Hellish Hungarian heatwave hits railways hard!

On Thursday, MÁV offered a 50 percent discount for participants of the Balaton Crossing. However, on Friday morning the company issued a warning, urging passengers to only take the train if absolutely necessary. What is really happening? Continue reading below to find out more details.

Despite meteorologists predicting the arrival of the heat wave days in advance, MÁV issued a warning only on Friday morning that the extreme heat could cause disruption and even major delays to rail services, and asked passengers to travel only if absolutely necessary towards the end of the week. In a statement on Thursday, however, the company offered a 50 percent discount on occasional return fares for participants in the Balaton Crossing on Saturday.

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Hungarian expert opinion

“It could be seen as a positive thing that they tell you in advance not to travel by train if you don’t have to. This is indeed a way of encouraging people to drive. And at least it’s not a surprise if the train doesn’t come,” Áron Szalay, founder of the NGO Közlekedő Tömeg (Transporting the Mass), tells Népszava with some irony. He is referring to the announcement made by MÁV on Friday morning. As the railway company writes, “in the hot weather, due to thermal expansion, damaging material tension is generated in the tracks and overhead lines”.