European Railroad Discussion > Hungary Day 2

From Győr I drove east a few miles along Highway 1, past a new Ro Ro terminal, steel warehouse and oil terminal served by a spur off the Budapest to Vienna mainline to the small village of Nagyszentjános, primarily to get a shot of EN463 the Kalman Imre (23:40 ex-Munich). Unfortunately like many of today's night trains it is a pale imitation of its former self, a single sleeping car, single couchette and three chair cars (and no diner).

Back to Győr to watch yard activity, here a Logistic Centre (which is a DBS subsidiary) ex-DB class 290 switcher is switching a cut of cars with auto parts, bound for the Audi assembly plant in Győr.

The line from Győr to Celldömölk is not electrified and is home to these 40 year old class 418 diesel electrics. Originally powered by a French SEMT-Pielsstick PA4-185 engine they have recently been re-engined with a new powerplant to meet new European emission standards. This is the 10:40 from Győr which heads east before turning south and then SW to head through the southern quarter of the town.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/14 23:23 by 86235.

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From Győr I encountered the ex-BR 86s and chased them to Hegyeshalom, I saw them a few kms west of Győr. Despite driving down the motorway at 130 kph I only just managed to get ahead of them. They did the 40+ kms in 30 minutes, which is pretty good going.

Hegyeshalom is the border station between Hungary and Austria as well as being the junction for a line which heads SE to Csorna and one which goes to Rajka on the Slovakian border, a matter of a few miles. All trains stop at Hegyeshalom except freight trains heading towards Slovakia, the yard is where the AC current changes from the 25 kV 50Hz of the MAV to the older 15kV 16 2/3 Hz of the OBB. It is interesting standing by the yard tracks as you can hear not only switches being lined but also circuit breakers opening and closing, switching between the 15kV and 25kV bus bars as trains arrive and leave.

At the east end of the yard a Rail Cargo Austria/Rail Cargo Hungaria train of auto part box cars arrives.

The principal passenger train through Hegyeshalom is the OBB's Railjet service to and from Budapest to a number of destinations in Austria and southern Germany. the Railjets pass each other just east of Hegyeshalom, a GySEV railcar (ex-OBB 5047 class) to Csorna and Szombathely waits for any connecting passengers.

Hegyeshalom is a relatively small town and yet as you can see the station building is enormous. This is because 25 years ago this was one of the points where east met west, where the Iron Curtain could be opened just a little. Hungary was by the 1980s one of the most liberal Eastern Bloc coiuntries, and indeed it was their decision to stop patrolling the border in the summer of 1989 which directly led to the collapse of, firstly, East Germany and then Czechoslovakia. Today there are still a few signs of its former status as the front line between competing ideologies. But that is history, under the Schengen agreement there are no border formailities, you only know you are crossing a border by the appearence of the country name surrounded by the stars of the EU flag (and possibly a change in road surface quality)

Waiting in the yard to head west another OBB 1116 class electric. It is relatively easy to move around the periphery of the yard without incurring the wrath of security.

You can find all my Day 2 pictures here http://nick86235.smugmug.com/Trains/2014/Hungary-2014/i-Srq2RrN



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/14 01:34 by 86235.

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anybody know what those pipes are for in pic#3? the look like they are heading towards the power plant......

66

goneon66 Wrote:
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> anybody know what those pipes are for in pic#3?
> the look like they are heading towards the power
> plant......

Probably steam from the plant being piped into town for centralized steam heat.

As far as I could tell the plant is for district heating and is operated by GYŐR-SZOL

86235 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hegyeshalom is the border station between Hungary
> and Austria as well as being the junction for a
> line which heads SE to Csorna and one which goes
> to Rajka on the Slovakian border, a matter of a
> few miles. All trains stop at Hegyeshalom except
> freight trains heading towards Slovakia, the yard
> is where the AC current changes from the 25 kV
> 50Hz of the MAV to the older 15kV 16 2/3 Hz of the
> OBB....
>
> Hegyeshalom is a relatively small town and yet as
> you can see the station building is enormous. This
> is because 25 years ago this was one of the points
> where east met west, where the Iron Curtain could
> be opened just a little. Hungary was by the 1980s
> one of the most liberal Eastern Bloc coiuntries,
> and indeed it was their decision to stop
> patrolling the border in the summer of 1989 which
> directly led to the collapse of, firstly, East
> Germany and then Czechoslovakia. Today there are
> still a few signs of its former status as the
> front line between competing ideologies. But that
> is history, under the Schengen agreement there are
> no border formailities, you only know you are
> crossing a border by the appearence of the country
> name surrounded by the stars of the EU flag (and
> possibly a change in road surface quality)

I remember stopping in Hegyeshalom on a Vienna - Budapest train in 1990, when the eastern European countries were breaking free of the Soviet bloc. The station and grounds looked pretty dismal. As I recall, we stopped first on the Austrian side of the border where we were boarded by Austrian police who did a cursory walk-thru. Then we moved in Hungary (?) The Hungarian police/border security came through with dogs, checking everyone's passport and visa and giving people the eye. (I had to obtain a visa in Vienna- took a couple hours). No one was smiling. The entire check took probably 45 minutes.

In 1993 I made the same trip and the one-stop check took maybe 10 minutes, people were in a much better mood.

Geodyssey Wrote:
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> In 1993 I made the same trip and the one-stop
> check took maybe 10 minutes, people were in a much
> better mood.

Today there is just a crew change and the change in current from 25kV to 15kV and vice versa.