HUNGARIAN State Railways (MÁV) has signed a contract with Stadler to purchase 93 second-hand GTW EMUs, currently in service with Swiss operator Thurbo. The trains will be acquired by their original manufacturer, Stadler, who will comprehensively refurbish them before reselling them to MÁV.
The value of both transactions has not been disclosed, but tender documents associated with the MÁV purchase suggest that the refurbished EMUs will be worth around €2.5m each, totalling €232.5m for the whole fleet.
MÁV Passenger launched a tender for 93 EMUs last October, which specified its requirements as 41 type GTW AK 40m-long trains, plus 39 GTW AKL and 13 GTW AJU 56m-long EMUs, all to be delivered by 2035. According to documents associated with the tender, the price of refurbished trains would be substantially lower than the €9.8m-13.9m cost of new EMUs.
The GTW four-car (including power unit) articulated EMUs were built by Stadler between 2002 and 2005, and will be withdrawn in Switzerland as new Flirt EMUs, ordered in 2021, are delivered from next year. Between four and 16 GTW EMUs will be returned to Stadler each year and the first refurbished train is expected to enter service in Hungary in the first half of 2029, with the entire fleet to be delivered to MÁV by 2034.
Stadler will be responsible for obtaining type approval for operating the refurbished trains in Hungary. The 140km/h GTW units will need to undergo considerable modification, including changing the traction power supply voltage from 15kV 16.7Hz to 25kV 50Hz ac and equipping the EMUs with accessible toilets, ERTMS, and new couplers.
Stadler and MÁV are currently negotiating a maintenance contract for the refurbished fleet.
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