In a post on Facebook, Vitezy said the collapse of the Dunakeszi vehicle repair company, inherited from the previous government, had left MÁV with its worst-ever rolling stock shortage.
A quarter of its trains are currently out of service awaiting repairs or inspections, leaving the company with even fewer carriages than last year for the peak summer season, he said.
Thanks to a rapid agreement with ÖBB, four first-class, bicycle-friendly carriages are now operating on the Balaton Kek Hullam InterCity service, while two first-class and two second-class carriages have been added to the Bekes InterCity, he said.
Vitézy described the support as essential for the season while MÁV addresses its backlog of maintenance and fleet management issues. He also highlighted the recent agreement with the European Commission, securing EUR 16.4 billion in European Union funds for Hungary, which, he said, would enable the purchase of 35 new InterCity trains.
In a follow-up post, Vitézy said he had visited the Dunakeszi repair facility with MÁV’s leaders over the weekend.
He noted that the aim was to salvage the plant, which employs 780 workers and has been idle for a year. Its closure now threatened Hungary’s rail services, he warned.
Vitézy blamed the situation on the Fidesz government’s privatisation of the repair company, saying it had been sold to Russian-linked “and politically connected businesses”. These firms, he insisted, had extracted profits before driving it into bankruptcy, leaving dozens of MÁV’s best carriages stranded at the facility, awaiting parts.
In a statement, opposition Fidesz said the Dunakeszi rail repair plant had been pushed into financial ruin by European Union sanctions, risking hundreds of jobs and Hungary’s rail network.
The plant was involved in fulfilling a 1 billion euro Egyptian rail contract, but sanctions forced its Russian partner to withdraw in 2022, leaving the Hungarian firm to shoulder the costs alone, Fidesz’s parliamentary group said.
By late 2024, the company faced HUF 38 bln (EUR 107.9 million) in short-term debts and HUF 36 bln in losses, leading to liquidation orders in October 2025, they added.
The Hungarian government stepped in, with state-owned MÁV repurchasing the facility to save jobs and production, Fidesz said.
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