Budapest–Újszász–Szolnok railway

Budapest–Újszász–Szolnok railway line
Regional train between Gyömrő and Maglódi nyaraló
Route number:120a
Line length:100
Track gauge:1435
Voltage:25 kV 50 Hz AC AC
Maximum speed:100 / 120
Legend
0 Budapest Keleti railway station
crossing to the closed Józsefváros railway station
industrial track to the old Északi Főműhely
Circle rail to Ferencváros railway station
Bridge over line 100a
crossing to the 100a line, "Királyvágány"
5 Kőbánya felső
Crossing with the Circle rail
8 Rákos
80a
14 Rákoshegy
18 Rákoskert
Border of Budapest and Pest County
20 Ecser
23 Maglód
25 Maglódi nyaraló
27 Gyömrő
28 Gyömrő - Tófürdő
30 Mende
33 Pusztaszentistván
38 Sülysáp
39 Szőlősnyaraló
40 Szőlőstelep
42 Magdolnatelep
45 Tápiószecső
50 Szentmártonkáta
55 Nagykáta
61 Tápiószentmárton
65 Farmos
68 Tápiószele
River Tápió
74 Tápiógyörgye
77 Pokoltanya
Border of Pest and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Counties
Line 82, Line 86
84 Újszász
89 Zagyvarékas
94 Abonyi út
Line 145, Line 100a
100 Szolnok
Line 120, Line 100

Budapest–Újszász–Szolnok railway line is the number 120a line of the MÁV. It is a double track, electrified track, which is part of the international rail system. It goes on as Line number 120, which connects Budapest, Békéscsaba, Lökösháza, Arad (in Romania)]. The line from Budapest to Szolnok is 100 km long.

Track

Starting from Budapest as long as to Rákos, it runs on the same track as the 80a line. Here it turns to South-Southwest, crosses the Plain of Pest and the South part of the Hills of Gödöllő. It follows its route at the River Tápió and River Zagyva, where it crosses Újszász. Here it meets with lines 82 and 86, and runs on the same track. Track increase between Budapest and Gyömrő, then decrease to Tápiószecső. Between Tápiószecső and Szolnok it runs on a mainly smooth territory.

From To Length [km] Max speed [km/h]
Keleti railway station Rákos 8 80
Rákos Tápiószele 60 100
Tápiószele Szolnok 32 120

History

It was opened for traffic on 12 March 1882. It was an important line of that period, because the other line connecting the two cities were privately owned by StEG and MÁV needed a track owned by itself which would connect Józsefváros with Szolnok. Later it was expanded up to the Keleti railway station. Line was electrified in 1969. There were huge changes in the early 2000s. New rails came to the track, lines between Rákos and Maglód as well as between Sülysáp and Tápiószecső and between Újszsz and Szolnok were renovated. Some stations were renovated as well. Rebuilding of the line between Tápiószecső and Nagykáta was finished in 2008.

MÁV charged MÁVÉPCEL Kft for the renovation of the line. It was funded from loan issued by the EBRD. As part of the Új Magyrország (New Hungary) improvement plan, there were built P+R and B+R parking places: to the stations of the following villages, towns: Gyömrő, Sülysáp, Tápiószecső, Szentmártonkáta, Nagykáta. There are cameras which safeguard the vehicles.

Traffic

It is one of the most busiest suburban rail line of the country. Its characteristic is that mainly the whole traffic is made of the travelling to and from working. As a result, line is heavily used in rush-hours.

Since 10 December 2006 there is a clock-face scheduling on the line. As a result there is express train in every two hours to Békéscsaba, there is regional train to Szolnok, which does not stop to Sülysáp, except at Rákos and Kőbánya-felső. Since 12 December 2010 there is regional train between Budapest and Sülysáp in working days twice, on public holidays once in an hour. These stop at every stations and stops. In rush hours of working days there is a fast regional train between Budapest and Nagykáta. These run hourly. To the capital, both regional and zoning trains run in every 20 minutes. As of today, there is no service at Abonyi út station at the line.

Rolling stocks

There are MÁV V43 and MÁV V63 locomotives on the line. Since 2010 there are some MÁV 1047 and ÖBB 1116, Taurus rails as well. Later ones are operated by Rail Cargo Hungaria. There are EuroNight-, EuroCity-, InterCity-, express-, regional freight trains, LoLa as well. Regional trains are usually made up by 5 coaches and one locomotive. These are usually push-pull trains. Most of them are Bhvs reconstructed in Dunakeszi by Bombardier.

Since the autumn of 2012 there are FLIRT stocks as well, which were produced by Stadler.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Budapest–Újszász–Szolnok railway line.