Getting There By Rail
The service on Hungarian State Railways (MV), VI Andrssy t 35 (tel: (01) 322 8405; website: www.mav.hu), is far from luxurious but trains are generally clean and punctual. Not all express trains have dining or buffet cars and overcharging, especially for drinks, occurs frequently – it is better for visitors to bring their own food and drink on long journeys. Tickets for international journeys should be purchased 24-36 hours in advance. Reservations on all international trains can be made with MV (tel: (01) 333 6342) and seat reservations are strongly advised for all services. Tickets are also available for purchase from the MV booking office, V Andrssy t 35 (tel: (01) 322 0856). There are separate telephone numbers for international rail enquiries (tel: (01) 461 5500) and national rail enquiries (tel: (01) 461 5400).
MV directs the three large international railway stations in Budapest – Keleti plyaudvar (eastern station), VIII Baross tr, Nyugati plyaudvar (western station), VI Nyugati tr, and Dli plyaudvar (southern station), I Krisztina krt. All three stations have exchange facilities and tourist information services. Keleti and Nyugati have 24-hour left-luggage facilities.
Rail services: Direct rail links connect Hungary to 16 European cities, with 51 international scheduled trains arriving at Budapest. Keleti is the principal terminus for international rail services from Western Europe, including Berlin (journey time – 12 hours) and Paris (journey time – 15.5 hours). Nyugati is the main terminus for trains heading east to Romania and Slovakia, for destinations such as Bucharest (journey time – 14 hours 15 minutes to 18 hours) and Bratislava (journey time – 3 hours). There are also rail links to southern Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, to destinations such as Zagreb (journey time – 5 hours 30 minutes) and Ljubljana (journey time – 6 hours 15 minutes).
Transport to the city: Keleti, Dli and Nyugati are directly connected by metro to Dek tr in the Belvros (inner city).
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Getting There By Rail