New Lake Balaton train schedules in effect from today!

Summer is fast approaching. Many Hungarians and foreign visitors will be travelling to Lake Balaton by train to enjoy their vacation on the lakeshore. In recent years, however, Balaton saw an increased number of tourists in the pre-season period as well, from mid-May to mid-June.

For this reason, the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) introduced some changes effective from today to make transportation more convenient to the popular Hungarian holiday destination. The new schedule will be in effect from 15 May until 16 June. It includes among others: more frequent trains along the lakeshore, expanded bicycle carrying capacity, more carriages and more spaces for passengers, writes Indóház Online.

What to look out for

The list of changes is rather lengthy, so here at DNH we have gathered the most important ones everyone should be aware of.

On trains with special significance in the region, MÁV introduced mandatory seat reservation in order to guarantee that every passenger will find a seat. The effected train lines are Balaton, Tópart, Jégmadár and Kék Hullám.

For those who bought the new country or castle-county transportation passes, boarding all passenger and express trains are free. Some of the busiest lines in this category include Katica and Vizipók interregional trains as well as Tanúhegy, Lesence and Fenyves express. Intercity (IC) trains haven’t been listed.

Balaton daily tickets have also been reintroduced. From 29 April to 31 October, you can buy a 24- or 72-hour train ticket, with similar prices and usage like last year.

Budapest-Balaton lines

On the southern coast of the lake, three different train lines will operate on a frequent basis. These are Balaton IC, Tópart IC and Déli->Parti interregional line. Déli->Parti line departs from Budapest-Déli Railways Station every two hours and stops at all settlements on the southern coast. For Friday and Saturday nights MÁV also introduced night trains. These will commute between Keszthely and Budapest-Déli.

For the northern coast, we have express line Kék Hullám, and interregional trains Vizipók and Katica (latter only for the weekend) for transportation. Kék Hullám departs from Budapest-Keleti Railway Station to Tapolca every two hours. Vizipók will carry passenger between Keleti Railway Station and Balatonfüred every two hours as well.

Jégmadár line is also making a comeback. This is one of the most modern trains of Hungary. The air-conditioned double-decker coach will be able to accommodate more passengers. Jégmadár will establish a direct line from the Danube Bend area to Lake Balaton, commuting between Szob to Fonyód.

Source: Indóház online