Hungary - Transportation

Transportation facilities have improved steadily since the 1960s. Budapest is the transportation center. In 2002, roads totaled an estimated 188,203 km (116,949 mi), of which some 81,680 km (50,756 mi) were paved, including 448 km (278 mi) of expressways. In 2000, Hungary had 1,890,500 passenger cars and 303,500 trucks, buses, and taxis.

As of 2002, Hungary had 7,869 km (4,890 mi) of railroad track. Most freight is carried by trucks; railway transport is of lesser importance. The railroad and bus networks are state owned.

Permanently navigable waterways totaled 1,373 km (853 mi) in 2001, of which the Danube and Tisza rivers made up over half. In addition to the government shipping enterprises—which operate the best and largest ships and handle the bulk of water traffic—the Shipping Cooperative, an association of small operators, continues to function. In 1999, the merchant marine fleet consisted of 2 cargo ships with a total capacity of 12,949 GRT.

Hungary had 43 airports in 2001, 16 of which had paved runways. Ferihegy Airport in Budapest is the most important center for domestic and international flights. All domestic traffic is handled by the Hungarian Air Transportation Enterprise (Magyar Légiközlekedési Vallalat-MALÉV). In 2001, 2,074,700 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline flights.