Hungarian State Railways
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | |
Length | 7,606 km (4,730 mi) |
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Other | |
Website | www |
This article needs to be updated.(August 2023) |
Hungarian State Railways (Hungarian: Magyar Államvasutak, MÁV) is the Hungarian national railway company, with divisions "MÁV START Zrt." (passenger services), and "Utasellátó" (onboard catering).[1] The head office is in Budapest.[2]
History
1846–1918
Construction of Hungary's first railway line began in the second half of 1844. The first
After the failed revolution, the existing lines were nationalized by the Austrian State and new lines were built. As a result of the Austro-Sardinian War in the late 1850s, all these lines were sold to Austrian private companies. During this time the company of Ábrahám Ganz invented a method of "crust-casting" to produce cheap yet sturdy iron railway wheels, which greatly contributed to railway development in Central Europe.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 that created the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary, transport issues became the responsibility of the Hungarian Government, which also inherited the duty to support local railway companies. This came at a considerable cost: in 1874 8% of the annual budget went to railway company subsidies. This led the Hungarian Parliament to consider founding a State Railway. The goal was to take over and operate the Hungarian main lines. The branch lines were constructed by private companies. When the law in 1884 provided a simplified way to create railway companies many small branch line companies were founded. These, however, usually only constructed the lines, then made a contract with MÁV to operate them. Thus they also owned no locomotives or other rolling stock. MÁV made a contract only if the line, its equipment and buildings were constructed to MÁV standards. This helped to build standard station buildings, sheds, and accessories, all to the MÁV rules.
Because of relatively high prices the traffic density was considerably lower in Hungary than in other countries. To change this the
In 1890 most large private railway companies were nationalized as a consequence of their poor management, except the strong Austrian-owned Kaschau-Oderberg Railway (KsOd) and the Austrian-Hungarian Southern Railway (SB/DV). They also joined the zone tariff system, and remained successful until the end of World War I when Austria-Hungary collapsed.
By 1910 MÁV had become one of the largest European railway companies, in terms of both its network and its finances. Its profitability, however, always lagged most Western European companies, be they publicly or privately owned. The Hungarian railway infrastructure was largely completed in these years, with a topology centred on Budapest that still remains.
By 1910, the total length of the rail networks of the Hungarian Kingdom reached 22,869 kilometres (14,210 miles), the Hungarian network linked more than 1,490 settlements. Nearly half (52%) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's railways were built in Hungary, thus the railroad density there became higher than that of Cisleithania. This has ranked Hungarian railways the 6th most dense in the world (ahead of countries as Germany or France).[3]
In 1911 a new locomotive numbering system was introduced which was used until the beginning of the 21st century and is still in use for motive power purchased before then. The notation specifies the number of driven axles and the maximum axle load of the locomotive.
Hungarian locomotive factories
Despite the Hungarian factories were independent companies, the largest suppliers of MÁV were the
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The first steam railcar built by Ganz and de Dion-Bouton
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The four-cylinder 2,950 hp (2,200 kW) MÁV Class 601 was the strongest steam locomotive of pre WW1 Europe.[5][6][7]
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Ganz AC electric locomotive prototype (1901 Valtellina, Italy)
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Electric locomotive RA 361 (later FS Class E.360) by Ganz for the Valtellina line, 1904
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MÁV armoured train during the WW I
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The world's first locomotive with a phase converter was Kandó's V50 locomotive (only for demonstration and testing purposes)
The Ganz Works identified the significance of induction motors and synchronous motors commissioned Kálmán Kandó (1869–1931) to develop it. In 1894, Kálmán Kandó developed high-voltage three-phase AC motors and generators for electric locomotives. The first-ever electric rail vehicle manufactured by Ganz Works was a 6 HP pit locomotive with direct current traction system. The first Ganz made asynchronous rail vehicles (altogether 2 pieces) were supplied in 1898 to Évian-les-Bains (Switzerland), with a 37-horsepower (28 kW), asynchronous-traction system. The Ganz Works won the tender of electrification of railway of Valtellina Railways in Italy in 1897. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a main line, rather than just a short stretch. The 106-kilometre (66 mi) Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz works.[8] The electrical system was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. The voltage was significantly higher than used earlier, and it required new designs for electric motors and switching devices.[9][10] In 1918,[11] Kandó invented and developed the rotary phase converter, enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high voltage national networks.[12]
1918–1939
At the end of World War I, after
Between the world wars, development focused on existing
In the early 1930s, almost all Hungarian branch line operators went bankrupt because of the Great Depression. DSA, the Hungarian successor to the former Austrian-Hungarian Southern Railway, went into receivership. MÁV took over DSA's branch lines and all property in 1932 and continued to operate them. MÁV thus became the only major railway operator in Hungary, the impact of the few other independent railway companies (GySEV, AEGV) being negligible.
1939–1950
Between 1938 and 1941 Hungary received temporary territorial gains from Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia. The main goal of the MÁV was to reintegrate the newly returned rail network (that was originally built by MÁV, but several border crossings were dismantled). The biggest construction of the time was the Déda-Szeretfalva railway, because the new border in Transylvania after the Second Vienna Award cut the rail network into two parts with no connection, while Romania closed all newly created rail border crossings not alloving Hungarian domestic traffic through on the original main route. Despite all efforts, after losing the war, Hungary lost all newly gained territories.
During late
After World War II the track, buildings and service equipment were repaired with tremendous efforts in relatively short time. By 1948 most of the railway system was operable, some larger bridges needing more time to be rebuilt. The first electrified section was already in use by October 1945. The Red Army sold back the confiscated rolling stock and locomotives were returned from Austria and Germany. To accelerate reconstruction MÁV purchased 510 USATC S160 Class locomotives which became MÁV Class 411.
1950–2000
In the 1950s, an accelerated
All the time the production of steam locomotives continued, but at first in small numbers, as the Hungarian industry was fully booked producing Soviet war reparations. This included steam locomotives to Soviet designs, passenger and freight cars, and many other goods. The development of diesel locomotives started. The successor of the Kandó V40 locomotives, the Class V55 proved to be a failure and MÁV decided to purchase no more phase converter engines.
During the
By 1964, the German-designed, domestically-built
To this day 120 km/h (75 mph) (particularly 160 km/h (100 mph)) remains the top speed for trains in Hungary, though
2000–2010
As the post-2000 Hungarian political establishment became very much focused on the perceived "autobahn-gap" compared to better-routed Slovakia and especially Croatia and decided to upgrade the highway system, there was no significant domestic funding for developing the Hungarian Railway especially for the small regional lines. Recent developments include the purchase of twelve Siemens Desiro diesel railbuses for commuter routes and the order for Swiss Stadler Flirts, a type of very advanced electric self-propelled train for medium range shuttle paths, which is mired in a selection scandal against Bombardier's more established, but conservatively engineered Talent trains.
The GySEV
In 2006 the government was elected for promises, among those are making the lines between cities double-tracked, electrified, and validated for 160 km/h (by this transferring highway-cargo of companies to more environment-friendly, faster and greater capacity transportation). This was supposed to be done by first building the new track then building the remaining one in the place of the original one. The only possible way to finance the project was with the help of EU funds. EU supervision revised the plans and the projected cost but this delayed starting. During construction, the actual billings were also checked. Because of the delay and the lengthy construction works, most of the lines are still not opened in the planned state. The building works are largely forgotten by public consciousness because of the following:
On 7 December 2006, as part of a broader economic restriction package, the Hungarian government announced its intention to stop operation on 14 regional lines with a total length of 474 km (295 mi). The government, referring to an obligation under the constitution, ensured access to public transit in all settlements by installing bus routes and buses from Volánbusz Mass-Transit Company. This in cases when single railway stations served multiple villages, meant bus stations were established in the centers or ends of each settlement. This and increasing frequency theoretically can be done while eliminating the high fuel (diesel or electricity) consumption of the trains and their maintenance cost.
The first plans of
On 4 March 2007 service was suspended on 14 lines: Pápa–Környe, Pápa–Csorna, Zalabér–Zalaszentgrót, Lepsény–Hajmáskér, Sellye–Villány, Diósjenő–Romhány, Kisterenye–Kál–Kápolna, Mezőcsát–Nyékládháza, Kazincbarcika–Rudabánya, Nyíradony–Nagykálló, Békés–Murony, Kunszentmiklós–Dunapataj, Fülöpszállás–Kecskemét and Kiskőrös–Kalocsa. Many of these have since been reopened by the new government.
On 20 April 2007, the Index news web portal published material from internal MÁV studies, which indicated the new company leadership and the government intend to close all small regional railway lines after 2008, to eliminate sources of reincurring unfinanced expenses at MÁV (the to-be-closed lines' expenses are ten times as large as their incomes). This would leave only the international railway lines and large rural-to-town routes running.
However, in 2010, when Fidesz returned to power, the new government announced that they would undo a plethora of transportation decisions made by the socialists. Ten rural railway lines, previously closed with the reason of low revenues, were reopened with much fanfare. The government states both bus and railway system have to be developed, and most settlements shouldn't be limited to have only one type of station.
2010s
In the 2010s Hungary received large EU funds to modernize its rail network. These reconstruction works were concentrated on main corridor lines and suburban lines of Budapest, where most sections got complete overhauls. The branch lines were left in poor condition and still operate with old diesel railcars, speeds rarely exceed 60 km/h not receiving any funds for modernization. This caused the passenger numbers to stagnate, although the newly modernized suburban lines gained new passengers, the rural network was falling into a downward spiral.
In February 2013, for the first time in its history, the railway started to train women drivers. The Times quoted a spokesman as saying that since there are no steam trains, there is no need for heavy lifting.[13][14]
Rolling Stock
Stadler KISS
MÁV-Start entered into a framework contract with Stadler in 2017 for the purchase of a maximum of 40, 6-train unit motor trains, of which 11 will be the first installments. The wagon body and bogie of the motor trains is assembled in Szolnok, the non-driven middle wagon section and the final assembly of the trains take place at the Dunakeszi Vehicle Repair, so the domestic production rate of the trains will be more than 50%. In 2018, MÁV-Start called for an additional 8 motor trains, and in 2019, preparations for drawing up the remaining 21 began. Trains will run on the Budapest-Cegléd-Szolnok and Budapest-Szob railway lines from 2020, both of which are the busiest in the country.
On 16 July 2019, the first motor train, numbered 815,001, was publicly displayed.
All trains are expected to operate on the Budapest suburban lines by 2021.[needs update]
IC+ project
The IC+ project
Currently, the premium IC+ coaches run on Intercity services to Szeged, to Lake Balaton and on the Circular Intercity service on the Budapest- Szolnok-Debrecen-Nyíregyháza-Miskolc-Budapest route, which includes all major cities in Eastern Hungary. 35 coaches are to be built in total. [17]
Railway stations
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MÁV currently operates over 600 stations and 700 railway stops. Many of the railway's major, central stations (and also numerous major stations within the
Budapest
- Déli Railway Station(South)
- Keleti Railway Station(East, Central)
- Nyugati Railway Station(West)
- Kelenföld Railway Station
- Kőbánya-Kispest Railway Station
- Ferihegy station
- Ferencváros Railway Station
- Kőbánya alsó station
- Kőbánya felső Railway Station
- Pestszentlőrinc station
- Szemeretelep station
- Zugló station
Miskolc
- Miskolc-Tiszai Railway Station
- Miskolc-Gömöri Railway Station
Pécs
Debrecen
- Debrecen Railway Station (Nagyállomás)
- Debrecen-Csapókert Station
Szeged
- Szeged Railway Station
- Szeged-Rókus Station
Győr
Nyíregyháza
- Nyíregyháza Railway Station
- Nyíregyháza-Külső Station
As the only railway station on the first ever Hungarian railway line to remain in its original form, Vác station is essentially the oldest station building in Hungary (renovated in 2013).
Statistics
- Railway lines total: 7,606 km (4,726 mi)
- Standard gauge: 7,394 km (4,594 mi)
- Broad gauge: 36 km (22 mi) of 1,520 mm(4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
- Narrow gauge: 176 km (109 mi)
Note: The standard and broad gauge railways are operated by the State Railways and also the following narrow gauge railways:
See also
- Rail transport in Hungary
- Transport in Hungary
- List of railway lines in Hungary
- Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways
- BHÉV
References
- ^ "Viharos vasúteladások (Hungarian)". 7 August 2007.
- ^ "Contact Archived 23 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine." Hungarian State Railways. Retrieved on 23 April 2014. "H-1087 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán krt. 54-60."
- ISBN 9780520232990.
- ^ "Hipo Hipo – Kálmán Kandó(1869–1931)". Sztnh.gov.hu. 29 January 2004. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "VINCZE TAMÁS nyugalmazott MÁV igazgató : 100 éves a MÁV 601 sor. mozdonya" (PDF). Vasutgepeszet.hu. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ISBN 9635521618
- ^ Wolfgang Lübsen: Die Orientbahn und ihre Lokomotiven. in: Lok-Magazin 57, December 1972, pp. 448–452
- ISBN 978-0-85296-805-5.
- ^ "Kalman Kando". Omikk.bme.hu. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ "Kalman Kando". Profiles.incredible-people.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-85296-805-5.
- ^ Hungarian Patent Office. "Kálmán Kandó (1869–1931)". www.mszh.hu. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
- ^ Először ülhet nő mozdonyra
- ^ "Hungary starts training women to be engine drivers". Budapest Business Journal (AFP). 5 February 2013.
- ^ "MÁV IC+", Wikipédia (in Hungarian), 25 July 2023, retrieved 1 September 2023
- ^ "Sorozatgyártásban az IC+". iho.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Már mindegyik kör-IC járatban utazhatunk az IC+ prémium fülkéjében". MÁV-csoport (in Hungarian). 30 December 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
External links
- Official site of MÁV
- Official site of MÁV-Start (passenger trains operator)
- Rail Cargo Hungary (ex-MÁV, Rail Cargo Austria Group)
- Railway map - with junctions and track types
- Railway map - with all stations, Hungarian-German description
- Photographs of railway stations
- Railways and Tourism, Public Transport in Hungary
- Railway photos arranged on a map at benbe.hu
- Budapest public transport map