Lillafüred Forest Railway Renovated

The Lillafüred forest railway line in north-eastern Hungary has been renovated at a cost of more than HUF 4.3 billion. The entire railway track, service facilities and trains have been completely restored.

The renewal of the forest railways plays an important role in the development of active tourism, with the twelve lines operated by the forestry group reaching one million passengers a year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Lillafüred line is one of the most popular and, together with the nearby Szilvásvárad line, provides recreation for nearly half of the forest railway passengers in the country.

The lines were built between 100 and 150 years ago mainly for economic purposes, but nowadays, they almost invariably serve a tourist function, making them a major attraction in the tourist offer of the area.

This reflects the approach of forest management which, in addition to production, focuses on all the services provided by the forest ecosystem, including recreational opportunities, habitat protection and education.

The reconstruction included the improvement of drainage, the modernization of two safety installations, and the construction of a new recreation park at the Garadna terminus.

The station reception buildings, railway operations service facilities, carriage and locomotive sheds, management offices have been renovated, and thirty-two locomotives, passenger and freight wagons have been renewed or newly built as part of the rolling stock improvement project.