Page 1 of 5 BUDAPEST Hungary System The capital of Hungary is the result of the unification in 1873 of 3 cities : Buda and Óbuda on the western side of the Danube and Pest on the eastern side. Today, Budapest has approximately 2 million inhabitants. In Budapest there is a three line system, with all lines meeting in the city centre
Page 2 of 5 at Deák Ferenc Tér. M1 (5 km) was opened in 1896 between Vörösmarty tér in the centre and Széchenyi fürdö as the first electric underground (Földalatti) line on the European mainland. Almost 80 years later, in 1973, the line was extended to Mexikói út. This line is different from the other two in dimensions, directly under the street, and only 6 m wide and 2,75 m high. Therefore special trains had to be built and a fixed catenary had be installed. For the 100-Years-Anniversary all stations were restored and once again exhibit their historic splendor. M2 (10 km) is an east-west line connecting both major railway stations, Déli (South station) and Keleti (East station), surface between Pillangö utca and the eastern terminus Örs vezér tere. Although construction had started already in the 50's, this line was only opened between 1970 (Deák Ferenc tér - Örs vezér tere) and 1972 (Deák Ferenc tér - Déli pu.). In autumn 2003, M2 started to undergo total refurbishing. Since it is the most used line in the city, stations will only be closed and major work will only be carried out during the summer until 2007 with the following schedule: summer 2004: stations Örs Vezér tere and Pillango utca; summer 2005: stations from Népstadion to Deák tér (possible that Deák tér will only be renovated in 2006 since there are no switches between Deák tér and Déli pályaudvar) summer 2006 and 2007: between Deák tér and Déli pályaudvar. All stations will get elevator access and the route will be refitted with modern electronics that allow trains to be operated by 1 driver. On 1 Jan 2004, Népstadion was renamed Stadionok. M3 (18 km) is a north-south connection on the Pest side of the city. Apart from the southern terminus Köbánya-Kispest, all stations are underground. The first part (Deák tér - Nagyvárad tér) opened in 1976, in various stages it was extended in both directions. In 1990 it reached Újpest Központ (with a station design that pays tribute to 1970's stations in Munich or Berlin). More photos Although the Budapest Metro (M2, M3) is not very old, trains have a rather classical look. Like in Prague and all ex-soviet metro cities, trains are identical to those used in Moscow. One train is made of five cars on M2 and of six on M3. On the train, stations are announced acoustically and a line panel is installed on top of the doors. History
Page 3 of 5 1896: Vörösmarty tér - Széchenyi fürdö 1973: - Mexikói út 1970: Deák Ferenc tér - Örs vezér tere 1972: Deák Ferenc tér - Déli pu. 1976: Deák tér - Nagyvárad tér 1980: - Köbánya-Kispest 1981: - Lehel tér 1984: - Arpád híd 1990: - Újpest Központ Projects M4 is now in planning stage and will run totally underground between Keleti and Kelenföldi rail stations crossing M3 at Kálvin ter, then under the Danube river to Szt. Gellért ter and south-west through Buda (see link below for details on all stations). After an uncertain phase it seems that the current government is more likely to support the construction of this line, and they even added another four stations towards the northeast. Construction start is now scheduled for 2004 for completion in 2007-2009. Line M5 is now being planned underground from Boráros tér to Szépvölgyi út station as a link between two suburban (HEV) lines, with interchange stations to other metro lines at Kálvin tér (Line 3), Astoria (Line 2), Oktogon (Line 1), Lehel tér (Line 3). Later M3 might be extended northwards from Újpest-Központ to Káposztásmegyer, with 3-5 stations possibly until 2010, since most of the surface track have been laid down about 10 years ago and is currently being used by trams. There is also a proposed link between Déli pályaudvar and Kelenföldi pályaudvar, possibly as a surface extension of the M2 using the rail line which will then be abandoned as the Kelenföldi rail station will take over the function of the Déli rail station. This line would have 2 or 3 stops and a terminus at Kelenföldi pályaudvar. Practical Info The Budapest Metro operates between 4:30 and 23:10 with trains every 4-5 minutes (2-3 min during rush hours). After 20:00 h there is a fixed timetable which is quite reliable. Good quality network maps are sometimes available at ticket offices. They show all bus, tram, metro and HÉV lines and give you all kind of general information on the system. Tickets (July 2004, in Hungarian Forint): Single 145F
Page 4 of 5 Single with transfer - 250F 10-rides 1250F 20-rides 2450F Metro short trip (3 stops) - 105F metro section transfer ticket (1 transfer - 5 stops) - 160F metro only transfer ticket - 240F 1-Day-Pass 1150F 3-Day-Pass 2300F 7-Day-Pass 2700F Travelcards (with photo-id): - 14 days - 3500F, - 1 month (or 30 days) - 5400F, - 1 year 5400/month or 13500/per month (transferable without photo) Budapest has an open fare system. You have to cancel your ticket at the entrance of the metro or on buses and trams, but there are no barriers. Controls are very thorough on some days! Some stations have ticket vending machines showing onscreen instructions in 4 languages (Hungarian, German, English and Italian). Generally the Budapest Metro is well integrated into the city transport system which includes buses, trams, metro and HÉV (suburban) trains. All tickets are valid for any means of transport within Budapest City. Basic Hungarian for metro users: földalatti - underground, felé - direction, tér - square, híd - bridge, pályaudvar - rail station, kijárat - exit Links BKV Official Page Line 4 project includes detailed information on stations and construction UrbanRail.Net > Budapest Metro Gallery metro.budapest.hu by Peter Istvanfi Millenium Subway by Akos Varga (about M1 and trams) Leif Spangberg's Budapest metro photos Scanned map from my collection (incl. HÉV) (75K) Track map (by Stefan Baumgartner)
Page 5 of 5 HÉV (Suburban Rail) Out of four HÉV-lines, only two are directly connected to the metro system. The line to Szentendre in the north leaves from Batthyány tér (M2) and runs underground as far as Margit híd. During day time trains run every 10 minutes with every second train only as far as Békásmegyer (city limit). This Stadtbahn type has level crossings all along the route. The eastern line to Csömör and Gödöllö leaves from M2's eastern terminus at Örs vezér tere with trains every 20 minutes. The two southern lines to Csepel and Ráckeve can only be reached by bus or tram. Metro Museum At Deák Ferenc tér, in the former Földalatti station, there is a Metro Museum showing the original trains of today's M1 and illustrating the history of the Budapest Metro. Thanks to Hámori Dániel and Roger Barta! 2004 UrbanRail.Net by Robert Schwandl.