Train traffic between Újfehértó and Hajdúhadház is expected to resume next week on one track, after which the restoration of the other track, which suffered more serious damage in the weekend freight train accident, can begin.
Hadnagy Attila, the head of the MÁV Zrt. Debrecen regional railway directorate, announced at the press conference held on Thursday afternoon:
the cost of technical rescue and the restoration of the entire railway track exceeds HUF one billion.
On Sunday morning, nine cars of a freight train loaded with iron ore derailed between Újfehértó and Hajdúhadház stations, near Téglás in Hajdú-Bihar county. Some of the derailed railway cars overturned and made the track section impassable.
Lieutenant Attila said on Thursday that all the derailed wagons were lifted back onto the track and brought to the nearby Hajdúhadház railway station, thereby freeing up the work area for the restoration of the tracks and the railway track.
The track used by the wagons suffered much more damage than the other track on the right, but in order to ensure train traffic, the restoration will begin with this, explained the expert.
He added that the railway tracks will be replaced at 140 meters and the upper bed will be completely rebuilt with 240 reinforced concrete bases, after which they will begin the reconstruction of the overhead line.
According to the plans, train traffic with electric traction on the right track can start next week. This will be followed by the restoration of the substructure and earthworks of the left track, which became completely unusable at the site of the derailment, which will be a much larger renovation work – detailed Lieutenant Attila.
He explained that about 3,600 meters of rails and almost 4,500 reinforced concrete bottoms must be replaced on this track section, and nearly 3,000 tons of bedding material will need to be delivered and built into the track for complete restoration.
He noted that the overhead line network can be restored after replacing the three fallen overhead line support poles. According to estimates, the work will last approximately one month, depending on the condition of the damaged track sections.
“The extent of the damage is under assessment, but we can already state that the damage value of the technical rescue and the restoration of the railway track alone will exceed one billion forints,” said the MÁV specialist, indicating that the causes of the accident were determined by the police and the railway company’s railway safety department. his service is still investigating.
In response to a question, Lieutenant Attila said that approximately five hundred tons of cargo had spilled out of the wagons due to the accident. In addition, during the technical rescue, a significant amount of iron ore pellets must be manually shoveled out of the overturned cars so that the crane can lift the damaged cars onto the track.
MTI
Photo: MTI/Zsolt Czeglédi
