Production has officially begun on GYSEV’s new fleet of 11 InterCity electric multiple units, with the trains expected to enter passenger service by the summer of 2028, Transport and Investment Minister Dávid Vitézy announced on Thursday.
The five-car, dual-voltage trains will be capable of operating at speeds of up to 160 km/h and are set to provide InterCity services on the Sopron–Budapest and Szombathely–Budapest routes.
Vitézy noted that GYSEV launched the procurement process for the new fleet in early 2022, with the purchase financed through a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). He added that while the core order proceeded, an option to acquire additional trains was not exercised.
According to the minister, procuring, manufacturing, certifying and delivering a new train fleet can now take as long as five years across Europe.
He said production is already well underway, with the first four trainsets currently in the assembly phase at Stadler’s facility in Siedlce, Poland. The first completed train is expected to arrive in Hungary by the end of this year, where it will undergo certification and regulatory approval.
As a result, some of the new trains could begin carrying passengers during the second half of 2027, ahead of the fleet’s full rollout in 2028.
In his statement, Vitézy argued that Hungary had lost valuable time by postponing or cancelling rolling stock replacement programmes in recent years. He criticized previous investment priorities, saying resources had been directed toward projects such as new office buildings and an oversized bridge in Mohács instead of modernizing the national railway fleet.
The new InterCity trains are intended to bring passengers a standard of service that has long been common across much of Europe. They will feature air-conditioned, low-floor interiors, accessible design, onboard Wi-Fi, USB-C charging ports, modern passenger information systems and dedicated bicycle storage.
The trains will include both first- and second-class accommodation with long-distance seating. Their flexible interior layout will allow operators to adapt capacity to seasonal demand, including space for up to 18 bicycles during the summer months. Seatbacks will also be equipped with holders for tablets and smartphones.
The train bodies are being painted at Stadler’s manufacturing plant in Szolnok before being transported to Siedlce, where final assembly is taking place.
Testing of the new fleet is scheduled to begin in August 2026 and will be carried out simultaneously in Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
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