End of the Line? The Changing Geography of Railways between the Alföld and Carpathians

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This paper traces the history of the railway between Debrecen and K?rösmez? in the Máramaros region of the northeastern Carpathians, demonstrating how such a railway served to link the people and natural resources of northeastern Hungary to the markets of the Alföld and Budapest. Originally constructed between Debrecen and Máramarossziget in the period 1868–1872, the Hungarian Northeastern Railway (Magyar Északkeleti Vasút) made it possible for the salt and timber of Máramaros and the fruit products of Szatmár and the Érmellék to be transported quickly and cheaply to markets in Debrecen and Budapest, and in exchange allowed manufactured and consumer goods to reach the people of northeastern Hungary. Nationalized in 1890 and made part of the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), the line was extended north to the Hungarian-Austro-Galician frontier at K?rösmez?. Passenger traffic along the route facilitated seamless travel between Budapest and the northeastern Carpathians.
World War I and the resultant dismemberment of Hungary dealt a crippling blow to the unity of this railway line. The paper continues by recounting the fate of the line in the interwar period, now split between three countries; changes brought about by the First and Second Vienna Awards, including reincorporation into the MÁV network; and the post-World War II situation. The paper concludes with an outline of today’s circumstances. In its way, this paper sketches how a railway can build links between Hungarians and how these links can be torn asunder but re-established over time.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
computer projection