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From Budapest to Warsaw in 5.5 hours: plans for high-speed railway revealed – Video
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If built, it will decrease traffic on the M1 highway and the existing railway lines in western Hungary, link Budapest to a number of European cities, and help meet climate goals by reducing CO2 emissions.
According to Telex, excerpts from the feasibility study concerning the new railway line were recently published by the National Infrastructure Development Corporation (NIF). As we wrote before, Hungary has applied for financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility, an EU program, to fund the construction of the Hungarian section of the tracks. Results are expected this summer, and if the support is granted, works are scheduled to begin in the early 2030s, except for the stretch between Kelenföld and Törökbálint, where the existing tracks could be refurbished earlier.
The trains are expected to operate at the speed of 320 km/h, except in urban areas.
Once completed, this new line would connect Budapest to the high-speed railway network of western Europe, making trains the quickest way to get to a number of cities, even faster than flying. Some projected journey times are:
- Budapest to Vienna or Bratislava: less than 2 hours
- Budapest to Prague: 3 and a half hours
- Budapest to Warsaw: 5 and a half hours.
According to NIF, those more interested in travelling within the country would also benefit from the railway, as there is also a planned branch going towards Székesfehérvár that InterCity trains could use as well, which would make visiting Lake Velence or Lake Balaton much simpler.