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

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.

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