Two billion HUF railway station development will begin in the Magyar Falu program, Rábaszentandras Rábaszentandras, the government commissioner responsible for the development of modern settlements, told the public media on Wednesday.
Alpár Gyopáros , who is also the region's parliamentary representative, said at the briefing held at the Szany-Rábaszentandras train station: the location is symbolic, because the government led by Ferenc Gyurcsány stopped passenger transport on the railway line between Csorna and Pápa, despite the people living in the area protesting against it. However, after the change of government in 2010, the Orbán government was able to restart traffic on the closed branch line.
The government commissioner added: the goal of the Hungarian village program announced in 2018 is to improve the quality of life of the people living in small settlements and thus stop the population decline of small settlements. As he said, the decline in population has stopped in most villages, more and more young people are staying at home or moving back to their native villages. The government also wants to improve the quality of services, he added, to ensure that this process is permanent, which is why the matter of transport development is given priority. As an example, he mentioned that since 2019, with the help of the village road fund, a state-managed side road network has been developed, 3,000 kilometers of roads will be developed or will be developed by the end of the year, and another 1,500 kilometers will be developed next year.
According to the government commissioner, the railway station development that is now starting is also such a transport development program that helps people stay in place. He added: if more and more people stay in the small towns or move there, then the railway branch lines will even be able to function as suburban lines. This will require further development of the railway lines, but the government will be a partner in this.
Róbert Homolya, the President and CEO of MÁV Zrt., spoke about the fact that by 2050, the greenhouse gas emissions of transport must be reduced by 90 percent, and transport must be practically made carbon neutral. and in goods transport, and in this you have to rely to a large extent on the side lines as well. The development of public transport is important from the point of view of sustainability and environmental protection, and also contributes to increasing the population retention power of the countryside, he emphasized.
He added that in the Hungarian village program, MÁV carries out investments and developments in settlements with less than five thousand inhabitants: in 13 places the existing station will be built, with a modern passenger waiting room and passenger information system, in 11 places new stops and stations will be built, and in 229 places modern bicycle storage facilities will be installed.
Gergely Németh (independent), mayor of Szany, expressed his joy that the 125-year-old railway station of the settlement is included in the program. He said that during the renovation, the upper, unused level of the station building will be turned into a community space and made available to the local theater association.
MTI
Photo: MTI/Csaba Krizsán
