“Rail plays a determining role in the implementation of Hungarian foreign trade strategy”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stressed at a conference organised by the HUNGRAIL Hungarian Rail Association.
“The Government is spending 1500 billion forints (EUR 4.8bn) on rail development project until 2020, is modernising 900 kilometres of railway line; new vehicle capacity to seat 45 thousand people is being creates, and new transport equipment and railway carriages are appearing on Hungary’s railway lines”, he said, adding that as a result of the development projects, the length of Hungary’s electric rail network will increase to 3300 kilometres over the next 2-3 years.
The Minister highlighted the fact that Hungary’s foreign economy has broken all previous records every year wine 2014, but that this must also be followed by infrastructure development projects.
“If the rail network is not developed, then our chances of achieving further foreign trade records will also be endangered”, Mr. Szijjártó said.
In his lecture, the Minister explained that rapidly changing global economic conditions are making the battle that countries are fighting for investments, for development projects, and for job creation, is getting increasingly tough.
“Hungary has the lowest rate of corporation tax and personal income tax in Europe, but investors planning to realise projects here regularly enquire about whether there are enough available workers and what the country’s logistics possibilities are like”, the Minister explained.
“Hungary is progressing extremely well, and according to the World Bank’s logistics rankings for 2016 is in 31st place among the 160 countries examined, an improvement of 21 places over the past six years”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó indicated.
Mr. Szijjártó recalled that according to figures for the first two quarters of the year the export value of freight transport increased by 6 percent to 512 billion forints (EUR 1.6bn) in six months, while the total value of exports also increased by 6 percent to reach 883 billion forints (EUR 2.7bn). Within this, imports via rail also increased by 6 percent to 40 billion forints, while exports increased by an outstanding 13 percent to almost 50 billion forints, he said.
With relation to major rail investments, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted the fact that negotiations are ongoing with Slovenia concerning the development of rail infrastructure connecting the port of Koper, and following a few minor tasks trains will be able to access the sea port, which is extremely important to Hungary’s foreign trade, without the need to change engines.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade highlighted the fact that the China-CEEC summit will be held in Budapest in November, at which China’s Prime Minister will be meeting with the prime ministers of 16 Central and Eastern European countries. The summit will provide the backdrop for the launching of the tender for the construction of the Hungarian stretch of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, while according to plan construction work on the railway line will begin in Serbia while the summit is being held.
Mr. Szijjártó also mentioned that negotiations are ongoing with Croatia and Bosnia to enable Croatian Railways to once again become involved in rail passenger transport between Budapest and Sarajevo.
He also told those present that preparations had begun for the development of a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca, Romania). In accordance with the request of the Romanian Government, this will be the first phase of a planned high-speed rail link between Budapest and Bucharest.
Preparations for the development of rail infrastructure linking Budapest and Munkács (Mukacsevo, Ukraine) are also underway with Ukraine, and negotiations are also ongoing with Slovakia on the reestablishment of passenger services along existing cross-border rail capacities, Mr. Szijjártó continued.
In her speech, CEO of MÁV Cls. and President of Hungrail Ilona Dávid stressed that the fact that that the conference is part of the official programme of Hungary’s presidency of the Visegrád Group (V4) is proof of the acknowledgement of the determining role played by the rail sector. The main goals of the Hungarian presidency include reinforcing north-south transport links and improving the competitiveness of rail passenger and freight transport, she highlighted.
Hungary plays an important role in developing links between European partners via its favourable geographical location and its transport infrastructure. However, in the interests of continued growth, the quality of services must be improved through assuring the further modernisation of rail infrastructure and the interoperability of railway lines, the CEO of MÁV explained.
In his lecture, Minister of State for transport Policy Róbert Homolya from the Ministry of National Development said rail could be one of the clear winners of the European Union’s environmental protection and carbon reduction undertakings.
With relation to the planned development projects, Mr. Homolya said planning is underway for the establishment of a railway connection to Liszt Ferenc international Airport, with the public procurement procedure expected to be launched in 2019; the government is searching for EU funding for the realisation of the project.
He also highlighted the act that according to plans, the concept for the development of Budapest’s suburban railway system (HÉV), which is also owned by MÁV Cls., will be discussed by the Cabinet in late October, early November. According to the Minister of State the funding requirements for the project are very high and are estimated at several hundreds of billions of forints, and the investment is expected to take 6-8 years to complete.