📋 Tender Overview
Budapest Veszprem May 20 2026 - This summer it will be possible to travel by train again on the section of the railway line number 20 where passengers were transported by replacement buses until now due to the repair of the track. At the same time this means that a full-fledged railway connection is once again serving the traveling public - via Veszprem - between Zalaegerszeg Szombathely and the capital.
All of this is due to the fact that rail passenger transport between Veszprem and Ajka will resume from May 30 i.e. Saturday and freight trains will be able to travel on the entire line a day earlier so that the reconstructed track can be thoroughly tested from this point of view before the resumption of passenger traffic. The affected section of railway line number 20 has been operated by GYSEV since last summer and passenger transport is carried out by the MAV group.
With the complete re-opening of line 20 - after the elimination of the drainage problems that caused the track to sink as well as the replacement bus period introduced for the duration of the maintenance - passengers can once again travel directly without changing trains on the railway line crossing Bakony in the east-west direction which also plays a significant role in international freight traffic.
The reopening of the section is not only a step forward from the point of view of regular commuters and freight carriers: it also contributes to tourism in the region. It is therefore particularly important that it can serve passenger traffic again this summer.
The track speed will be increased gradually trains can run here without speed restrictions in the high season.
Even after the resumption of train service minor post-construction works must be expected next to the track but these will no longer impede traffic.
The restoration of the railway section between Szentgal and Varoslod-Kislod has received special attention as it is one of the most important transport routes in the region. As a result of the restored substructure a direct railway connection will return on May 30 between Budapest Szekesfehervar Veszprem Ajka as well as between Szombathely and Zalaegerszeg. Thus comfortable fast and transfer-free travel will again be ensured on several routes between the capital and Western Hungary.
According to the decision of the railway operator GYSEV freight trains will be the first to resume traffic thus testing the safe and error-free operation of the refurbished sections equipment on the first day the 29th. Despite temporary gradually increased speed restrictions trains will operate according to the original schedule allowing hourly travel between Veszprem and Ajka with intermediate settlements served by bus services as before. The Bakony and Gocsej intercity trains will operate with express carriages and one intercity carriage the latter being air-conditioned and suitable for bicycle transport. To ensure more reliable and accurate transport some of the trains are already pulled by modern Vectron locomotives.
The resumption of traffic marks the conclusion of an extremely complex and technically challenging restoration process. Geotechnical investigations conducted due to the deterioration of track conditions caused by intense rainfall at the end of 2024 revealed that the presence of soil and groundwater led to faster and riskier damage than expected. Therefore experts ordered more serious and long-term interventions and the temporary suspension of passenger traffic.
The start of construction was preceded by a complicated and lengthy public procurement procedure which is why the work area could only be handed over in early February of this year - to the contractor Swietelsky Railway Technology Ltd. on behalf of GYSEV Zrt. and MAV Track Operation Ltd. - which then immediately began intensive restoration work.
Significant demolition and restoration work
During the demolition the geotechnical problems justifying the closure of the railway section were confirmed and in the subsoil several layers were found at a depth of 8-9 meters including the so-called sliding layer which is a soil surface along which moisture can cause loosened soil layers to shift. This also contributed to the slow movement of the embankment and it may have been behind the track movements observed in previous years. To ensure precise excavation and treatment continuous consultations were held between the client MAV and GYSEV as well as the designer and further demolition work was also carried out thus completely removing the problematic soil layers uncovered during construction.
Due to the damage caused by soil and groundwater the embankment had to be rebuilt in places to a depth of three floors: interventions took place at a depth of nearly 9 meters in the most critical section approximately 150 meters long during which modern dewatering and stabilizing systems were installed by experts to ensure the safety and stability of the track.
At three locations shafts were built to a depth of 10-11 meters and about 150 gravel piles were also prepared which were connected by directional drilling. The water collected in the shafts is drained by pumping systems thus allowing proper dewatering of the layer beneath the embankment. In addition more than 13000 cubic meters of earth were excavated railway cables were replaced and placed on a new route and the complete structural reconstruction of the embankment was also completed.
Before the current intervention complementing it in 2024 a deep drainage system was built on the right side of the track 265 meters long and an average of 8 meters deep which will effectively capture and drain the groundwater coming from the hill preventing water from entering the embankment from this direction.
In the current phase of construction the embankment construction work has already been completed. New overhead line poles have been erected on the reconstructed section and the construction of the railway track has largely been r
