Hungary: Railway Information

The Hungarian railroad company is called MAV. Budapest is the centre of the railway network, with three large stations. From Budapest a 7,607 km network, one-third of which is electrified, radiates through the country with some interconnections with centers of the larger towns.

Hungarian railway company

Logo Hungarian Railways

The national railway company of Hungary is called MÁV (Hungarian State Railways - Magyar Államvasutak).

Visit the website of the Hungarian railway company MÁV: English / Hungarian

Hungarian rail network

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, Gula, Hajduszoboszlo, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs, Sopron, Szeged, Szolnok, Szombathely.

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.

Train types
Local trains are called személyvonat, they are relatively slow. Often they only have a second class (másod osztály) compartment. Faster trains are the Intercity (IC) trains or the express trains (gyorsvonat). They also have comfoirtable 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.

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.

Seat reservations

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.

Eurail Aid Office in Hungary

  • Budapest, József Attila str. 16.
    (V. district. (about 150 metres across the park from the underground exits)
    Mo - Fri 09:00 -18:00

Airport - station links

If you arrive in Hungary by air, you can easily reach Budapest city center through the Western Railway Station from Ferihegy International Airport Terminal 1. There are 60 trains on weekdays and 45 at weekends from the airport to the city. For details check the airport website.

Scenic route

  • Szabadbattyán - Balatonfüred - Tapolca

Eurail Passes for Hungary