Inspection of the Budapest–Belgrade Railway Line Takes Place

If TÜV (Technical Inspection Association), commissioned by the Ministry of Construction and Transport, finds everything in order, the Hungarian government will approve passenger transport on the Hungarian section of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line in mid-February, reports Világgazdaság.

In Hungary, challenges such as the installation and integration of modern safety equipment, which is essential for high-speed trains, slowed down the work. In addition, as an EU member, our country had to comply with stricter regulations for public procurement and other procedures, which proved to be more time-consuming than the regulations applicable on the Serbian side.

This is significant because of China’s presence, as the Export-Import Bank of China is not only financing about 85 percent of the cost of the Hungarian section in the form of loans, but the Chinese are also supplying technical solutions and railway systems for Hungary.

It is well known that the safety and signaling systems planned by China for the domestic section of the high-speed railway did not have EU operating licenses and therefore did not comply with the European Union’s standardized ETCS (European Train Control System) requirements. This was ultimately overcome by using hybrid technology (not only Chinese technology was used in this area), which, although outdated, enabled trains to travel at a speed of 160 km/h in Hungary, even in foggy conditions, as MÁV (Hungarian State Railways) confirmed at Telex’s request.

For the reasons mentioned above, the Ministry of Construction and Transport commissioned the German TÜV to conduct an independent review that thoroughly examines the technical, financial, and safety-related conditions of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line by January at the latest.

After the tragedy in Novi Sad, we commissioned an international inspection company, independent of the Hungarian state, the Chinese and all other parties involved, to review the technical, financial and safety conditions on the Budapest-Belgrade railway line,”

Minister János Lázár explained at a hearing before the Parliament’s Economic Committee in early December.

János Lázár. Photo: MTI/Soós Lajos

If TÜV finds everything to be in order, the Hungarian government will approve passenger transport from mid-February. He added that this would mean a major change for transport in Budapest. Incidentally, trial operations already began in December.

According to reports in the Serbian press, Vienna will also be connected to the Belgrade–Budapest railway line. Once the railway expansion project is complete, it will not only be possible to travel between the Serbian and Hungarian capitals in a relatively short time, but also to reach the Austrian capital without changing trains. As many Serbs and Hungarians from Vojvodina commute between the three cities, the importance of the electrified, double-track high-speed line will continue to grow. Currently, the journey from Belgrade to Budapest takes around eight hours, but once the project is complete, this will be reduced to 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The railway company MÁV informed Világgazdaság that there will indeed be a connection (from bottom to top) between Belgrade, Budapest, and Vienna, with two trains.

It pointed out that the renovation of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line will not only improve the rail connection between the two countries. As it explained in detail, thanks to the modernization in consultation with the Austrian railway company, the former EuroCity Avala between Vienna and Belgrade via Budapest will be put back into service, and the EuroCity Ivo Andric, which previously ran between Belgrade and Budapest, will now run to Vienna. MÁV also announced that the connections will be coordinated with the hourly EuroCity service between Budapest and Vienna.

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