Hungarian rail operator MÁV launches €-billion bus procurement to boost long-distance service

MÁV, acting on a directive from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, has opened a procurement process for 105 new double-deck long-distance buses. Fifty-five of these vehicles will operate on the country’s busiest intercity routes, including services to Zalaegerszeg, Salgótarján, Pécs, Hódmezővásárhely and Szekszárd, replacing aging buses that have each covered more than one million kilometres. The other fifty buses are intended to fill gaps created by the Baross Gábor Plan’s extensive railway upgrades, ensuring that InterCity trains displaced by track work can be adequately substituted.

The initiative is backed by recent EU funding that will finance large-scale rail infrastructure projects across Hungary. Officials note that, since the ministry was established, MÁV has launched procurement for a total of 515 new buses, a scale that should markedly improve both long-distance and regional transport quality.