Better service for higher prices on trains? Here’s what you can eat on your way to Lake Balaton this summer

Trains with dining cars will operate again this summer on the southern shore of Lake Balaton between Budapest and Keszthely, MÁV announces. In the dining car of the Balaton InterCity trains, MÁV-START’s catering service provider, Utasellátó, welcomes passengers with chilled and warm drinks, snacks and a variety of main dishes and desserts.

Last summer, six out of ten dining cars were renovated both inside and out. Not only has passenger comfort improved, but new kitchen technology and modern equipment have also been installed in the vehicles, MÁV announced last year. The railway company offers chilled and hot drinks, snacks and a variety of main dishes and desserts in the dining car of the Balaton IC again this year, running on the Budapest – Székesfehérvár – Siófok – Fonyód – Keszthely route.

New kitchen technology and higher prices on the trains

According to Pénzcentrum, the selection of MÁV catering cars has been expanded, with more meat-free and vegan options, and presumably, certain products will be replaced or added to the selection based on demand. However, there are permanent products whose prices have increased since last year due to inflation. With a few exceptions, all food and drinks cost roughly 10-20 percent more. Mostly, the prices of soups and burgers have gone up.

For example, a breakfast consisting of fried eggs or scrambled eggs with two slices of bread will cost HUF 1,250 (EUR 3.25) in 2024, whereas last year it was HUF 1,100 (EUR 2.86). You will be able to buy a pair of sausages with two slices of bread for HUF 950 (EUR 2.47); in the summer of 2023, it was HUF 690 (EUR 1.80).