It is going slow, but it is moving forward. The passenger division of Hungarian railways, MÁV-Start recently took delivery of 20 IC+ coaches, made in Hungary, for international services. Now, it has been confirmed that soon 70 more passenger coaches will follow, now for domestic services.
We have seen one at Innotrans 2018 and we have seen them in Budapest – Prague – Hamburg EC trains too; The three-shades-of-blue-coaches made by the MÁV-owned facility in the Hungarian town of Szolnok. In 2014-2015 two prototypes were constructed, five years after (!) the decision was taken to produce them. In 2017 the production of an additional twenty coaches started; Their delivery was finalized in July 2019.
- 2 prototypes (2014-2015)
- 20x for international services (2017-2019)
- 70x for domestic service (2019-2021)
70 coaches for domestic services
Since August 2019, the production of another 70 IC+ coaches is ongoing, this time purposed for domestic services only. With deliveries between January of this year and the spring of 2021, these should enter service on Balaton express trains to Keszthely, from Záhony and Miskolc to Lake Balaton, from Budapest to Miskolc, Békéscsaba as well as Nyíregyháza.
„We need at least three hundred new IC + wagons before the passenger market is expected to open in 2023.“ states Róbert Homolya, Chairman and CEO of MÁV Zrt.
inside an IC+ coach – InnoTrans 2018:
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