BUDAPEST – Passenger trains operating at speeds of 160 km/h on the Belgrade-Budapest railway are unlikely to begin running before Hungary’s parliamentary election on 12 April. According to a statement from Hungary’s Ministry of Construction and Transport, the line is expected to become operation no earlier than the summer, although no new target date has been specified.
As reported by Hungarian media outlet Telex, computer-based testing, followed by on-track testing of the train control system, can only begin after 7 April, effectively ruling out completion of the project before the elections, as previously promised by the Hungarian government.
The ministry said that one of the mandatory conditions for launching passenger services at 160 km/h is the commissioning of ETCS train control system, its testing, and the subsequent approval for operational use.
According to Telex, the first round of software testing has no been completed, and the Chinese contractor has received reports identifying detected errors, which it has committed to fixing by 7 April.
Once the issues are addressed, the Chinese side will submit an updated version of the software, after which computer-based testing will begin. This will be followed by physical testing of the system on the railway line.
During the computer-based testing phase, trains will be required to run 20.000 kilometers without interruption or errors in order for the system to receive operation approval.
The Hungarian ministry noted that resolving all potential issues typically takes at least three months. In the case of the Budapest-Belgrade railway, authorities said efforts would be made to accelerate the process as much as possible.
However, the statement also stressed that “traffic safety will not be compromised for the sake of acceleration”, indicating that existing regulations will not be bypassed.
Telex reported that the ministry’s announcement effectively confirmed what experts and media outlets have been indicating for months – that the train control system on the Budapest-Belgrade line would not be completed before the elections.
According to Telex sources, the most optimistic scenarios in recent weeks pointed to late April of May, but the actual completion of ETCS system has generally been projected for the summer.
The work has been further complicated by the resignation of the two most experienced TCS specialists from Hungarian railways over the past three months, both of whom were needed for the computer-based testing.
Telex also reported in 2023 that Chinese subcontractors working on the Budapest–Belgrade project were likely to face difficulties implementing an ETCS system that meets European standards.
Politicians from Hungary’s ruling party largely remained silent on the issue or denied that there were problems with the project, which at the time was scheduled to become operational in 2025.
