Platform Perspective

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In the midst of the construction of a new two-lane railway from Rijeka to the border with Hungary, two interesting guests from Budapest will arrive to Filodramatica to tell us more about the state of railway traffic in Hungary and the prospects for its further development, both in Europe and in Croatia: János Földiák, Head of Service Development at MÁV-Start Hungarian Passenger Railway co., and Máté Gyöngyösi, Közlekedő Tömeg (Mass in Transit) association.
 
Presentations and accompanying discussion will be held in English, on Friday, 22 November at 7 pm in the large hall of Filodrammatica (Korzo 28/1, Rijeka).
 
Admission is free.

Built a century and a half ago, the railway transformed the 19th-century Rijeka into one of the largest and most important ports on the Adriatic and Mediterranean, contributing directly to its rapid industrial development. Thanks to the railway, Rijeka had for a long time been a major transport hub for various goods from different parts of the world. In addition to cargo, people were also arriving by rail, not just the new residents of the growing city, but also those who were continuing their voyages to far away places, as Rijeka was the main Austro-Hungarian port for emigrants to the “New World”.

Today, in 2019, things are no longer so dramatic when talking about the role of railway from the perspective of the average residents of Rijeka. Newspapers and portals occasionally publish stories about freight train collisions with cars when passing through the centre (!), empty trains connecting the city with the suburbs, or the neglected Central Station building, built in 1891 according to the project of the Chief Engineer of the Hungarian State Railways, Ferenz Pfaff.

However, some things seem to be moving, as new infrastructure is being built and new plans for the future are being seriously talked about:

“One hundred and fifty years after the start of the construction of the Zagreb – Rijeka railway line, Croatia has again turned to serious investments in the development of the railway network, on both major corridors – from the border with Slovenia to the border with Serbia, and even more on the stretch from Rijeka, through Zagreb, to Hungarian border.”

– Marinko Glavan, By investing in railways, like 150 years ago, Rijeka will once again become a major port (Ulaganjem u željeznicu, kao i prije 150 godina, Rijeka će ponovo postati velika luka), Novi list, 5th October 2019

What’s the situation in Hungary, once a leading player in creating the railway infrastructure and traffic in Rijeka?

Find out more about the speakers and their presentations below:

János Földiák

Railway developments in Hungary and in Central Europe – help for vision

 
János Földiák is Head of Service Development at MÁV-Start Hungarian Passenger Railway co, who helps to have an overview of possible future strategies for railways and public transport. Before starting his curent job he worked 12 years as an expert of railway infrastructure development. He studied Sociology and Balkan studies, and according to his studies he sees railway services from social point of view.
 

Máté Gyöngyösi

Mind the gap: NGOs vs. transport operators

 
What can an NGO starting from strach do to improve public sector? What opportunities do Hungarian laws give to NGOs in Hungary?
How can we communicate with CEOs, the media and our followers? What were the most succesful ways of our communication?

Máté Gyöngyösi is a 19-year-old board member of Közlekedő Tömeg (Mass in Transit), a Hungarian NGO fighting for better public transportation in the country. He started working in the public transport industry at the age of 11 when he joined the Children’s Railway (Gyermekvasút) in Budapest. He cofounded the NGO in 2016 at the age of 16 and currently studies sociology in Budapest.

Máté will also give an overview of Közlekedő Tömeg’s former and current projects. He will also talk about their achievements what includes
– reducing car traffic and
– saving a bus line in Budapest,
– helping to fire a toxic CEO at the railway company, and
– saving train lines from closure in the countryside.