The Hungarian government has classified the rail link to Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc International Airport (Budapest Airport) as strategically important, and a newly published draft regulation says it will be built under a concession with private capital.
New momentum for the airport rail link
The idea of a direct rail link to the airport has been discussed for years, but earlier attempts repeatedly stalled. In 2024, however, the Hungarian state regained a majority stake in Budapest Airport. At that time, the government emphasised that the development of the airport and the creation of a rail link to the city centre were strategic goals, which gave new momentum to the long-awaited project.
“The construction of the airport rail link is essential, and such a large-scale development cannot be realized solely from state funds,” said Gergely Gulyás at a government press briefing last year.
The project will be overseen by Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy, who announced in June that the cabinet had decided to move forward with the Ferihegy airport rail link, along with the development of a new cargo airport.
According to him, the cost of the project could reach around EUR 1 billion. Instead of constructing an entirely new track, the airport would be connected to the existing railway network, with direct trains running between Nyugati station and Liszt Ferenc Airport.
Based on the newly published draft regulation by the Ministry of National Economy, the project would not rely directly on state funding but instead would be carried out as a concession with private capital involved.
The draft regulation also expands the minister’s responsibilities regarding concessions: in the future, the construction and operation of nationally significant railway lines and their infrastructure, which are state-owned, will also fall under his authority.
Airport access still limited to buses
Besides private cars and taxis, buses remain the only public transport option to reach Liszt Ferenc International Airport. The 100E express runs directly to Deák Ferenc Square in the city centre, while the 200E connects to the terminus of Metro Line 3 at Kőbánya-Kispest. Although these buses carry thousands of passengers daily, travel times are often unpredictable due to heavy traffic.
According to Márton Nagy, passenger traffic at the airport has increased by roughly 14 percent in recent years, and by 2030, the annual number of travellers could exceed 20 million. For this reason, the government considers it essential to establish a direct rail connection between the airport and the city centre.
Airport rail links becoming the norm
In many European capitals, direct rail links between the city and the airport are already operating or under construction, while in Budapest, the project has long been planned, but no real progress has been made until now.
- Vienna – The City Airport Train has been running since 2003, reaching the city centre in just 16 minutes.
- Warsaw – Direct rail service to Chopin Airport has been in operation since 2012.
- Prague – Construction of the airport rail line has been underway for years and is expected to be completed in the coming years.
- London – Several express trains operate, including the Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express.
- Belgrade – A new airport rail link is under construction and scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, with a travel time of around 15 minutes to the city centre.
- Bucharest – Since 2020, a rail line has connected Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni) with Gara de Nord station in about 20 minutes.
Closer to reality
A direct rail link would greatly improve accessibility and ease the management of growing passenger traffic. For Liszt Ferenc Airport, it would represent a major step forward. After being discussed for more than a decade, the project now seems set to move ahead – this time through a concession model.
Click for more Budapest Airport news.
Budapest airport has been in desperate need of a non-stop bus to the nearest metro terminus for what feels like decades. With light traffic it’s only 10 minutes from the airport terminal! From that point on passengers are ‘on track’ with rapid journey times and all the flexibility inherent in a metro line to get where they need to go. So much more flexible than a non-stop train that only serves Nyugati and indeed the 100E bus that gets stuck in traffic and runs parallel to the metro line for half its route serving as pointless duplication.
The 200E serves the metro but it’s slow and frequently intolerably crowded with a mix of passengers with luggage, city centre commuters living along its route as well as airport workers. Offer a non-stop bus for those heading to the metro and the existing stopper service for everyone else. It would provide instant relief at minimal cost.
Unfortunately, I get the impression that BKK would rather encourage air travellers to use the 100E as it’s such a money spinner for them.
A further thought about the direct rail line: the benefit of the investment is further eroded by the fact that intra-Budapest trains travel at slow speeds due to capacity constraints and the poor quality of the tracks. The existing commuter trains from Nyugati to Kobanya-Kispest barely cover the distance any quicker than the metro, due in part to the need to undertake a large detour through the Pest suburbs. Spent 1 Billion Euros and you’ll end up with a train that’ll be little or no quicker than the existing 100E bus (assuming no traffic delays). A non-stop bus to the metro terminus followed by a metro ride is likely to be faster than the planned direct train due to the aforementioned reasons as well as offer passengers with a lot more flexibility. It would offer faster overall travelling times for 85% of passengers considering comparatively few want to get to Nyugati and travel no further.
A direct train would be a gamechanger if it had a private underground station at Deak Ferenc ter and ran on segregated tracks at high speed, but the cost of making this a reality would be off the scale.