The new Minister of Transport and Investments Hungary David Vitezi stated that they are in the railway project Beograd - Numerous problems have been observed in Budapest, writes the newspaper "Danas".
He said in the parliament that the question arises whether Hungary and Serbia really managed to direct the development of the railway connection between Belgrade and Budapest in the right way.
"The answer is probably negative. It is enough to look at the connection of important traffic hubs such as Budapest International Airport, Kecskemet and Szeged. It is also necessary to ask for the opinion of the competent institutions and ensure complete transparency," he stressed.
According to the Hungarian minister, permission should be sought from the Chinese authorities to make the contracts, their amendments and all accompanying documentation publicly available, as well as data on costs and invoices.
"The situation has not yet been fully resolved. Although the completion of the railway works has been delayed due to certain problems, numerous technical and safety issues remain open. As already mentioned, the insurance and railway traffic management systems have not yet been fully operational," Vitezi revealed.
He added that additional tests and checks are currently being carried out that are necessary for the system to operate safely.
Those procedures have not yet been completed, which is causing additional delays, he said.
"It is certain that the system cannot be put into operation, nor can it be fully paid for, until it is proven that it meets all the prescribed security standards," Vitezi said.
He emphasized that one can often hear the claim that the Chinese did not know what they were doing.
"I don't want to defend anyone, but the contract clearly shows that certain technical solutions were known in advance. It is true that the railway was designed for speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and that is why it was built almost as a completely new route. However, a large number of level crossings remained, which is a serious drawback. Therefore, in practice, the designed speed cannot be fully used. In other words, we built a railway for 200 kilometers per hour, but on certain sections the speed will be limited to 160 kilometers per hour precisely because of those unresolved intersections," he explained.
Because of all that, Vitezi concluded, it can be said that mistakes were made in this project on several levels.
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