“We want a modern railway,” Transport Minister János Lázár said in Szolnok.
Stadler CEO Peter Spuhler described Szolnok as the largest plant for car bodies in Central and Eastern Europe. At Stadler Kft., the company presented the first fully painted car body for the new Flirt multiple units, which will enter service as InterCity trains for the private railway GYSEV in western Hungary. Lázár announced the signing of a contract with the Swiss company for the purchase of eleven new Flirt trains. Negotiations are also underway for an additional ten trains that the ministry plans to buy from Stadler for 40 billion Forint (just under 105 million euros). Twice that amount is tied to another agreement for 93 multiple units that have already served for 15–20 years. Stadler plans to deliver these trains after a full modernization and will also take over their maintenance.
Regarding the planned modernization of Budapest’s suburban rail network (HÉV), the minister announced a tender for the procurement of 54 trains, valued at 350 billion Forint (910 million euros). Meanwhile, Stadler is strengthening its Szolnok site with a 17 billion Forint investment (around 45 million euros), supported by 4.8 billion Forint in state funding. Lázár praised the Swiss company’s commitment, which he said provides a strong outlook for rail vehicle manufacturing, maintenance, and repair in Szolnok for the next decade.
When it comes to repairs, the government is also counting on the Dunakeszi site, where MÁV will acquire a majority stake in the company operating there. Lázár expressed hope that the two plants would be capable of strategic cooperation in the future. Modernizing both MÁV and GYSEV remains a key strategic goal. Thanks to new pass options, usage of local and long‑distance services has doubled within five years. The state plans to respond to this trend with an investment of roughly 4 billion euros, backed by financing from the EBRD. (This remark by the minister is noteworthy because, according to his own comments, a request for 1 billion euros from the EIB was recently rejected.)
GYSEV CEO László Mosóczi called the partnership with Stadler—ongoing for more than a decade and a half—a guarantee of quality performance. The first new InterCity trains from Szolnok will enter service on the private railway’s network in two years, which meanwhile has expanded to more than 750 kilometers. Peter Spuhler, chairman of the board of Stadler Rail AG, pointed out that components for the first IC multiple units commissioned in Hungary in three decades are being produced in the relatively young 15‑year‑old Szolnok plant. Deliveries under the contract will begin gradually at the end of 2027. Stadler has continuously invested in the site, which is now the region’s largest specialized plant. More than 6,000 car bodies for railways in 14 countries have already been delivered from Szolnok.
Artificial intelligence was used to assist in the translation of parts of the original German text.
