DK: National railways MAV ‘on edge of collapse’

There are severe staff shortages, and ticket inspectors and engine drivers have reached the limit of their overtime, endangering the security and reliability of services, Gergely Arato told an online press briefing.

He also referred to speed reductions, as well as regular delays and cancellations on the most popular Budapest-Vienna line.

Arato blamed government austerity measures for strains in railway services as well as the public-education and health-care systems.

The DK politician also complained about inflation eroding the real value of the wages of public service employees, adding that the pay of engine drivers had gone up by only 5 percent, while salaries in the millions of forints of people who sat on boards of directors and supervisory boards had doubled.