However in the first month of operation, a paltry 30 passengers have been using the nostalgia train, which the government had claimed would be a tourist draw.

"The biggest choker is that the train goes from nowhere to nowhere, via nowhere," said one passenger.

The EU, which funded 80 per cent of the project, is set to investigate.

Benedek Jávor, an MEP for the Hungarian party Dialogue for Hungary has reported the case to the EU’s anti-corruption body OLAF.

“The Hungarian government intentionally reported false data, as it was crystal clear even at the time of submitting the application that the estimated numbers are totally absurd and unrealistic. This is cheating and fraud which should be investigated by EU bodies,” Mr Jávor said.