The development of the Nyugati railway station won EU funds, and the Southern Ring Road investment received a very good rating in the evaluation of the European Commission, announced Dávid Vitézy, the State Secretary responsible for transport policy at the Ministry of Technology and Industry (TIM) on Wednesday after the participation of EU transport leaders in Lyon. The news was announced by MTI.

In a post published on his Facebook page, he indicated: the decision on the European Network Financing Facility (CEF) tenders has become final, and Hungary was successful. "Our goal with the development of the railway is clear: to provide a service that is comfortable for as many passengers as possible, competitive with driving, and to divert as many goods as possible towards environmentally friendly rail transport," he noted.

Plan of the new surface hall to be built behind Nyugati (Source: Budapest Development Center)

The National Transport Center won 2.8 million euros, i.e. 1.1 billion forints, for the development of the Nyugati railway station, he informed. He also added that the tender was a so-called competitive one, so funds were not automatically awarded to Hungary, but could be won through a tender in a competition between the 27 EU member states.

The facade of Nyugati railway station in 2020, before the start of the renovation (Photo: Both Balázs/pestbuda.hu)

The facade of Nyugati railway station is currently being renovated (Photo: pestbuda.hu)

Decisions on CEF's civil-military transport project proposals and those involving alternative fuels were already made in April, he reminded. In Hungary, five development plans worth more than HUF 11 billion can be implemented, he added.

Four projects promote the further expansion of clean and quiet electric cars, among other things, by building the internal charging infrastructure of the capital's airport. In addition, preparations are being made for the development of eleven stations on five trans-Danubian railway lines for faster movement of military units and equipment - Dávid Vitézy detailed in his post.

The state secretary recalled that the European Commission deemed the Hungarian application for the development of the Southern Ring Road in the capital excellent, but the court annulled the environmental protection permit this year, and the financing decision was postponed until it was obtained again. Dávid Vitézy called the investment the most important railway link between the eastern and western half of Hungary.

Source: MTI

Cover photo: The renovated Nyugati railway station seen from Nyugati tér (Source: Budapest Development Center)