Narrow-gauge railways in Hungary

The former Austria-Hungary empire had a narrow-gauge rail network thousands of kilometres in length, most of it using Bosnian gauge 760 mm (2 ft 5 1516 in) or 600 mm (1 ft 11 58 in) gauge, constructed between 1870 and 1920. Landlords, mines, agricultural and forest estates established their own branch lines which, as they united into regional networks, increasingly played a role in regional passenger traffic. Following the Treaty of Trianon some railways were cut by the new border, many remained on the territory of Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Due to a lack of intact roads, following World War II in many places narrow-gauge railway was the only reasonable way to get around. In 1968 the Communist government started to implement a policy to dismantle the narrow-gauge network in favour of road traffic. Freight haulage on the few remaining lines continued to decline until 1990 from when a patchwork of railways was gradually taken over by associations and forest managements for tourist purposes. State Railways operated narrow-gauge railways at Nyíregyháza and Kecskemét that played a role in regional transport until December 2009.

Mátra railway in Gyöngyös
Kecskemét narrow-gauge network

Most railways have a track gauge of 760 mm (2 ft 5 1516 in), unless otherwise specified.

Common carrier railways

Forest railways

Kemence Forest Railway and narrow-gauge museum

Children's railways

  • Budapest Children's railway, the 760 mm (2 ft 5 1516 in) Gyermekvasút.[1][2]
  • Mecsek Children's railway, Pécs
  • Tiszakécske Children's railway (Suspended in 2009)
  • Széchenyi Museum Railway (operated by children)

Heritage railways

  • Szalajka-Eisenbahn Szilvasvarad – Szalajka-völgy, tourist railway in a national park, 5 km, part of former extensive Felsőtárkány Forest Railway
  • Széchenyi Museum Railway
  • Vál Valley Light Railway

References

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