Index – National – The country’s first railway tram was introduced

The country’s first rail tram was unveiled in Szentes on Wednesday afternoon, and is expected to transport passengers between Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely starting in the fall.

In May 2017, MÁV-Start signed a contract with the Spanish Stadler Rail Valencia for the purchase of 12 vehicles. The diesel-electric hybrid passenger trains will have a total of 216 seats, of which 4 will be wheelchair accessible. On the Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely tram lines, trains will be able to travel at a speed of 50 kilometers, while on the open line between cities they will be able to run in diesel mode up to 100%.

The distance between Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely can be covered in about 50-55 minutes by bus, travel time can be reduced to 37 minutes by train and tram. Between the two settlements in Csongrád-Csanád county, flights will be able to leave every 15 minutes during peak hours, making the journey of 10,000 people more comfortable every day.

The investment, which will be financed in part by the European Union and national sources, will cost HUF 70 billion. The railway-tram that will be installed between Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely is intended as a pilot project, János Lázár, the regional deputy and former chancellor, has been appointed its government commissioner.

Lázaro is very hopeful about the investment, he hopes that the two settlements can become twin cities in a few years, which will have a positive effect on the economy, bring services closer together, and also boost intellectual and cultural life.

At the press conference, the government commissioner said about the development dreamed of 15 years ago:

The people of Hódmezővásárhely took God’s foot with this, they made the deal of the century!

According to Lazarus, the government’s goal in the 2010s was to strengthen the economy, and in the 2020s its goal is “to be good to live in the country too.” According to him, the tram is as important a development for the people who live here as the appearance of the railway before.

The government commissioner also said his goal is to continue the tram in the next few years and stop in Subotica in 2024, as this will serve for the reunification of Hungarians in the Carpathian basin.

(Cover image: Tamás Sóki / Index)