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The MÁV (Hungarian Railways) operate the national railways. Most cities and towns are well-served by rail routes. There are also local services on a number of scenic routes. The suburban railway of Budapest (HÉV) is not part of the country-wide railway network. There are three main train stations in Budapest:
There is one train station in every other major city and town:
Train stations are registered under the name of the MÁV in the telephone directory. If you want to find out the address and/or telephone number of a particular station, ask a resident or do a combined search in the online telephone directory for the words 'MÁV' and the name of the city. The train stations are usually located in the suburbs, except if they were built around during the expansion of the city (like in Budapest). All stations provide access to local public transportation facilites, if available.
The following train services exist in Hungary:
You can buy your ticket at the ticket office of the train stations by up to 6 months before your journey (most people buy it just before getting in). Telephone orders are also accepted, but the ticket must be picked up on the train station by the day before your journey. In Budapest, advance booked tickets can be picked up only at the Deli Train Station, no matter, which station your train leaves from.
The fare depends on the distance and on whether you travel first-class (about USD 0.40 / 10 km) or second-class (about USD 0.30 / 10 km). First-class carriages are not available on all services. The fare doesn't depend on the type of service (slow, swift, fast, etc). Tickets are issued for a particular route and not for a particular service with a particular departure time. You can take any trains on that route on the day, your ticket was issued for. Trains are basically unreserved, so during peak periods you may find yourself standing until a seat becomes available. On most express and all intercity services, seat reservation is compulsory. A supplementary fare applies for reserved seats.
You can also buy your ticket from the ticket-inspector on the train, however, an excess fare is charged in this case. This option is not available on services with compulsory seat reservation.
There are both smoking and non-smoking compartments on most carriages except for some new ones with non-smoking compartments only. Ticket inspectors overwhelmingly don't speak foreign languages.
Useful links: