The Hungarian-Slovenian railway link - between the Hungarian Zalalövő and the Slovenian Muraszombat (Murska Sobota) - was built between 1999 and 2001 as part of the V. European transit corridor. A 19 km long section of the 43 km long line is located in Hungary. This Hungarian section got ready in December 2000, the regular traffic started on 18 December 2000 between Zalalövő and Bajánsenye. The entire line was inaugurated only on 17 May 2001, because of some delay of the works on the Slovenian side.

There was once already a railway line between Zalalövő and Muraszombat: the old line was closed in 1980, the tracks were disassembled immediately.

The new track was planned for 160 km/h maximum speed, so the rails couldn't have been laid on the old, winding route. The Őrség region is - since 2002 - the 10^th national park of Hungary, therefore 2 viaducts and a tunnel have been built to reduce the railway's influence on the environment. All these 3 structures are located near Nagyrákos. Coming from Zalalövő, the train passes the larger viaduct first. With its length of 1400 m, it is one of the longest viaducts in Central Europe. The tunnel is 375 m long, its cross section is suitable for 160 km/h. The shorter, 200 m long viaduct is located after the tunnel.

The railway crosses the border at Őrihódos (Hodos). The shared border station is located here, on Slovenian territory. The single track line is currently not electrified (it is already under electrification), the maximum speed allowed is 120 km/h. On Hungarian side, the linking railways, such as the Zalalövő-Zalaegerszeg and Zalaegerszeg-Ukk-Boba sections are being rebuilt. According to the original plans, the modernization and electrification should have been done until 2007. Currently, they are planning to start electric operation in 2010.

Construction of the railway

Photos by Antal Gyarmati

The tracks were laid by one of the 2 existing such machine chains. It moved 2300 m daily, so the Hungarian section was completed in 8 days.