Hungaria () is a
EuroCity
EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...
train which runs between
Budapest Nyugati and
Hamburg - Altona, currently running with coaches of
MÁV
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 Hungarian national rail ...
. It is numbered as ''EC 172-173'' and runs daily, mainly with MÁV owned rolling stocks.
History
Earlier numbering included ''EC 170-171'', ''EC 174-175'', ''IEx 74/75'' and ''Ex 154/155''.
The Hungaria international express train is one of the oldest express trains still in operation. Its first run between Budapest and Berlin via
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
was on 29 May 1960 with a diesel locomotive. It was the first train in the former
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
which reached a speed of 130 km/h.
During the 1970s it ran as an
express train
An express train is a type of passenger train that makes few or no stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, providing faster service than local trains that stop at many or all of the stations along their ...
between the capitals of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
under train numbers ''Ex 154/155''. Electric locomotives were introduced in this period. The capacity of these locomotives just reached the necessary level.
There were further improvements in the 1980s. MÁV planned to introduce a high level, international rail service with other railway companies of the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
. The
Interexpress alliance was founded with the membership of the
Czechoslovakian
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Nazi ...
ČSD
Czechoslovak State Railways (''Československé státní dráhy'' in Czech language, Czech or ''Československé štátne dráhy'' in Slovak language, Slovak, often abbreviated to ČSD) was the state-owned railway company of Czechoslovakia.
T ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
PKP,
Hungarian and
East German
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
DR. The contract was signed in 1986, one year before the establishment of the Western European
EuroCity
EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...
network. In the timetable year of 1986 the Hungaria became an interexpress train with train numbers ''IEx 74/75''. At this time the train terminated in
East Berlin
East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...
, at
Berlin-Lichtenberg station
Berlin-Lichtenberg is a railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is located on the Prussian Eastern Railway, Eastern Railway, Wriezen Railway and Berlin Frankfurter Allee–Berlin-Rummelsburg railway lines in the Lichtenberg (locality), Lichtenbe ...
, the main railway station of the city. During the next two years it had direct rolling stocks to and from
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and in the summer period to
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
. During this period and usually on Hungarian territories it used the
MÁV V63
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 Hungarian national rail ...
locomotives.
The Interexpress network was dissolved after the regime change in Eastern Europe, so Hungaria was operated out of this system’s scope.
EuroCity

The current system was implemented together with the EuroCity system in 1993. Its termination in Hungary was the
Keleti Railway Station
Budapest Keleti station (, ; "eastern railway station") is the main international and inter-city railway terminal in Budapest, Hungary.
The station stands where Rákóczi Avenue splits to become Kerepesi Avenue and Thököly Avenue. Its name i ...
in
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 ...
until this was changed in 2018 alongside all EuroCity trains from this direction - the new terminus is the
Nyugati Railway Station
Budapest Nyugati station (, ; ), generally referred to simply as Nyugati, is one of the three main railway terminals in Budapest, Hungary. The station is on the Pest side of Budapest, accessible by the 4 and 6 tramline and the M3 metro line. ...
. The train has also been extended from Berlin to Hamburg with a total travel time of 13:49 for EC252 and 13:40 for EC253.
As of 2023 the train is pulled by a
Class 193 for the entire Journey. The locomotive is provided by the Czech Railway
ČD. The train has nine carriages: Two with a first class configuration (Amz and Apmz), a restaurant-car (WRmz) and six second class cars (5 Bpmz and 1 Bbdpmz). The train has carriages with wi-fi and allows for the transport of bicycles in the Bbdpmz carriage. All carriages are equipped with seats that provide 230V power, all of them are able to run at an operating speed of 200 km/h, they are air conditioned and it is possible to reserve a seat for an extra charge.
Current route
Described below is the Route for EC 172, EC 173 runs in the opposite direction.
Starting at
Budapest Nyugati station, the train follows the Danube upstream, stopping at
Vác
Vác (; ; ; ) is a thousand-year old city in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The archaic spelling of the name is ''Vácz''.
Location
Vác is located north of Budapest on the eastern bank of the Danube river, below t ...
, Nagymaros-Visegrád and
Szob
Szob () is a town in Pest county, Central Hungary, Hungary. It is just south and east of the Slovak border on the north bank of the Danube.
Szob is on a major electrified rail connection from Bratislava and a major railway border crossing into H ...
.
After crossing the border to Slovakia, the last stop along the Danube river is
Štúrovo
Štúrovo (, ) is the southernmost town of Slovakia, situated on the river Danube not far from the mouth of the Hron. Connected by the Mária Valéria Bridge it forms a cross-border urban area with the city of Esztergom in Hungary. In 2023 the tow ...
, after which the route diverges from the river to head north-west towards
Nové Zámky
Nové Zámky (; ) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia.
Geography
The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km fr ...
and
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
. The last stop in Slovakia is
Kúty
Kúty, (; ) is a village and municipality in Senica District in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1392 under the name Kuth. And in 1498 as Kwhty. Kút is equal to Corner - a distant place in the b ...
.
Just after crossing the border to the Czech Republic, the train stops at
Břeclav
Břeclav (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Located at the Czech-Austrian state border and near the Czech–Slovak state border, it is an important railway hub.
Administrative divis ...
. On its way further north-west, the train stops at
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
before continuing to
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
via
Pardubice
Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...
and
Kolín
Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...
. Afterwards the route follows the Vltava river north, switching to follow the Elbe river to
Ústí nad Labem
Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction.
...
. The scenic route along the Elbe river is used to cross the border to Germany, reaching
Děčín
Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction.
Administrative division
Děč ...
just before doing so.
The first stop in Germany is
Bad Schandau
Bad Schandau (; , ) is a spa town in Germany, in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, at the mouth of the valley of the Kirnitzsch and in the ar ...
. The train further follows the Elbe river to Dresden, serving
Dresden Hauptbahnhof
Dresden Hauptbahnhof ("main station", abbreviated Dresden Hbf) is the largest passenger station in the Saxon capital of Dresden. In 1898, it replaced the ''Böhmischen Bahnhof'' ("Bohemian station") of the former Saxon-Bohemian State Railway ('' ...
and
Dresden Neustadt. No stop is made until the train reaches Berlin, serving
Südkreuz,
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
Berlin Hauptbahnhof () (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, ...
and
Spandau
Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...
station before continuing towards Hamburg. The last leg of the route contains stops at
Wittenberge
Wittenberge (; ) is a town of eighteen thousand people on the middle Elbe in the district of Prignitz, Brandenburg, Germany.
Geography
Wittenberge is situated at the right (north-eastern) bank of the middle Elbe at its confluence with the Step ...
and
Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district.
Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...
. After reaching
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (abbrev. ''Hamburg Hbf''), or Hamburg Central Railway Station in English, is the main railway station of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Opened in 1906 to replace four separate terminal stations, today Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is ...
as the last major stop, the route concludes at
Hamburg Altona.
See also
*
Vindobona
Vindobona (; from Gaulish ''windo-'' "white" and ''bona'' "base/bottom") was a Roman military camp (or ) in the province of Pannonia, located on the site of the modern city of Vienna in Austria. The settlement area took on a new name in the 13 ...
*
History of rail transport in the Czech Republic
*
History of rail transport in Germany
The history of rail transport in Germany can be traced back to the 16th century. The earliest form of railways, wagonways, were developed in Germany in the 16th century. Modern German rail history officially began with the opening of the steam-pow ...
*
History of rail transport in Hungary
*
History of rail transport in Slovakia
__NOTOC__
The history of rail transport in Slovakia began in November 1836, at the founding meeting of the participating companies for the construction of a horse railway from Bratislava to Trnava (later extended to Sereď). The first section of ...
*
List of EuroCity services
*
List of named passenger trains of Europe
This article contains lists of named passenger trains in Europe, listed by country. Listing by country does eliminate some EuroCity services from the list, but they are listed on the relevant EuroCity page for daytime trains and the EuroNight p ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Timetable of EC 172Timetable of EC 173Composition in 1988
{{EuroCity trains
EuroCity
International named passenger trains
Named passenger trains of the Czech Republic
Named passenger trains of Germany
Named passenger trains of Hungary
Named passenger trains of Slovakia
Railway services introduced in 1960