Budapest Keleti, which means Budapest East, is the most important railway station in Budapest, particularly for international trains.
Location and Directions
The station is located in the eastern part of Budapest’s greater city centre, only 5 minutes by metro from the main tourist district.
The main entrance to the terminal building is from Baross tér (tér means square), which is at the intersection of several big streets (street is út in Hungarian):
- Rákóczi út connects Keleti station with the inner city, where it becomes Kossuth Lajos utca, one of the main streets in the centre leading to Elisabeth bridge.
- Kerepesi út continues to the east, parallel with the railway tracks, and shortly takes you to Ferenc Puskás stadium and Budapest Arena.
- Three other big streets which meet in front of the station are Rottenbiller út, Fiumei út and Thököly út.
The exact address of Keleti station is 1087 Budapest, Kerepesi út 2-4.
How to Get from Keleti to City Centre
Keleti railway station has excellent local transport connections to virtually anywhere in Budapest, but particularly to the inner city. Since the opening of the fourth metro line in 2014 Keleti is the junction of lines M2 and M4. The metro station’s name is Keleti pályaudvar, which means Keleti train station in Hungarian (good to remember).
Both metro lines take you to the inner city in about 5 minutes.
On line M2 it is 3 stops to Deák Ferenc tér, which is the intersection with the two remaining metro lines, M1 and M3, and one of the busiest public transport hubs in the city. It is also a good base for exploring the tourist district, close to St Stephen’s Basilica, the Chain Bridge, and numerous other attractions.
On line M4 it is 3 stops from Keleti to Kalvin tér, another major square and another busy transport hub. The following station (Fövám tér) is already by the river and the next one (Szent Gellért tér) on the other side, at the foot of Gellért Hill – the hill with the Citadel, often visited for the best views of the city.
Besides the metro there are numerous bus and trolleybus lines serving Keleti station, also including night buses to the inner city (Astoria, Ferenciek tere and Elisabeth bridge).
Keleti Station Opening Hours
The train station’s main building is open every day from 3:45 to midnight. In other words, it only closes for less than 4 hours after midnight.
Trains from Budapest Keleti
The following are some of the most popular destinations from Budapest Keleti, and approximate travel times for some of them.
- Vienna (less than 3 hours), Salzburg (less than 6 hours), Munich or Innsbruck and Zurich
- Bratislava (less than 3 hours), Prague (7 hours), Dresden and Berlin
- Zagreb (5.5 hours)
- Novi Sad and Belgrade
- Cluj Napoca, Timisoara, Brasov, Bucharest and numerous other cities in Romania
There are also night trains available on most of these routes.
Train Schedules and Tickets
The main train company at Keleti station is Hungarian State Railways or MÁV, which stands for Magyar Államvasutak. Their official website is the best place for searching train connections, prices and for buying tickets online (although the search is not very smooth and requires some patience – eventually you’ll get there).
You can also get information or book tickets by phone – the number is +36 (1) 3 49 49 49.
Of course, there are also ticket and information counters directly at the station.