Budapest has three main train stations, and each is on a metro line with a station bearing its name. Keleti (Eastern) on Baross ter (red metro line) Tel: 313-6835 Nyugati (Western) on Nyugati ter (blue metro line) Tel: 349-0115 Deli (Southern) at Krisztina korut (end of red metro line) Tel: 375-6293 For international informaion call: 461 55 00; for domestic information call: 461 54 00 (english spoken). Greater Budapest train network map

More information about traveling by train.

You can search the schedule of the Hungarian State Railways (MAV) here: Timetables and Info
Please note that www.budapesthotels.com does NOT deal with train tickets and has no information about the schedule and the prices or reservation. The only way to purchase international train tickets in Hungary is personally with your passport at the main train stations.

Keleti train station at Baross tér (metro: Keleti pályaudvar) handles domestic trains to and from the north and north-east. Trains for the Great Plain and the Danube Bend arrive and depart from Nyugati train station (metro: Nyugati pályaudvar). For trains bound for Transdanubia and Lake Balaton, go to Déli train station (metro: Déli). Getting to town: to get to the metro station (red line), go down the stairs and through the underpass to the outdoor plaza. The metro entrance is on the far side of the plaza.
Phone: 313 68 35. Tickets for domestic IC trains can be ordered by phone 24hrs. Domestic and international desk open 24 hrs. Most international trains leave from Keleti.  

Nyugati Train Station: XIII. Nyugati tér. Getting to town: you are in it. To get to the heart of downtown, exit the station to the street outside, turn right and go down the stairs of the underpass. Phone: 349 01 15, 349 85 03. Ticket ordering for domestic IC trains open 03:30-23:00. International ticket cashier popen 05:00-21:00, domestic ticket cashier 03:00-00:15. International destinations from Nyugati are mostly eastward.

Déli Train Station. XII. Magyar Jakobinusok tere. Getting to town: The entrance to the metro station (red line) is down the stairs. Phone: 375 62 93, 355 86 57 (domestic information, open 24 hrs.). Domestic ticket window open 03:30-00:30, international ticket window open 06:00-17:45. Serves Lake Balaton.

The handful of secondary stations are of little importance to long-distance travellers. Very occasionally, though, a through train in summer will stop only at Kőbánya-Kispest train station (the terminus of the blue metro line) or even at Kelenföld Railway Station in Buda.

The best way to travel between the stations or to anywhere else is to use the rail-bus service operated by the MAV (The Hungarian Railways Company). The stops of the 12 seater buses are displayed outside of each station.. Reservations can be made at each Intercity stations in Hungary, the ticket conductors on the trains, even from abroad. The service also delivers the tickets home. For reservations you can phone: 353-2722 or fax: 353-2187.

The central telephone number of the Hungarian State Railways (for domestic and international train information, seat reservation etc.) is +36-40/49-49-49 (here press 9 for English menu).

MAV operates comfortable, reliable and not overcrowded train services on some 8000 km of track. There are several types of train. Express (Ex on the timetable) trains usually require a seat reservation . The two dozen or so InterCity (IC) trains levy a supplement. These stop at main centres only. Seat reservations may be compulsory (indicated on the timetable by an ‘R’ in a circle ) or simply available (just plain ‘R’). The other types of train are ‘gyorsvonat’ (fast trains) and ‘szemelyvonat’ (passenger trains), which are the real milk runs and stop at every hamlet. If you buy you ticket on the train rather than in the station, there’s a 200 Ft surcharge.

Taking Intercity is the fastest way to travel to/from Budapest from the following cities: Bekescsaba, Debrecen, Dombovar, Gyor, Gula, Hajduszoboszlo, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs, Sopron, Szeged, Szolnok, Szombathely.

An unlimited travel pass for all in Hungary is available for seven days, for 10 days, but you’d have to travel like the wind to make it pay for itself. Reservation charges are additional.

If you’ll be using trains extensively, you can buy the complete Hungarian timetable (menetrend) with an explanation of the symbols in a number of languages, including English for a cheap price (around $2). In all Hungarian train stations a yellow board indicates departures (indul) and a white board arrivals (érkezik). Express trains are indicated in red, local trains in black. In some stations, large black-and-white schedules are plastered all over the walls. To locate the table you need, first find the posted railway map of the country, which indexes the route numbers at the top of the schedules.

All train stations have left-luggage offices, many of which stay open 24 hours a day. You often have to go and pay the fee at another office (usually marked pénztár).

The following are distances and approximate times to provincial cities from Budapest (usually via express trains, on which you might expect to cover from 65 to 70 km/h):

Transdanubia

Győr - 131 km (two hours)
Sopron - 2l6 km (three hours)
Szombathely - 236 km (31/22 hours)
Pécs - 228 km (three hours)

Danube Bend

Esztergom - 53 km (1 1/2 hours, slow trains only)
Szentendre - 20 km (40 minutes on the HÉV commuter railway)

Lake Balaton

Siófok -115 km (1 1/2 hours)
Balatonfüred - I32 km (two hours)
Veszprém -112 km ( I I/2 hours)
Székesfehérvár - 67 km (50 minutes)

Great Plain

Szolnok -100 km (1 1/4 hours)
Kecskemét - 106 km ( 1 1/2 hours)
Debrecen - 221 km (three hours)
Békéscsaba-196 km (2 1/2 hours)
Szeged -191 km (2 1/2 hours)

Northern Hungary

Nyíregyháza - 270 km (four hours)
Eger -143 km (two hours)
Miskolc - 183 km (2 1/4 hours)
Sátoraljaújhely - 267 km (3 1/2 hours)