjet express trains from Budapest and beyond Vienna will operate on a shorter route, only to the Austrian capital. The Austrian company explained the decision by the delays caused by the renovation of the main line in Hegyeshalom. The measure affects multiple routes to German and Austrian cities. Details HERE.

Here is Hungarian state railway’s outrageous advice for travellers abroad

adria intercity budapest croatia máv

The Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) informed its passengers in a press release that changes will be introduced to the Berlin and Warsaw lines. MÁV advises passengers who cannot make the connection to spend the nights in the waiting room while waiting for the next morning’s train.

This is due to a change in the timetable because of track renewal work on the Czech railway line and may affect those travelling to Berlin or Warsaw. They will only be able to continue their journey the next morning, with a significant delay, Portfolio spotted.

MÁV’s statement

“Track renewal work will be carried out on the Czech Railways from 1 to 13 October and overnight from 25 October to 1 December between Přerov and Ostrava stations. Changes will be introduced to the Metropol EuroNight (EN 476) and Metropolitan EuroCity (EC 270) services.

The Metropol EuroNight (EN 476) travels to Břeclav station with seating carriages only. The Metropolitan EuroCity (EC 270) departing from Nyugati station at 17:29 will also run only to Břeclav, as the train set of the Metropol EuroNight (EN 476), i.e. the sleeping cars from Prague, the sleeping cars and couchettes from Berlin and Warsaw, and the seating carriages to Břeclav, will be served by this Metropolitan EuroCity (EC 270).

For the last Metropolitan EC to Prague in the evening, a relief train departs Břeclav at 21:07 and arrives in Prague at 0:19. The bus group from Berlin to Warsaw departs Břeclav as NightJet train 456 at 22:02 according to the modified timetable. Passengers who have booked a ticket for the sleeping carriage of the Metropolitan EN (EN 476) 364 to Prague but do not catch the Metropolitan EC (EC 270) from Nyugati station at 17:29 can change at Břeclav station to the sleeping carriage of the train from Nyugati station (EN 476) at 19:29. Those who have booked a ticket for a group of coaches to Berlin or Warsaw but do not catch the train that will take them, can wait in the waiting room at Břeclav station until the next morning.”

The last paragraph of the announcement was so astonishing that former State Secretary of Transport Dávid Vitézy felt compelled to post a comment on MÁVINORM’s Facebook page.

“It costs many tens of thousands of forints for a compartment on these night trains connecting Budapest with the German and Polish capitals, and I have used both in recent months. Is it really official MÁV policy to tell passengers to sleep on the bench at Břeclav station? I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t read it written down,”

Vitézy wrote.

We would just like to add that we don’t understand it either.

BREAKING: Austria detaches Hungarian trains of Western railway network

Budapest Hungary railway

ÖBB, the Austrian railway company, is to detach all Hungarian direct trains from the Western European network because of the excessive delays. The firm warned the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) multiple times, but they could not solve the problem. Therefore, all passengers must get off the trains in Vienna and embark on another. The measure affects multiple routes to German and Austrian cities.

According to Dávid Vitézy, Hungary’s former transport secretary and PM Orbán’s distant relative, the reason why Austria detaches all Hungarian trains from the Western railway network is the pathetic operation of MÁV. As we wrote earlier, János Lázár, Hungary’s transport and construction minister, ordered a quick railway renovation on the Budapest-Vienna line between Biatorbágy and Szárliget.

However, we wrote HERE that the total closure of the aforementioned segment will only happen between 27 October and 17 November. Before and after that, one of the two railway lines is operable. Therefore, international trains could have commuted between Budapest and Linz, Salzburg or Munich.

But MÁV was unable to operate the international trains without delays in the first two weeks of the closure. ÖBB warned the Hungarian partners several times, but the state-owned railway company could not solve the problems. As a result, they announced today unilaterally that they detach all Hungarian trains from the Western European railway system. That means the direct connection between Budapest and Munich, Linz or Salzburg ends. Passengers will have to change trains in Vienna. That is because Austria wants their trains to commute, sticking to their timetables.

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Mr Vitézy argues it is surprising that MÁV could not operate international trains (1 in every hour) on the line while no other trains are commuting there. All other trains are currently substituted by replacement buses. He believes that MÁV did not intend to solve the problem or neglected to do so. He added that the institutional and professional control over MÁV ceased.

According to the statement of ÖBB, Budapest trains will not commute to Munich, Linz or Salzburg from Monday (2 October) and this will remain in effect until 26 October.

Further adjustments at MÁV: several railway timetables to change

Hungary plane train travel

On the Budapest-Cegléd-Szolnok line, maintenance will be carried out between Pestszentlőrinc and Vecsés stations on 30 September and 1 October. Thus, the timetable will change significantly over the weekend.

The timetables of the Nyíregyháza and Szeged InterCity trains will be changed. The Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) have also announced changes to the Cegléd services.

InterCity trains to Nyíregyháza and Szeged will depart 5 minutes earlier from Nyugati railway station and arrive 5-10 minutes later at their destination. In addition, the Cívis InterRégio trains will run on a shorter route, only between Debrecen and Cegléd, Pénzcentrum reports.

The only exceptions to this will be trains at dawn and in the evening, MÁV reports:

  • The Cívis InterRegio departing from Debrecen at 2:30, 3:30, 4:30 (6009, 6019, 6029) and from Nyugati railway station at 20:23, 21:23, 22:28 (6008, 6088, 6098) will operate on the entire route between Budapest and Debrecen on both days.
  • The Cívis InterRégio departing from Nyugati station at 6:23, 7:23, 8:23 (6090, 6002, 6072) on Saturday and the Cívis InterRégio departing from Debrecen at 16:35, 17:35, 18:35 (6083, 6203, 6001) on Sunday will also operate on the full route.

Further changes on Saturday…

In addition, the timetable will also change in the Hatvan region on Saturday. Due to track maintenance, trains will run on only one track between Pécel and Isaszeg on Saturday. According to MTI information, the IR87 Agria InterRégio trains will depart 25 minutes earlier and arrive 25 minutes later on the Budapest-Gödöllő section than usual.

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Budapest–Belgrade railway in big trouble, PM Orbán travels to Bejing to find a solution

Budapest–Belgrade railway in big trouble

The Budapest–Belgarde railway line is being built by Orbán-close Lőrinc Mészáros’ companies and Chinese partners. However, the Hungarian construction workers have now partially withdrawn from the site due to the renovation of the dilapidated Budapest–Győr line. The Chinese partners tried to take over but could not do the construction according to European standards. The cost of the project has also skyrocketed due to the insane inflation. According to VSquare, the Chinese have stopped working and funding the project. PM Orbán is flying to China to settle things in person in the autumn.

Railway line in trouble

Telex wrote that the construction of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line was decided by the government in 2014. In 2015, the Hungarian leaders agreed with the Chinese and Serbian parties. However, the construction contract was only signed four years later, in 2019. The line has been designed to allow trains to run at 160km/h, which requires the so-called ETCS train control system (which complies with EU standards) and safety equipment certified to EU requirements. According to the original contract, the railway line will be built by RM International Ltd., owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, and a consortium of two Chinese companies. As it seems, neither of them is capable of handling the ETCS system.

Problem with the Chinese technology

For some reason, the Chinese party thought that it would be acceptable to use Chinese technology. However, the Chinese system differs from the European in many ways, thus it does not comply with EU standards. Now, the Hungarian government has two options. One of them is to completely ignore the EU standards. In this case, trains will only be able to run at 100km/h instead of the planned 160km/h. The other option is to contract a new company to install the safety equipment and the train control system. However, this would delay the completion of the project by several years.

PM Orbán to travel to China

The issue of security devices has long been a source of growing tension between the Chinese and the Hungarians. We cannot know for sure exactly how far things have gone. However, according to VSquare, the Chinese have stopped financing the construction and experts have also stopped working on the project. The construction is 85% financed by Chinese loans and 15% by Hungarian state money, so the suspension of Chinese financing would be a major blow.

The conflict between the two countries has unsurprisingly reached diplomatic level. Despite that, it does not seem to have been resolved at lower levels. According to VSquare, PM Orbán will personally travel to the One Belt, One Road conference in China in October. Among other things, he will try to settle the issue at a higher level.

Read also:

Hungarian State Railways announce total closure of Budapest-Vienna line

Hungary Budapest-Vienna railway line máv

János Lázár, Hungary’s construction minister, ordered the renewal of the railway line connecting Budapest with Vienna as soon as possible. Work started rapidly, but it seems it will result in the total closure of the line.

As telex.hu wrote today, work could only be started with the manpower and machinery of the Orbán-close Lőrinc Mészáros’s V-Híd. They are a subcontractor of the consortium of two Chinese and one Mészáros company carrying out the Belgrade-Budapest railway upgrade. As a result, work halted there.

The first phase of the Budapest-Győr-Vienna railway line reconstruction will last until 27 October. However, after that, the line will be closed for traffic between Biatorbágy and Szárliget. A partial rail line closure started this Monday.

The Hungarian State Railways promised they would share a new timetable and all the needed information with the passengers two weeks before the start of phase 2.

Read also:

MÁV apologised for the inconvenience and thanked passengers for their patience. They said the total closure will last until 17 November. That is because they will replace not only the rails, but also the railway embankments. Therefore, they must do dirt work, which makes it impossible to hold up safe railway traffic on the line. After the reconstruction, the railway line connecting Hungary with the West will serve passengers at 140 km/h speed.

The third reconstruction phase will be between 18 November and 9 December, during which the other rail track will be renewed. As a result, traffic will continue on one line just like until 27 October.

The Hungarian government would use EU money to build a bridge for military purposes

Hungarian military Sudan

The Hungarian government is seeking EU funding for five railway projects, some of which are for military purposes. One of the projects would cover the new Danube Bridge, which would replace the Gubacsi Bridge.

The Hungarian government is planning rail programmes for military purposes, part of which would be financed by the EU’s financial instrument for the financing of the European network. János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport, submitted the proposals.

This has resulted in five project plans:

  • Improvement of the interoperability of Szolnok station to meet civil and military dual-use requirements. The project will include the reconstruction of the main tracks of line 100 and the relevant sidings, the modification of the telecommunication system, the cable network, the overhead line system and the safety equipment.
  • The current dilapidated Gubacsi railway bridge would be replaced by a new one over the Soroksári-Duna branch, 15 metres north of the current bridge. The railway line between the bridge and the Corvin road junction would be upgraded to a double-track network. This will ‘allow the transport of large military cargoes by rail to the Csepel Free Port’.
  • “To make the railway infrastructure suitable for civil protection dual use at the stations of the national railway network in Eastern Hungary which are located on the TEN-T (trans-European) core network: Szob, Felsőzsolca, Szikszó, Forró-Encs, Hidasnémeti, Cegléd, Szolnok, Szajol, Kisújszállás, Demecser, Záhony, Mezőtúr, Békéscsaba.”
  • Preparation of a new loading dock near Tata railway station, environmental studies, preparation of permit plans.
  • The bridges potentially used by NATO, which in their current state require reinforcement, would be rebuilt, with an increase in capacity for civil/military dual use. These bridges to be reinforced are located on the main roads 74 (4) and 8 (8) in Western Hungary, 2 (3) in Northern Hungary and 52 (3) in Eastern Hungary.

The proposed investments would total HUF 107 billion (EUR 276,050,534.25), nearly half of which would come from EU funds, index.hu reports.

Hungarian socialists urge broad rail upgrades over state’s airport purchase

danube express train

The money the government plans to spend on the takeover of Liszt Ferenc International Airport could instead be invested in comprehensive upgrades to Hungary’s rail network, the opposition Socialist Party said on Wednesday.

The HUF 1,536 billion (EUR 4bn) the government reportedly wants to spend on Liszt Ferenc International operator Budapest Airport could be spent on the public procurement of 115 electric locomotives, motor trains and doubling the train fleet, László Varga, the party’s deputy leader, told an online press conference.

Neither do budget and air transport experts think the government’s purchase would be justified, he said.

The government “has recently spent HUF 700 billion on the takeover of a mobile service provider, so the funds are there, but the cabinet isn’t spending them in the right places”, Varga said, referring to Antenna Hungaria and state-owned Corvinus’s acquisition of Vodafone Hungary.

Hungary’s rail network “is in crisis, lacks funding, and there are not enough trains or staff”, he said.

Half of the money to be allocated towards the takeover of the airport would be enough to replace the entire rolling stock fleet, while the other half could be enough for comprehensive network maintenance, he said.

The socialist politician called on the government to reconsider its plans and embark on a broad upgrade of the country’s rail network.

New timetable: travelling between Budapest-Austria changes, travel times increase

Travelling from Budapest to Austria changes, travel time increases

The timetable on the Budapest-Tatabánya-Győr-Hegyeshalom-Austria main railway line will change from 18 September due to the reconstruction work on the line.

According to Pénzcentrum, the first phase will concern the segment between Biatorbágy and Szárliget. Based on the plans, it will last until 26 October. Therefore, passengers should expect longer travel times and replacement buses in some segments.

Only one train will commute on that segment every hour, providing an uninterrupted travel option between Budapest and Austria in each direction. But it will not stop between Kelenföld and Tatabánya stations. During the morning rush hours, some G10 trains and passenger trains will run on their full routes:

  • the G10 train (4919) from Győr to Déli station, originally departing from Tatabánya at 5:34 AM
  • the passenger train (9309, 9307) from Hegyeshalom to Keleti station, originally departing from Tatabánya at 6:29 AM and continuing at 7:29 AM
  • at night, the G10 train (9318) from Keleti station to Győr, originally scheduled to depart at 21:40, will also run its full route.

Read also:

 

Travel times increase significantly

No other trains will run the whole route. Therefore, express replacement buses will carry passengers between Tatabánya and Budaörs. Sopron and Szombathely InterCity trains will travel only to Tatabánya, from where you can reach Kelenföld with replacement buses. HERE you may find more information on the Hungarian State Railways’ (MÁV) official website.

According to turizmus.com, passengers should calculate with a 20-30 mins more travel time concerning domestic trains. Meanwhile, international travellers should add one hour.

Budapest’s Nyugati railway station got prestigious film award

A memorial plaque designated to the Nyugati (Western) railway station as a Treasure of European Film Culture was unveiled in the iconic building’s hall in Budapest on Friday.

The title was awarded to Nyugati by the Berlin-based European Film Academy (EFA) in 2022, said Csaba Káel, government commissioner for film and the director of the National Film Institute. The architectural design is the work of Austrian architect August W. de Serres, while the structure of the hall was designed by Gustav Eiffel’s engineering firm, Káel noted. One of Hungary’s oldest railway stations, Nyugati has featured in many international and Hungarian films, he said.

Among the foreign titles, it can be seen in Tony Scott’s Spy Game starring Robert Redford, Brad Pitt and Catherine McCormack, as well as in Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy, said the commissioner. Last year, it served as a venue for a Gucci commercial, he added. The Hungarian films featuring the railway station include Istvan Szabo’s Sunshine with Ralph Fiennes as well as Hanussen, Káel said.

Read also:

The Treasures of European Film Culture form a growing network of memorable places people can visit, reminding them of the great and remarkable history of European cinema, Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of EFA, said at the unveiling event. Claire Legras, the ambassador of France, said Nyugati railway station was a symbol of Hungarian-French cultural ties.

Huge trouble at Hungarian state railways: line cancellations may occur – UPDATE: MÁV’s response

Hungary public transport

By the end of September, there will be hardly anyone left to drive the trains at the Hungarian State Railways because the drivers have used up their overtime. Together with VOLÁNBUSZ, the two public transport companies employ 57,000 people and have 4,500 vacancies. The biggest shortages at the railway company are for train drivers, ticket inspectors and wagon inspectors. These positions are so scarce that the timetable can only be maintained through constant overtime.

The increasing shortage of personnel is a major challenge for the MÁV Group, writes Népszava. By the end of September, most train drivers, switch operators and ticket inspectors will have exceeded their annual work time limit. They will also have exceeded the maximum limit of 300 hours of overtime stipulated in the new Labour Code and in MÁV’s current collective bargaining agreement. This can be increased by another 100 hours through other special agreements with extra pay, but that is entirely up to the employees. As we reported earlier, the poor conditions of the railway network system already caused many delays.

Keleti Railway Station MÁV
Photo: Alpár Kató – Daily News Hungary ©

Black future for locomotive driver replacement

According to János Meleg, president of the Railway Workers Union, training train drivers will not improve the situation, as it takes months for the applicant to start work. Those who start now would not be able to safely drive locomotives until May. The average success rate for train driver training courses is 60-70%. That’s assuming there are applicants for this kind of job. Being a locomotive driver is no longer as sought-after as it used to be.

“A salary of 800,000 HUF (2100 EUR) is not attractive enough for a train driver,

János Meleg added.

In addition, the generation that makes up the majority of the Hungarian State Railways’ workforce will retire between 2025 and 2027. Then, suddenly, thousands of people will have to be replaced. Dozens of vacancies are already listed on MÁV’s website, but the gap between those hired and those leaving is widening, according to the trade union leader.

Lack of skilled workers

railway swtich operator Hungary
Okány
MTI/Rosta Tibor

The shortage of skilled workers is not a new phenomenon in the MÁV Group. Even years ago, the roster of train drivers could only be put together with great difficulty. Already eight years ago, the company advertised for employees via loudspeakers on the trains. They looked for locomotive drivers, overhead line fitters, track workers, ticket inspectors, traffic inspectors and carriage drivers were also wanted for several locations.

In the past, there were also examples of suburban services that could not be taken up due to a lack of drivers. Moreover, the old railwaymen are the last well-trained professionals. Since then, the workshops have closed and the teachers are scattered. To make up for the shortage, licencing requirements are being lowered and exams are becoming less demanding. Sometimes a passenger train stalls next to a freight car, a car gets stuck with passengers, or a train stops so suddenly in a station that all the luggage falls on the passengers. The customers’ anger at constant delays, non-functioning air-conditioning systems and many other inconveniences is then directed at ticket inspectors and counter staff.

Frustration is also growing among passengers. The clashes have not yet escalated into violence, but the anti-MÁV sentiment is becoming increasingly palpable,

says János Meleg.

UPDATE – MÁV’s reponse

“At the moment, only 5.8 percent of our colleagues have worked more than 200 hours of overtime, so the framework is far from being exhausted,” mfor.hu quotes MÁV as saying.

The railway company wants to provide its services not by increasing overtime but by increasing the number of drivers. In parallel with its ongoing recruitment, MÁV runs training courses every year, usually 12-14 times a year. This year, a total of 13 driver training courses have been planned, with a total of 325 trainees.

Complaints: Hungarian national railways MÁV on edge of collapse

Hungary Budapest-Vienna railway line máv

National railways MÁV and rail services in Hungary “are on the edge of collapse”, an opposition DK lawmaker said on Monday.

There are severe staff shortages, and ticket inspectors and engine drivers have reached the limit of their overtime, endangering the security and reliability of services, Gergely Arató told an online press briefing.

He also referred to speed reductions, as well as regular delays and cancellations on the most popular Budapest-Vienna line – read details HERE.

Arató blamed government austerity measures for strains in railway services as well as the public-education and health-care systems.

The DK politician also complained about inflation eroding the real value of the wages of public service employees, adding that the pay of engine drivers had gone up by only 5 percent, while salaries in the millions of forints of people who sat on boards of directors and supervisory boards had doubled.

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Here is MÁV’s big announcement concerning Budapest-Adriatic trains: you will be happy

Budapest - Adriatic railway journey adria intercity

The Hungarian state railways, MÁV, announced that we may travel to the Adriatic with a discounted ticket even during September.

According to Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, Adriatic trains are popular. The number of passengers commuting between Budapest and Rijeka (originally Fiume, Croatia) exceeded last year’s maximum in August. Furthermore, the Retro Istria Express to Koper (Slovenia) is very popular among tourists. Therefore, passengers can buy discounted tickets for the Adria InterCity even in the post-season period in September.

By the end of August, more than 12,000 tickets were sold on the Adria InterCity. That number is much more than the number of tickets purchased in 2022. Furthermore, it is twice the number of passengers who chose to travel to the Adriatic with that train in 2021. Interestingly, 2/3rds of the passengers bought their tickets in advance, during the spring. The online ticket purchase opportunity helped: half of the passengers have book their seats in the app.

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Lonely Planet chose the Adriatic route among Europe’s ten most beautiful train rides. HERE is our photo report. The last train will depart from Budapest to Rijeka on 27 September. Budapest-Rijeka trains commute on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Meanwhile, you can travel to Split (Spalato, Croatia) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

All of them are night trains. You may get on and take off the trains at the Keleti railway station, Székesfehérvár, Siófok (Lake Balaton), Fonyód (Lake Balaton), Balatonszentgyörgy (Lake Balaton), Nagykanizsa and Gyékényes. One of the most elegant dining carriages is attached to the train.

VIDEO: The famous Orient Express visited a Hungarian town

Orient Express train ride

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, coming from Paris, passed Szolnok, a town of almost 70,000 inhabitants in Central Hungary. Check out the video below.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, abbreviated as VSOE, was a luxury railway line connecting West and East Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently, it serves passengers as a nostalgia line between London and Venice and the original Paris-Istanbul direction.

Here is a video of how it arrived in Szolnok. Interestingly, its locomotive was Hungarian, advertising the Hungarian Children’s Railway on the Széchenyi hill in Budapest. HERE you may check out the prices for that special type of train.

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