The technical rescue of the wagons of the freight train that derailed at Téglás on Sunday morning has begun, due to the difficulty of lifting the freight wagons and the heavily damaged railway track, it is not yet known when rail traffic will be restored on this section – the head of the regional railway directorate of MÁV Zrt. in Debrecen announced at a press conference on the site.
Speaking about the damage, Lieutenant Attila said that both the right and left tracks of the two-track, electrified railway were damaged and completely unusable. The approximately three-kilometer section of the right track is damaged to varying degrees, and it will also have to be repaired.
Next to the tracks, three overhead line support poles fell or fell, all three must be replaced, the specialist said.
The railway crane with a capacity of 150 tons arrived at the scene of the accident from Szolnok on Monday morning, with which they will try to lift the derailed wagons – weighing eighty to ninety tons each, together with the cargo. Previously, the overhead wires above both tracks were pulled aside and removed, thereby clearing the way for the cranes carrying out the lifts.
Among the nine derailed wagons, the first freight car with a damaged bogie frame has already been put back on the track, and will later be hauled to Hajdúhadház. At the moment, around a hundred professionals working day and night on the site are carrying out temporary restoration of the left track, after which it is possible to access the next car with the railway crane – explained Lieutenant Attila.
He noted that the investigation into the cause of the accident and the assessment of the damage are still ongoing, so it is not possible to know when rail traffic will be restored on this section.
The cars that overturned on the track and next to the track were strained against each other and tilted, their bogies were distorted and crumpled, so you have to be very careful when freeing them – emphasized the expert.
In response to a journalist’s question, he said that the extent of the damage to the railway infrastructure and rolling stock still cannot be estimated, it could be hundreds of millions of forints.
The cargo assembly of thirty-five wagons, carrying iron ore pellets with a total weight of about 3,700 tons, was on its way from Záhony via Hegyeshalm to Austria, when nine of its wagons derailed at the border of Téglás, the damaged wagons completely destroyed and blocked the railway track in both directions.
No one was injured in the accident, instead of the passenger trains running on the Záhony main line, replacement buses are running between Hajdúhadház and Újfehértó, and instead of the InterCity trains, there are replacement buses running between Debrecen and Nyíregyháza.
Instead of the passenger trains, you have to change to a replacement bus between Hajdúhadház and Újfehértó, and instead of the InterCity trains, you have to change to a substitute bus between Debrecen and Nyíregyháza. Replacement buses and trains do not wait to connect. (You can get on the replacement buses in front of the train stations.)
Railway tickets and passes are valid on Volánbusz replacement flights (4400, 4401, 4402, 1449) on the Debrecen-Hajdúhadház-Téglás-Újfehértó section.
Those traveling on this section of the Záhony main line should expect up to an hour-longer travel time due to transfers.
MTI
Main picture: Hadnagy Attila, head of MÁV Zrt.’s Debrecen railway regional directorate, holds a press conference on May 8, 2023, at the site of the freight train accident that occurred the previous day at Téglás between Hajdúhadház and Újfehértó. The technical rescue of the derailed railway wagons has begun. The freight train carrying iron ore pellets, consisting of thirty-five wagons, was on its way from Záhony via Hegyeshalm to Austria, when nine of its wagons derailed, the damaged wagons completely destroyed and blocked the railway track in both directions. No one was injured in the accident, replacement buses run between Hajdúhadház and Újfehértó instead of the InterCity buses, instead of passenger trains running on the Záhony main line, and between Debrecen and Nyíregyháza. MTI/István Derencsényi
Drone photos: The cars of the freight train that derailed between Hajdúhadház and Újfehértó the previous day on May 8, 2023, in a photo taken with a drone. It will probably take several days to restore the railway track after the accident of the freight train carrying iron ore from Záhony via Hegyeshalm to Austria. Nine cars of the thirty-five-car train derailed, completely blocking the two-track, electrified track section. MTI/Zsolt Czeglédi
