These temporary or longer-term speed restrictions are known in Hungarian railway terminology as *lassújelek*, or “slow orders”. Removing them often involves detailed maintenance rather than a large, highly visible construction project: cleaning the track bed, replacing worn rails and components, and reinforcing the infrastructure.
Világgazdaság reported on 7 November that MÁV, Hungary’s state railway company, would carry out maintenance on around 26 kilometres of the Budapest–Győr–Hegyeshalom main line by 13 December. Existing speed restrictions will be removed on almost three kilometres of track, while work on other sections is intended to prevent new restrictions from becoming necessary.
Work from Budaörs to Hegyeshalom
More than ten locations are included in the programme. Railway crews are working around Budaörs, Bicske, Tatabánya and Tata, as well as in Almásfüzitő, Komárom, Győr and Mosonmagyaróvár.
At least 8,000 tonnes of crushed stone will be moved during the autumn works. Wooden sleepers will be replaced with reinforced concrete sleepers at three sets of points, while rails will also be renewed at several locations.
Part of the maintenance began in October. During the track closures that month, crews cleaned the crushed-stone bed along 1,300 metres of railway. Components were replaced in four sets of points, with worn sections repaired by welding at another eight.
Dávid Vitézy, Hungary’s minister for transport and investment, said on Facebook that removing the restrictions would recover a combined 12 minutes currently lost on the main line. This does not necessarily mean that every train will become exactly 12 minutes faster: the figure represents the total effect attributed to the restrictions being removed.
Why a short slow section affects the wider timetable
A speed restriction on a deteriorated stretch of railway directly adds to journey times. Trains must brake before reaching it and accelerate again afterwards. Világgazdaság wrote that repairing track faults could reduce technical disruptions, while less frequent braking and acceleration may also lower energy use.
The work comes as MÁV’s punctuality figures have deteriorated. In October, former transport state secretary Bálint Nagy cited the railway company’s summer statistics, saying that the number of trains operated in summer 2026 had risen by just 0.6 per cent year on year. Over the same period, the number delayed by more than five minutes increased by nearly 30 per cent, while delays exceeding 20 minutes rose by 48 per cent.
According to the figures he cited, overall punctuality fell from 79.01 per cent to 72.89 per cent. For InterCity, EuroCity and railjet xpress services, it dropped from 49.28 per cent to 34.25 per cent. By August, only about one in three of these trains arrived within the five-minute tolerance.
More funding proposed for smaller repairs
The work on the Győr main line forms part of a nationwide programme to remove speed restrictions. Vitézy has argued that smaller track and station repairs need continuous funding alongside major railway investments.
According to the minister, Hungary’s draft 2027 budget allocates 80 billion forints for smaller MÁV track and station projects, up from 30 billion forints. The proposed fund would also pay for the removal of speed restrictions.
The current maintenance programme is due to continue until 13 December at more than ten points on the Budapest–Győr–Hegyeshalom line. The locations named include Budaörs, Bicske, the areas around Tatabánya and Tata, Almásfüzitő, Komárom, Győr and Mosonmagyaróvár.
Source: Világgazdaság
