The Hungarian railroad company is called MÁV-START. Budapest is the centre of the railway network, with three large stations.
From Budapest a 7,607 km rail network radiates throughout the country.
Eurail Passes for Hungary are valid on all trains operated by the national railway company MÁV-START.
Faster trains are the Intercity (IC) trains or the express trains (gyorsvonat). They also have comfortable first class (elso osztály) sections. Most IC trains have a restaurant car. In all the other train lines there are smoking and non-smoking cars. Local trains are called személyvonat, they are relatively slow. Often they only have a second class (másod osztály) compartment.
In all Hungarian train stations a yellow board indicates departures (indul) and a white board arrivals (érkezik). IC / Express trains are indicated in red, local trains in black.
Private railway companies
A Eurail pass valid in Hungary is also valid on the private railway lines operated by GYSEV (known as ROeEE in Austria).
GYSEV operate a number of train routes, including:
- Sopron – Ebenfurth (Austria)
- Fertöszentmiklós – Neusiedl/See (Austria)
For more information check the GYSEV website (only in German and Hungarian)
Budapest
Budapest is the centre of all main rail connections. Budapest has three main train stations:
- Keleti (Eastern) on Baross ter (red metro line): most international express trains, domestic trains to and from the north and north-east
- Nyugati (Western) on Nyugati ter (blue metro line): trains for the Great Plain and the Danube Bend
- Deli (Southern) at Krisztina korut: trains bound for Transdanubia and Lake Balaton
Taking an InterCity train is the fastest way to travel from Budapest to the following cities: Bekescsaba, Debrecen, Dombovar, Gyor, Gyula, Hajduszoboszlo, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs, Sopron, Szeged, Szolnok, Szombathely.
Some domestic trains in Hungary require a reservation:
- For IC (InterCity) and IP (InterPici) trains reservations is compulsory.
- For domestic journeys with EC (EuroCity) reservation is optional.
See the reservation fees for domestic trains.
The international Railjet train to Switzerland and Germany also has an optional reservation. See the reservation fees for international trains.
A nice scenic route in Hungary is Szabadbattyán - Balatonfüred - Tapolca
How to get there
From Budapest there are direct connections to Hungary from and to all immediate neighbors: Austria, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia. Also to further countries like: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and even Turkey.
Airport - station links
If you arrive in Hungary by air, you can easily reach Budapest city center by train from Ferihegy International Airport Terminal 1. For details check the airport website.
Eurail Aid Office in Hungary
For help with your Eurail Pass, you can visit the Aid Office in Budapest, József Attila str. 16. See Eurail Aid Offices for more details.
