This year, the MÁV-VOLÁN group also joined the twelfth time it’s good to be good! for the fund-raising charity campaign. Volánbusz offered one of the well-loved copies of the Ikarus 200 series, a 263 bus, a model of the electric locomotive stickered by the MÁV for the 75th anniversary of the Children’s Railway, as well as a children’s railway experience trip for the benefit of the Semmelweis University Foundation.
The MÁV-VOLÁN group is carrying out its traditional end-of-the-year charity activity in a new form this year: Volánbusz is offering a bus that has recently been taken out of public passenger transport service, and MÁV is selling a detailed model of a locomotive with decals for the 75th anniversary of the Széchenyi Mountain Children’s Railway. through the thematic program of the public media. Bidding for the offered bus can be done on December 17, 2023, during the all-day broadcast of the public media, and the model and the Children’s Railway saloon car experience ride can already be purchased at the Good is good! on his website. Information on bidding can be found on the show’s website, in the description that appears by clicking on the image of the selected item. The MÁV-VOLÁN group donates the money from the sale of the donated items to the Semmelweis University Foundation, trusting that with the support of the organization’s generosity, it can support the developmental therapy of many premature babies and children born with birth defects.
The bus offered for bidding by Volánbusz is an Ikarus 263 type vehicle put into service in 1999. The bus is roadworthy and has a technical license valid until June 2024. Due to its age, the company withdrew it from public service, and it has not provided service since September 2023.
The specimen offered for auction is one of the iconic Ikarus 200 series of Hungarian bus production, so it may be of considerable interest among collectors. The 263 is a solo model of the well-known Hungarian manufacturer designed for urban and suburban traffic, which is one meter longer than its predecessor, the 262 model, thanks to which its passenger capacity has increased by 10 percent: the vehicle can carry 25 seated and 95 standing passengers. The type manufactured between 1988 and 2001 was sold not only to the domestic market, but also the former East Germany and the Soviet Union bought more than 1,250 examples. The reliability and durability of the model is proven by the fact that the model offered for charity has covered more than 1.4 million kilometers since it was put on the market in the summer of 1999, and its 10,350 cubic centimeter, 211 horsepower engine is still functional today. There are currently only nine of this type in the Volánbusz active fleet, so it is considered a real rarity on the roads. The vehicle offered for auction served in the company of the former Volán Szabolcs, its home station was Kisvárda, then Vásárosnamény. The coloring of the bus also reflects the image of the former county bus company. During its 24 years of service, the vehicle typically traveled on the Kisvárda–Baktalórántháza, Kisvárda–Újdombrád–Gégény, Kisvárda–Szabolcsveresmart and Kisvárda–Székely–Kemecse lines. The starting price of the bus is HUF 700,000.
Train traffic on the Széchenyi Mountain Children’s Railway, the former Pioneer Railway, started on July 31, 1948 on the first 3-kilometer section. The stickered locomotive of MÁV-START was prepared for this notable occasion: the Taurus electric locomotive with track number 470,002 announces the unbroken success of the 75-year-old light railway. The basic color of the vehicle is the red-blue-white color combination typical of the remotorized Mk45 diesel locomotive, the large photos on the side show archival and contemporary mood pictures of the experience of traveling on the small railway and the children’s railway service.
The MÁV is offering a 1:87 scale model made to the exact pattern of the jubilee locomotive for charitable purposes, the fixed price of which is HUF 250,000. The chairs and tables can be rearranged as desired in the 25-person passenger compartment of the cozy carriage, and a nearly 3-hour program can be planned on board, which is connected with a light rail journey, so the lucky donor can host friends, family members or even colleagues in a truly special location.
So far, the company group has supported the NGOs embraced by the public media’s charity program on three occasions by donating money and fuel cards worth about HUF 23 million. The MÁV-VOLÁN group trusts that the items put up for sale and auction will quickly find a new owner, and that the amount received can serve the goals of the Semmelweis University Foundation.
MÁV Zrt. Communications Directorate
