Debrecen4U September 18, 2025

The renovated steam locomotive was inaugurated in Debrecen

The 140-year-old locomotive not only commemorates the history of the railway but also strengthens the identity of the local railway community. Meanwhile, several significant railway developments are taking place in the region, which are building the future.

This steam locomotive entered service 140 years ago, in 1885, and served the traveling public until 1979, pulling trains and transporting passengers for decades. “This locomotive served the Hungarian railways for many decades. It carried out a lot of work, and these people who worked on it did a very hard job under very difficult conditions. We are proud that the locomotive has been renovated so beautifully,” Deputy CEO for Track Operation and Investments of MÁV Pályaműködtetési Zrt., László Pál, said.

The statue locomotive with track number 326.136 was brought to the Debrecen Main Station 46 years ago. Now the vehicle has been renovated in cooperation with MÁV Zrt. and the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport. The statue locomotive serves as a historical monument and as a reminder for railway workers and passengers alike.

“I think they represent a connection between the past, the past decades, even the railway workers of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the current employees of MÁV, but they also remind passengers of previous decades, serving as a memento,” Deputy Director General of the Hungarian Museum of Technology and Transport, Zoltán Batiz, emphasized.

“In Debrecen, not only the past of the railway but also its future is important,” as Lajos Barcsa already spoke about this.

The Deputy Mayor highlighted that train transport is environmentally friendly and sustainable, both in terms of passenger and freight transport, which is why developments are important. “In the recent period, the railway track between Budapest and Debrecen was renewed, and in the coming period, hopefully, this hundred-year railway line can be renewed further in the direction of Nyíregyháza. The planning of the railway line towards Mátészalka will be ongoing, and we have not given up on the Debrecen–Nagyvárad railway line either,” the deputy mayor stressed.

The city of Debrecen is planning further cooperation with the Transport Museum in the future.

Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu