The EU made an exception for the Budapest metro from the sanctions against Russia

Hungary, as an exception to the sanctions, was allowed to cooperate with the Russian "Metrovagonmash" to service the Budapest metro cars. The company has been producing and modernizing carriages for the metro of the Hungarian capital since 1970

The EU will allow Hungary, as an exception to existing anti-Russian sanctions, to work with the Russian Metrovagonmash (MVM, part of Transmashholding JSC) to service the metro in Budapest, BLOOMBERG reports citing relevant documents.

"Metrovagonmash" serves the cars that run on the third line (M3) of the Budapest metro (there are four in total). In 2017, the company was repairing trains, this year the Budapest Public Transport Corporation (BKV) told Nepszava that nine of the 37 cars on this line that were being upgraded by the MVM “are not working.”

The list of exceptions from the goods that were allowed to be delivered to Hungary includes metro cars and trams, safety glass, some mechanisms and valves, indicator panels, etc. - in total they fall under 14 tariff codes. Technical assistance is also permitted.

The MVM plant, located in Mytishchi near Moscow, produces and modernizes cars for the Moscow, Tashkent, Baku, and Sofia metros - in total, 11 countries operate cars from this plant. Metrovagonmash has been cooperating with the Budapest metro since 1970, for the period up to 2000, about 400 cars were manufactured.

In 2015, MVM and the authorities of the Hungarian capital signed a contract for the overhaul and modernization of 222 railcars. The work was completed by August 2018, the life of the wagons was estimated at at least 30 years.

Since May, Metrovagonmash has been under US sanctions. After the plant came under restrictions, the Tbilisi City Hall decided to terminate the contract with it. For the metro of the Georgian capital, MVM was supposed to supply 40 new cars.

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