Budapest marked a century of operation for the “freight trams” that run on the city’s tram network but do not carry commuters. With the toot of a horn, a ring of a bell and air brakes hissing as one rails out of a depot, the mukis are unusual within a fleet best known for passenger trams.
The trams, which run on electricity from overhead wires, were acquired by Budapest in 1926. At the time, they addressed a practical need: after World War I destroyed much of the local freight infrastructure, the city needed vehicles to move goods and raw materials to and from its factories.
BKV’s Ádám Zadravecz said engineers designed the original electric drive system mainly using components from vehicles damaged during the war and parts from vehicles already slated to be scrapped. He said that while the vehicles’ primary purpose was freight transport, after World War II they were also used to clear away war ruins.
As Hungary’s economy recovered, the mukis’ job expanded beyond carrying freight. In the 1960s, some of the original 40 trams were equipped with snowplows so they could clear tram tracks in winter, and today they also run nighttime maintenance trips and haul broken-down trams into depots for repairs.
Over the decades, the mukis received a gradual replacement of parts, producing what AP described as a mix of components. By 2018, the trams were due for a more comprehensive refurbishment, according to BKV’s technology head.
During that refurbishment, Nándor Meixner, head of vehicle maintenance at the Ferencváros depot, described efforts to make the work easier for the crews who service the vehicles. He said a seat was added so the driver can at least sit, and the trams were also equipped with heating in the cabin.
Zadravecz said that despite the changes, the mukis’ overall nature has remained the same, emphasizing their simplicity compared with modern tram systems. He said the maintenance costs are “almost zero” because there is very little that can break down, and described the common line that the trams can be repaired “with a hammer and a file,” calling that “absolutely true.”
Meixner said driving them requires special training as well as what he called a “feel” for the vehicle. He said it is not enough simply to drive and know signs and instructions, adding that drivers need to know the tram itself, and he described earlier in-house guidance that “the driver has to drive this vehicle with his butt.”
Of the original fleet of 40 mukis, AP reported that only six have survived in Budapest over the last 100 years, with three still in active use. Zadravecz said the value of the vehicles lies in their simplicity and in the fact that they still exist and are available to the city.