Getting There By Rail
The service on Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), VI Andrássy út 35 (tel: (01) 322 8405; fax: (01) 342 8342; website: www.mav.hu), is far from luxurious but trains are generally clean and punctual. Not all express trains have dining or buffet cars and overcharging, especially for drinks, occurs frequently – it is better for visitors to bring their own food and drink on long journeys. Tickets for international journeys should be purchased 24-36 hours in advance. Reservations on all international trains can be made with MÁV (tel: (01) 333 6342) and seat reservations are strongly advised for all services. Tickets are also available for purchase from the MÁV booking office, V Andrássy út 35 (tel: (01) 322 0856), Monday-Friday 0900-1700. There are separate telephone numbers for international rail enquiries (tel: (01) 461 5500) and national rail enquiries (tel: (01) 461 5400).
MÁV directs the three large international railway stations in Budapest – Keleti pályaudvar (eastern station), VIII Baross tér (tel: (01) 313 6835), Nyugati pályaudvar (western station), VI Nyugati tér (tel: (01) 349 0115), and Déli pályaudvar (southern station), I Krisztina körút (tel: (01) 375 6293 or 355 8657). All three stations have exchange facilities and tourist information services. Keleti and Nyugati have 24-hour left-luggage facilities.
Rail services: Direct rail links connect Hungary to 16 European cities, with 51 international scheduled trains arriving at Budapest. Keleti is the principal terminus for international rail services from Western Europe, including Berlin (journey time – 12 hours) and Paris (journey time – 15.5 hours). Nyugati is the main terminus for trains heading east to Romania and Slovakia, for destinations such as Bucharest (journey time – 14 hours 15 minutes to 18 hours) and Bratislava (journey time – 3 hours). There are also rail links to southern Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia, to destinations such as Zagreb (journey time – 5 hours 30 minutes) and Ljubljana (journey time – 6 hours 15 minutes).
Transport to the city: Keleti, Déli and Nyugati are directly connected by metro to Deák tér in the Belváros (inner city).
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