Major disruptions hit Budapest’s public transport: Busy train station closes, replacement buses operating in Buda

Budapest transit changes transportation disruption Keleti railway Station closure keleti station
Budapest, Keleti Railway Station. Source: depositphotos.com

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Significant changes are coming to Budapest’s public transport in the coming weeks. From 25 August, Keleti Railway Station—one of the city’s busiest transit hubs—will close for four weeks. Additionally, reconstruction on several tram lines in Buda will require replacement buses on multiple routes from the end of July.

Budapest’s public transport changes

Keleti Railway Station, one of Budapest’s most important rail hubs, will neither receive nor dispatch any trains until 20 September, according to the latest announcement by MÁV. During the closure, all trains will be rerouted to other Budapest stations—including Kőbánya-felső, Zugló, Ferencváros, Kelenföld, and Nyugati railway station—all of which will experience increased traffic. To help ease congestion at Nyugati, S21 trains will primarily terminate at Kőbánya-Kispest.

  • Hungary launches new night trains from Budapest for summer travellers!

Primarily a technical renovation, the closure comes in response to previous safety concerns, according to MÁV CEO Zsolt Hegyi’s post on social media:

Last year, after two locomotives derailed, it became clear that the renovation of one of Hungary’s most important railway stations could no longer be delayed. One of my first decisions as CEO was launching the Keleti Programme. We administered ‘first aid’ last summer, prioritising safety above all else. But the heavy lifting starts now: from 25 August, the station will close for four weeks as we complete critical large-scale renovations to ensure its long-term smooth operation.

MÁV says replacement buses, transfers, and temporary timetable changes will assist passengers but warns that significant delays are still to be expected during the peak summer travel period.

Alternative stations:

  • Trains on the Győr Line: Budapest-Kelenföld

  • Miskolc InterCity trains and Tisza-Tó express: Nyugati Station

  • Hatvan IR and S80 trains: Kőbánya-felső

  • Pécs and Kaposvár InterCity trains: Budapest-Kelenföld

  • Between Kőbánya-felső and Puskás Ferenc Stadion, buses will operate and provide connections to Volán, HÉV, and BKK services.
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