The Budapest Metro (, ) is the

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system in the Hungarian capital

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Opened in 1896, it is the world's second oldest electrified underground railway after the

City and South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use Railway electrification in Great Britain, electric traction. The railway was originally i ...

of 1890, now part of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

, and the third oldest underground railway with multiple stations, after the originally steam-powered

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

, now part of the London Underground (1863), and the

Mersey Railway The Mersey Railway was the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool and Birkenhead, England. It is currently a part of the Merseyrail network. It was extended further into the Wirral Peninsula, which lies on the opposite bank ...

, now part of Merseyrail in Liverpool (1886). Budapest's first line, Line 1, was completed in 1896. The M1 line became an

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE ...

Milestone due to the radically new innovations in its era: "Among the railway's innovative elements were bidirectional tram cars; electric lighting in the subway stations and tram cars; and an overhead wire structure instead of a third-rail system for power." In 2002, the M1 line was listed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

To clarify where the first "metro" in continental Europe was built, a few distinctions must be made. While the original metro line M1 is the oldest electrified underground railway in continental Europe, it is not the oldest underground railway. Outside of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the oldest fully underground urban railway in the world is the Tünel line in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, built in 1875. However since Tünel is a funicular railway, it may or may not be considered a "metro", in the classic sense. Therefore, depending on one's definition of a metro, the Budapest Metro is either the oldest or 2nd oldest underground urban railway in continental Europe. The original line M1 (''"Földalatti"'', from Hungarian ''föld'' "earth, ground", ''alatt'' "under"; so "the underground") ran for 5 km from Vörösmarty tér to Széchenyi fürdő. Line M1 was inaugurated on 2 May 1896, the year of the millennium (the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars), by emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. It was named "Franz Joseph Underground Electric Railway Company" (). Works on line M2 started in the 1950s, although the first section did not open until 1970. It follows an east–west route, connecting the major ''Keleti'' (Eastern) and ''Déli'' (Southern) railway stations. Planning for Metro Line 3 began in 1963 and construction started in 1970 with help of

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

specialists. The first section, consisting of six stations, opened in 1976. It was extended to the south in 1980 with five additional stations, and to the north in 1981, 1984, and 1990, with nine additional stations. With a length of approximately Jennifer Walker. (19 December 2018)
Budapest M1: Inside continental Europe's oldest metro network
CNN. Retrieved 19 December 2022 and a total of 20 stations, it is the longest line in Budapest. Construction of the fourth Metro line began in 2006. The line opened after several delays and budget overruns in May 2014.

Routes

The metro consists of four lines (M1–M4), each denoted by a different colour. M1 (yellow) runs from Mexikói út south-west towards the river. The M2 (red) line travels east–west through the city, crossing the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The M3 (blue) runs in a broadly north–south alignment, interchanging with the three other lines. The M4 (green) line commences at Keleti pályaudvar and travels south-west, crossing the river, to terminate at Kelenföld vasútállomás.

Metro line M1

Line M1 runs northeast from the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

on the Pest side under Andrássy út to the '' Városliget'', or City Park. Like line M3, it does not serve

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

. Metro line M1, the oldest of the metro lines operating in Budapest, has been in constant operation since 1896. In the 1980s and 1990s, the line underwent major reconstruction. During the construction of line M2, space needed to be made for its station at Deák Ferenc tér, as a result, M1's station at Deák Ferenc tér had to be rebuilt approximately 40 meters from the original station. Of its 11 stations currently served, eight are original and three were added during the reconstruction. The original appearance of the old stations has been preserved, and each station features displays of historical photographs and information. As part of the reconstruction, the Millennium Underground Museum in the old station at Deák Ferenc tér connected to the concourse. There are plans for the future extension of the line in both directions.

Metro line M2

Line M2 runs east–west from Déli pályaudvar in

Krisztinaváros Krisztinaváros () () is a neighborhood in central Budapest, situated just west of Buda Castle, Castle Hill, north of Tabán. It is named after Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen, Archduchess Maria Christina, daughter of Maria There ...

, through the city center, to Örs vezér tere in eastern Pest. It offers connections to

Hungarian State Railways The Hungarian State Railways (, , formally MÁV Magyar Államvasutak Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (MÁV Zrt.). The full official name of the company is MÁV-csoport () now commonly known as MÁV) is the Hungary, Hungarian natio ...

at Déli and Keleti pályaudvars, to metro lines M1 and M3 at Deák Ferenc tér, to M4 at Keleti pályaudvar, to suburban railway lines H8 and H9 at Örs vezér tere, and to suburban railway line H5 at Batthyány tér. Prior to the opening of M4, it was (for more than 45 years) the only metro line that served the Buda side of the city. Metro Line 2 underwent a major reconstruction in the second half of the 2000s, with all of the track replaced and stations revamped by 2007. The entire fleet of Metrovagonmash 81-717/81-714 and Ev/EvA carriages operating on the line were replaced with Alstom Metropolis metro cars by 2013. Planning of a direct connection of line M2 and the suburban railway lines with a shared new station at Örs vezér tere and the addition of a potential new underground station near Hungexpo Budapest Congress and Exhibition Center, offering another interchange point to mainline railways began in 2021.

Metro line M3

Line M3 runs in a north–south direction (more exactly, from north-northeast to southeast) on the Pest side of the river and connects several populous residential areas with the

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

. It has a transfer station with line M1 and line M2 at Deák Ferenc tér, and an interchange with line M4 at

Kálvin tér Kálvin tér (English: Calvin Square) is a major square and intersection in the city center of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. It was named after the French Protestantism, Protestant Reformer John Calvin (''Kálvin János'' in Hungarian langu ...

. It is the longest line in the Budapest metro system, its daily ridership is estimated at 610,000. A semi-automatic train drive system was introduced in 1990. A complete renovation of the line started in 2017. The upgrades included reconstructing the stations, rebuilding the track, safety equipment, ventilation and tunnel insulation. Design works were entirely funded by the European Union under the New Széchenyi Plan. The project also included the renovation of the rolling stock and a possible extension of the metro line to Káposztásmegyer. The renovation finished in May 2023, with the opening of Nagyvárad tér and Lehel tér stations.

Metro line M4

Line M4 runs southwest–northeast from Kelenföld vasútállomás in

's Kelenföld neighborhood to Keleti Railway Station in

Józsefváros Józsefváros (, ) is the 8th district of Budapest, Hungary. Historically one of the city's 18th–19th century outer suburbs, it is considered part of the broader city centre due to its proximity to Belváros (Budapest), Belváros (Inner City) ...

. With a length of , it connects to

at its termini, to the metro line M3 at

, and to line M2 at Keleti pályaudvar. Line M4 was completed in March 2014 and comprises ten stations.

Future expansion

Metro line M5

Metro line M5 is a proposed north–south railway tunnel to connect the currently separated elements of the suburban rail network, namely the H5, H6 and H7 suburban railway lines, and optionally the

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

and

Kunszentmiklós Kunszentmiklós () is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. The name is derived from the Cumans (Kun in Hungarian). Twin cities * Cristuru Secuiesc * Blumberg Blumberg () is a municipality situated in the Schwarzwald-Baar region of Ba ...

Tass The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

railway lines. Currently the project does not have mainstream political support, only included in long-term plans. The first phase (planned until 2030) would be the extension and connection of the southern H6 and H7 lines to Astoria metro station via

, thus connecting these lines to metro lines M2, M3 and M4. The second phase would create a connection to metro line M1 as well at Oktogon, M3 at Lehel tér then cross the

to the

side to connect suburban railway line H5 towards

Szentendre Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...

Rolling stock

File:Budapest, M1 metró, Mexikói út, 22.jpg, Ganz MFAV – operating on line M1 since 1973 File:Budapest, M4 metró, járműtelep, Alstom AM4-M4, 34.jpg, Alstom Metropolis – operating on line M2 since 2012 and on line M4 since its opening in 2014 File:Budapest, M3 metró, Árpád híd, kihúzó.jpg, Metrowagonmash 81-717.2K/714.2K – refurbished versions of the old carriages that ran on lines M2 and M3; operating on line M3 since 2017

General information

Tickets and transfer system

The usual BKK tickets and passes can be used on all lines. Single tickets can be re-used when changing metro lines. There are plans for an automated fare collection system. A contract for a system was signed in 2014, but terminated in 2018 without completion. The Budapest Pay&GO system, that was introduced on bus line 100E in June 2023, is planned to begin a test phase on line M1. Starting 1st March 2024, free public transport has been extended for children up to 14 years, and for people 65 years or older including non-Hungarian citizens.

In popular culture

The internationally acclaimed 2003 Hungarian thriller ''

Kontroll ''Kontroll'' is a 2003 Hungarian comedy–thriller film. Shown internationally, mainly in art house theatres, the film is set on a fictionalized version of the Budapest Metro system. "Kontroll" in Hungarian refers to the ticket inspectors check ...

'' is set and was filmed in the metro system on the line M3.

Network map

Notes

References

External links

Budapest Metro Map 2016–17 on Google earth with geolocation

BKK Zrt. – official website

Budapest Metro Track map

Budapest Metro Map
{{Underground rapid transit in the European Union 1896 establishments in Hungary Railway lines opened in 1896 History of Budapest Underground rapid transit in Hungary Railway lines in Hungary