Budapest is an important Central European rail crossroads and international trains run to all the surrounding countries as well as Germany.
Trains Prague - Brno - Budapest
Travelling by train to Budapest is currently the most convenient and frequent form of public transport from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The route is currently operated by 2 companies: the Czech Railways (in cooperation with the Hungarian MÁV) and Regiojet.
Tickets are always the cheapest on the website of the particular carrier and are in most cases cheaper than buses. The journey time is about 30 minutes shorter than the bus journey.
Regiojet to Budapest
Regiojet has been operating trains to Budapest since 2018. Unlike ČD/MÁV, it does not go via Bratislava but via Vienna. Tickets are slightly cheaper than ČD, but on the other hand Regiojet has fewer connections and the journey time is about 25 minutes longer than ČD. However, it offers a greater range of services on board and a greater number of classes.
| Price | Journey time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prague | from 18 eur | 6h 40min | 2x daily |
| Brno | from 11 eur | 4h | 2x daily |
| Pardubice | from 16 eur | 5h 45min | 2x daily |
Regiot trains stop in Budapest at Kelenföld station and end at Keleti pu station .
Czech Railways/MÁV to Budapest
The most frequent connections from most places in the Czech Republic are offered by ČD in cooperation with Hungarian MÁV. ČD also has the advantage of a wide network across the Czech Republic, so you can buy a ticket to Budapest from most major cities with just one change.
The connection is considerably more frequent than the competing Regiyot, but on the other hand it offers a smaller range of services and classes, and there is a certain risk of Hungarian trains running on half the connections and suffering from a rather bad reputation.
ČD/MÁV trains run directly on these routes:
| Price | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prague | from 24 eur | 6h 45min | 1x every 2 hours |
| Brno | from 15 eur | 4h | 1x per 2 hours |
| Ostrava | from 20 eur | 6h | direct train 2x a day |
| Pardubice | from 20 eur | 5h 45min | 1x in 2 hours |
| Ústí n. L. | from 30 eur | 8h 15min | direct train 2x daily |
Tickets can be purchased on cd.cz or jegy.mav.hu. However, the Czech version has a much clearer mobile app.
Czech Railways trains stop in Budapest only at Nyugati pu..
Munich - Salzburg - Vienna - Budapest trains
There is also competition between two carriers on the route from Vienna: the connection is operated by Regiojet and ÖBB in cooperation with MÁV.
Regiojet
Regiojet's yellow trains run only 5 times a day on the route, but often offer significantly cheaper fares than ÖBB/MÁV. In the direction to Austria, however, they only stop in Vienna and then turn north to the Czech Republic.
| Price | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna | from 11 eur | 2h 30min | 5x daily |
ÖBB
Austrian Railways operates modern Railjet trains on most of its services, continuing from Vienna via Linz to Salzburg. From there, some trains continue on to Munich, Germany, and some trains continue via Innsbruck to Zurich, Switzerland.
Tickets are most easily purchased on the oebb.at website.
| Price | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna | from 19 eur | 2h 40min | 1x per hour |
| Linz | from 33 eur | 4h | 1x per 2 hours |
| Salzburg | from 40 eur | 5h 15min | 1x in 2 hours |
| Munich | from 55 eur | 7h | 1x in 2 hours |
ÖBB trains run to Keleti pu station. and also stop at Kelenföld station.
Trains to Slovakia
Budapest can also be reached by train from Slovakia, specifically on two routes:
- Košice - Hidasnémeti - Budapest Keleti pu.
- Bratislava - Nové Zámky - Štúrovo - Budapest Nyugati pu.
Both connections are operated by Slovak Railways ZSSK in cooperation with Hungarian MÁV.
Tickets are most easily purchased on the Slovak website zssk.sk.
On the route to Bratislava, Flixbus buses are significantly more frequent and cheaper.
| Price | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bratislava | from 17 eur | 2h 30min | 1x per 2 hours |
| Košice | from 27 eur | 3h 45min | 1x per 2 hours |
| Štúrovo | from 9 eur | 1h | 1x per 2 hours |
Trains to Romania
A fairly frequent connection on several routes also leads from Budapest to Romania.
The trains are mainly operated by the Hungarian MÁV in cooperation with the Romanian CFR.
You can find timetables and buy tickets online at jegy.mav.hu.
| Price | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucharest | From 36 eur | 16h | 4 times a day |
| Timisoara | from 17 eur | 6h 15min | 3x daily |
| Arad | from 14 eur | 4h 15min | 1x per 2 hours |
| Oradea | from 14 eur | 7h | 1x per day |
| Targu Mures | from 27 eur | 12h 30min | 1x daily |
| Satu Mare | from 17 eur | 6h | 1x daily |
Trains to Croatia and Slovenia
Direct trains from Budapest also take you southwards to Croatia and Slovenia. There are no direct trains between Budapest and Serbia, you need to change trains once in Szeged.
The services are operated by Hungarian Railways MÁV. In the case of Croatia in cooperation with HŽPP and in the case of Slovenia in cooperation with SŽ.
Timetables and online ticket purchase can be found on the website jegy.mav.hu.
| Price | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ljubljana | from 18 eur | 7h 30min | 2x daily |
| Zagreb | from 17 eur | 6h 30min | 1x daily |
Trains to Ukraine
From Budapest you can reach the Ukrainian border town of Chop without changing trains, where you can change to long-distance trains of the Ukrainian Railways to Lviv, Kiev and other destinations.
Trains to Chop start from 19 eur and run twice daily. One connection continues to Mukachevo station.
Timetables and online ticket purchase can be found at jegy.mav.hu.