The renovation of the 130 years old “Zsuzsi” railway line and of the surrounding tourist facilities came to an end this year.
This narrow-gauge forest railway runs on schedule from spring to autumn and brings visitors from Debrecen to Erdőspuszta, Hármashegyalja, Haláperdő, and the Fancsika lakes. In addition to the budget of half-billion HUF the operator won another 400 million from the European Union.
Crushed stone bedding, tracks and sleepers of the 16 km long railway track were reconstructed, wile at the terminal of “Hármashegyalja” a facility called House of Nature (“Természet Háza”) was built, in which a planetarium, lecture halls, and a waiting hall can be found- said Gyula Pintér, managing director of Zsuzsi Forest Railway Ltd (“Zsuzsi Erdei Kisvasút Kft.”) on Thursday at a press conference in Debrecen.
Gábor Fábián, head of the investment group of the local government recalled the history Zsuzsi railway: the railway line was constructed in 1882 to connect Debrecen and the surrounding farms of Erdőspuszta, where timbering was an important industry. The transportation of passengers started in 1925, then by 1949 the railway line “Zsuzsi” became 49 km long, making it possible to reach the neighbouring county of Szabolcs-Szatmár- Bereg.
In 1977 the official operation of “Zsuzsi” was terminated, however the municipality of that time managed to preserve a section of the railway line for leisure time activities- said Gyula Pintér.
In 2008, 33.000 passengers travelled by “Zsuzsi”, but Ágnes Béres project manager hopes that this number would increase in 3-4 years to 100.000 peoples yearly.
Source and photos: index.hu/ MTI
