Inspections underway on Hungarian section of Belgrade-Budapest railroad: Rail traffic from mid-February if all checks get green light

While the Serbian side announces that regular passenger traffic between Belgrade and Budapest will be established by May at the latest, more specific and detailed information is coming from Hungary these days about the imminent launch of the section of the railroad through their country, the opening of which is one of the main prerequisites for the return of direct rail traffic between the two countries after several years. Namely, Vilaggazdasag writes and hungarytoday.hu reports that, if TUV (Association for Technical Inspections), which was engaged by the Hungarian Ministry of Construction and Transport, determines that everything is in order, the Hungarian government will approve passenger transport on the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railroad in mid-February.

As stated, the work in Hungary has been slowed down by challenges such as the installation and integration of modern safety equipment, which is necessary for high-speed trains. In addition, as an EU member, the 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, the text explains, is important due to the presence of China, because the Export-Import Bank of China is not only financing around 85% of the costs of the Hungarian section in the form of loans, but the Chinese are also supplying technical solutions and rail systems to Hungary.

The article reminds that it is well known that the safety and signaling systems that China planned for the high-speed railroad did not have EU operating licenses and therefore did not comply with the European Union’s standardized requirements for ETCS (European Train Control System). This was eventually overcome by the use of hybrid technology (not only Chinese technology was used in this area), which, although outdated, allowed trains to travel at a speed of 160 km/h in Hungary, even in foggy conditions.

For all these reasons, the Hungarian Ministry of Construction and Transport has commissioned the German TUV to conduct an independent audit by January at the latest, which will thoroughly examine the technical, financial and safety conditions of the Budapest-Belgrade rail line.

– After the tragedy in Novi Sad, we have hired an international inspection company, independent of the Hungarian state, the Chinese state and all other parties involved, to examine the technical, financial and safety conditions of the Budapest-Belgrade rail line – explained Hungarian Minister Janos Lazar at a hearing before the Parliament’s Economic Committee in early December.

If TUV determines that everything is in order, the Hungarian government will approve passenger transport from mid-February. By the way, trial operation already began in December.

As Hungarian media remind, according to reports in the Serbian press, Vienna will also be connected to the Belgrade-Budapest rail line. When the railway extension project is completed, 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 a stop. As many Serbs and Hungarians from Vojvodina travel between the three cities, the importance of the electrified, double-track high-speed railway will continue to grow. The current journey from Belgrade to Budapest takes around eight hours, but when the project is completed, this will be reduced to 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The rail company MAV (Hungarian State Railways) confirmed to Vilaggazdasag that there would indeed be a connection between Belgrade, Budapest and Vienna, with two trains. They stressed that the reconstruction of the Budapest–Belgrade rail line would not only improve the rail connection between the two countries. As explained, thanks to the modernization in consultation with the Austrian rail company, the former EuroCity Avala line between Vienna and Belgrade via Budapest will be returned to service, and the EuroCity Ivo Andric, which previously served as a connection between Belgrade and Budapest, will now operate to Vienna. MAV also announced that the connections would be coordinated with the EuroCity line that departed every hour between Budapest and Vienna.

Let us remind that passenger traffic on the Serbian section of the line from Belgrade to Subotica was launched in October last year, but without trains stopping at the Novi Sad station, where they have not stopped since the tragedy of November 1, 2024, when a canopy collapsed and killed 16 innocent people. What will happen to this station building and when and whether it will be restored to function at all is still unknown. What is known is that Ekstra-Auto Transport and the Institute of Transportation CIP will carry out work on the renovation of the Technical Passenger Station in Novi Sad, which will serve the residents of Novi Sad as an alternative to the rail station, which is out of service and whose stability has not yet been thoroughly tested.

By the way, trains on the Serbian section of the high-speed railway have not been punctual to the minute for a long time, as they were in the first two or two and a half years of operation, and their departure delays, or if not departure delays, then arrival delays, are becoming more frequent – both when it comes to regional express trains and Soko trains. These delays are usually up to ten minutes, but they are certainly hard to understand if one knows that they are happening on a completely new rail line on which modern, new trains operate.