2006.07.12.

It is planned that on 28 branch lines passanger traffic will cease from December. Among these lines there are some where traffic really is minimal, and some, where only buerocrats make it appear as if empty trains ran on the line. Among these lines there is one I like very much.
This line is the Diósjen?-Romhány line which is 20 kms long in Nógrád county, one of the least prosperous parts of Hungary. The closure of the line only deepens the problems while solves nothing.
I'm not talking only about passanger traffic: there are two major (well, in the area they are major) towns, Rétság and Romhány on the line, but both have better access with busses, especially as the regional centres Balassagyarmat and Vác can be accessed via a road that's in 90°s angle to the railway, so one can see the railway is not really good for most passangers. Freight is a different matter though.
The problems of this region can only be solved by big investors, and big investors tend to need railway sidings to carry bulky goods to and from their factories. Lesser companies with lorriloads of goods are of infinitesimal effect on the living of these people, but as the track is as bad as it could be, freight traffic can hardly be kept up.

I went on this trip with a fellow train enthusiast from the forum, so half the picturs can be found at his homepage.

High quality photos