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Budapest Airport’s rail link finally resolved: EUR 1 billion project to end 77-year anomaly
In the 77-year history of Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, there has still been no adequate rail connection to the city centre. While major airports around the world and in Europe – Madrid, Barcelona, Sofia, Istanbul, and Paris – have long had fast, fixed-track solutions, the international gateway to the Hungarian capital can only be reached by road.
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Introduction: Budapest Airport’s rail link is coming
The airport, which welcomes 19.6 million passengers annually, is currently accessible by car, taxi, or bus. Bus line 93, launched in 1960, originally connected Vörösmarty Square with the airport, but since the route was shortened in 1980 – due to the opening of the section of metro line 3 to Kőbánya-Kispest – there has been no direct express service from the city centre.
Since the summer of 2017, there has been a bus service marked 100E, which was launched on the occasion of the World Swimming Championships and can be used with a special ticket, as well as the 200E line, which serves as the successor to the former 93. However, these services do not provide an adequate solution to the year-on-year increase in passenger traffic and do not offer the comfort and speed that passengers arriving at or departing from a modern international airport can expect.
The lack of a fixed-track solution is particularly noticeable due to the unpredictability caused by road traffic jams, which can significantly affect travel time and cause uncertainty for passengers.
The latest news is that the deadline for applications has been postponed. On Monday, the ministry wrote that “the Ministry of National Economy and the National Concession Office, which are responsible for conducting the concession procedure, have decided to extend the deadline for participation in the concession procedure by a further 30 days, in view of the content of the technical questions submitted by the participants in the concession procedure, the technical recommendations of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers, and the outstanding international interest.”
Main features of the planned high-speed rail link
In June 2025, Minister Márton Nagy announced that concession tenders for the implementation of the high-speed rail link from Nyugati railway station would be issued within six months. The total value of the project is EUR 1 billion, which indicates the significance and volume of the investment.
Further details were announced in October: the planned line will be 27 kilometres long, connecting Kőbánya with Monor, thus making the airport part of the national rail network. This means not only will it be easier for passengers from Budapest to reach the airport, but there will also be direct rail connections to the terminals from Debrecen and Győr.
According to the planned parameters:
• It will take 20 minutes to get from Nyugati railway station to the airport
• The planned ticket price is 3-4 thousand forints
• The journey between the two terminals will take 19 minutes
• Trains will run every 5-10 minutes
• The system will be able to serve 33,000 passengers per day
According to Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, the line could be built in six years if the process proceeds as planned.
The concession tender and implementation schedule
The National Concession Office announced the relevant public procurement on January 6, 2025. Originally, bids were expected by February 6, but according to a statement by the Ministry of National Economy and the National Concession Office, the deadline was extended by 30 days due to significant international interest.
According to Telex, there are Spanish, Japanese, Turkish, French, and British interested parties. Professional circles have suggested that the French Vinci Group, the minority owner of Budapest Airport, and V-Híd, which is owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, may also participate in the process. Chinese and Austrian bidders can also be expected.
The state aims to complete the entire process by mid-June, so it is expected to be announced in the summer who will be awarded the contract to design and implement the line. Negotiations are not expected to be concluded by mid-April, so a possible change of government could bring other considerations to the fore in the further development of the project.
Tasks and responsibilities of the concessionaire
The winner of the tender will have an extremely comprehensive set of tasks, including:
• Detailed design of the line
• Approval of the plans
• Renovation of existing sections of the line
• Implementation and technical supervision of the entire project
• Operation and maintenance of the railway track and station
• Financing of the entire project
The concessionaire will retain ownership of the track section for 35 years, which means that the concession period will begin when construction work starts. If work begins in the spring of 2027, the state will only become the owner of the line in 2062.
Economic viability and return on investment
The essence of the concession model is that the winning company invests a significant amount in the implementation of the project, but in return is entitled to collect revenue from ticket sales for thirty-five years.
According to calculations, with 30,000 passengers per day and a ticket price of 4,000 forints, 43.8 billion forints will flow into the concessionaire’s coffers annually. This must be used to cover the maintenance and operation of the line, but the investment is expected to pay for itself after a few years.
An additional source of revenue is that MÁV will probably have to pay a fee for using the line it has built, which will further increase the concessionaire’s revenues.
From the state’s point of view, the advantage of the concession model is that it does not have to spend a huge amount of money on transport development at once, but the private investor undertakes to finance, develop and operate the project in the long term.
Technical characteristics and infrastructure
The technical details will be worked out by the winner of the tender, but the state has set out the basic principles that cannot be changed:
• The theoretical location of the railway line
• The design of the station at Liszt Ferenc International Airport as an underground station
The approval plans prepared in 2017 by the design consortiums – FŐMTERV, InfraPlan, and Út-Teszt – will serve as a basis. According to these plans:
• Trains will travel at speeds of 80-200 km/h on different sections
• 29 structures will be required along the entire section
• 16 bridges will be built, including large steel bridges over the M0 and M4 motorways
• 3 railway tunnels will be constructed
• A control centre will be built in Monor
• The airport station will be a complex facility with 12 groups of sidings
Within the administrative boundaries of Budapest, the line will largely be implemented by renovating the existing tracks and developing their surroundings, which will also have an impact on the surrounding buildings.
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International comparison and examples
With this project, Budapest will join the ranks of European capitals that have had fast rail connections between the airport and the city centre for decades. The examples of Madrid, Barcelona, Sofia, Istanbul, and Paris show that fixed-track solutions can efficiently serve high passenger traffic while providing predictable travel times and environmentally friendly transportation.
According to the plans, the current bus services will continue to operate after the rail link is completed, similar to how different modes of transport coexist at many other airports in Europe and around the world, providing passengers with a choice.
Summary
The implementation of the rail link to Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport would remedy an infrastructure deficiency that has existed for decades. The concession model allows the investment to be realised without significant public expenditure, with the involvement of private capital, bringing Budapest closer to the standards of modern European metropolises. The outcome of the 2025-2026 tender process will determine whether the planned 2027 start of construction and the six-year implementation period can actually be achieved.