HUNGARY: The last train ran on October 19 on the Debrecen – Nagykereki regional railway. Closure of the railway will create space for expansion of Chinese group CATL’s battery plant on the site south of Debrecen airport which has been earmarked for redevelopment.
‘CATL is carrying out developments on state-owned land used by the railway line. The condition of the handover is the demolition of the railway on a section along with recultivation, which must begin in October to complete the handover on time’, national railway group MÁV announced on October 1.
It expects rail operations south of Debrecen to resume in the future with completion of a planned 160 km/h main line linking Debrecen to Oradea in Romania via Berettyóújfalu and Biharkeresztes. This would follow parts of the existing alignment from Debrecen to a point north of Sáránd, from where it would run south to Berettyóújfalu to join the main line towards Oradea.
However, the Debrecen – Oradea line is only in the early planning stage. It is yet to obtain the necessary planning authorisation and go through land acquisitions, and funding is also yet to be secured.
Part of the existing railway south of Debrecen is to be kept as a freight line running to the industrial park now under development, including new factories and battery plants.
The Debrecen – Nagykereki line saw some investment during the 2010s, which led to a significant ridership increase. However, its condition has since deteriorated, with speed restrictions of 20 km/h applied on some sections. Local media has reported that the railway was the second busiest branch line in Hungary.
MÁV group, which also owns national coach operator Volánbusz, says that the 1 h 18 min journey time offered by replacement buses is around 20 min faster than the rail service could manage, and that some express coaches will be provided to give an even shorter journey time.
