President Vladimir Putin informed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during their joint press conference after meeting in Moscow yesterday, that he had confirmed that Russian Railways could provide $2 billion in additional funding to help finance the construction of railway line V0, the Hungarian bypass around Budapest that is to connect Hungary’s border with Ukraine to the border with Austria—a key connection for Hungary’s intention to become a center for Belt and Road cargo coming from China, through Russia, into Europe.
The project was a major point of discussion between the two leaders. As Orbán reported, “Hungary made a big investment in the construction of a terminal on its border with Ukraine. This cutting-edge terminal is capable of reloading goods from trucks much faster than any other facility of this kind. This is a tremendous opportunity. We discussed the formation of a Russia-Hungary joint venture on shipments … [which] will improve the Hungarian economy and will allow us to use Hungary’s good geographical location. It is suitable for transport routes, pipes, roads and railways. So now, together with Russia, we can make use of this good location.” (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67690)
RailFreight.com summarized the project on January 31st: “Hungary is moving fast to gain its position as a transit country on the New Silk Road. In Fenyestlitke, a city close to the border with Ukraine in the Záhony region, a state-of-the-art terminal is currently under construction and expected to be operative in April....