The organization reported on its website that an on-site inspection and collected evidence revealed that the bolts securing one of the switch rails on the No. 4/a switch had broken. As a result, when the switch was operated, the control rod moved into the required position without actually shifting the rail. This caused the signaling system to incorrectly register the switch as being in the correct position, even though the rails were not aligned.

One of the bolts had been broken and rusted for some time, while the other may have been damaged during the switching process, the report noted.

Last Sunday evening, five passenger carriages of the Claudiopolis InterCity train, traveling from Cluj-Napoca, derailed just outside Keleti Railway Station. No one was injured, but the accident caused significant disruptions to rail traffic. The regular schedule has since been fully restored.

Derailment Causes War of Words Between Vitézy and Lázár

The incident sparked a major public debate. Dávid Vitézy, the former State Secretary for Transport who also came second in the election for Mayor of Budapest this year, took to social media to criticize the current state of Hungary’s railway system, pointing to the incident as evidence of systemic failures.

He specifically accused Minister of Construction and Investment János Lázár of halting crucial infrastructure projects, including the replacement of the very switch involved in the derailment, implying that this decision contributed to the accident.

In response, Lázár fired back, accusing Vitézy of using misleading claims to stir public outrage and undermine the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV). Lázár labeled Vitézy’s comments as betrayals of his former colleagues and dismissed his criticisms as politically motivated.

He argued that the projects Vitézy referenced would not have been completed in time to prevent the derailment, even if they had not been rescheduled due to economic constraints.