New tram line planned along the Danube: what we know about Budapest’s Buda interconnecting tram phase II

A new tram line along the Danube on the Buda side has moved a step closer to reality, as Budapest selected a winner for the construction tender for the Buda interconnecting tram phase II (Budai fonódó II. ütem). According to Hungary’s public procurement system (EKR), as reported by Hungarian business press, the SWIETELSKY Magyarország Ltd – SWIETELSKY Vasúttechnika Ltd consortium submitted the winning bid at HUF 26.9 billion net (around €69.4 million using the ECB reference rate).

The decision, however, is not yet final. Reports note that a legal remedy procedure can be initiated within eight days, and at the time of publication the contract had not yet been signed.

For international readers, the “Buda interconnecting tram” is a major Budapest transport project that links and extends tram corridors on the Buda side (western bank of the Danube), improving connections between dense residential districts, the city centre, and key destinations.

What the Buda interconnecting tram phase II would add

According to Magyar Építők, the core element is a new double-track tram line of 2.8 kilometres, equivalent to 5.6 track-kilometres in total.

Plans also include:

• at least 1.2 km of grass-covered (green) track;
• seven pairs of new, fully accessible stops;
• a new terminal staff facility near the Dombóvári Road junction.

The new tram line design work was prepared by Főmterv Engineering Consultant, according to the same reporting.

Where would be the new tram line?

As described in recent coverage, the new tram line route would connect at Szent Gellért Square and then follow the Danube waterfront past two of Hungary’s biggest universities: Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). From around the Rákóczi Bridge, the alignment would turn inland, serving the Infopark office-and-university zone and continuing towards the Kopaszi Dam area, with the western end near the Dombóvári Road–Budafoki Road junction (close to the MOL Campus).

In practical terms, the new tram line extension is intended to make tram travel more competitive for daily trips between south Buda, the universities, and major office clusters—areas that have grown rapidly in recent years.

Beyond transport: trees, shrubs, promenade and cycling links

Project descriptions frame the build not only as a transport upgrade but as a broader public-space intervention along the embankment and adjacent streets.

The published new tram line plans mention:

• 394 new trees and 27,431 shrubs;
• a continuous riverside promenade;
• about 2,660 metres of cycling infrastructure between Szent Gellért Square and Rákóczi Bridge.

If delivered as planned, these elements would reshape a section of the Danube waterfront that today is heavily influenced by road traffic and fragmented pedestrian routes.