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State transport company MÁV’s CEO Zsolt Hegyi announced that the first Vectron electric locomotive for hire has started its work. In the video, he also stressed that every other MÁV locomotive will be modern by summer 2026.
“Following the technical inspection and the foil coating, we have put our Vectron electric locomotive into service,” Zsolt Hegyi announced in his latest Facebook post. The MÁV CEO said that the locomotive has started working on the Budapest-Miskolc-Sátoraljaújhely (northern Hungary) line, and soon the five other locomotives that have already arrived will be seen in service across the country. These more modern vehicles will strengthen MÁV’s locomotive fleet, improving regularity, and it is hoped, passenger satisfaction.
According to Hegyi,
this is the largest locomotive fleet renewal program in the last 30 years, with the largest number of locomotives to have arrived on Hungarian railways in a single year since the change of regime.”
The CEO promised that every second locomotive will be modernized by the summer of 2026, and 90 percent of InterCity trains will be hauled by these modern locomotives. “As of today, these locomotives will be in service almost continuously throughout the year,” added Hegyi, stressing that the renewal of the locomotive fleet is necessary to increase the reliability of their rolling stock and to make it easier to keep to the timetable.
The development was also announced by Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár on his Facebook page.
At the end of January, another new type of locomotive made its debut: the first Astride, leased by MÁV from Akiem, entered service on the Pécs side (southwestern Hungary) of the line, on Mecsek InterCity. The multi-current Astride locomotives, manufactured by the French company Alstom, are capable of operating on the domestic 25 kilovolt overhead line network and can tow trains at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.
As Hungary Today reported, the minister announced several public transport improvements, one of which was the reinforcement of the locomotive fleet, since currently 200 electric locomotives are in service a day, of which only 50 are modern. As a result, 55 locomotives will be added to the fleet this year, the rest in 2026. This will mean that 40 new electric locomotives and 15 new heavy-duty diesel locomotives will be in service for the summer season this year. The ministry has managed to find modern locomotives in mint condition on the European market, said Lázár. These locomotives will be leased, contracts have been signed, and deliveries are underway.
Featured photo via Facebook/MÁV-csoport