Budapest main train station status
 

what is the latest word on the status of the main train station in Budapest. On the news it indicates that because of the number of refugees flooding in they have had to close the station. We will be arriving at this station on the 14th so we are hoping that things have settled down by then and the train will be running.

What are you expecting people here to tell you? This is an international crisis that is in all the headlines. Obviously there is no plan or organization to manage the millions fleeing the war zones. No one knows what the situation will be Sept 14. You'll need to follow a reliable news source.

yes of course but there are locals that are on fodors that may have more info that what is being reported. I am leveraging all resources as I have found that the locals at times have more insight as to what is happening.

Pardon me, but I think you would be a fool to listen to anybody tell you what the situation will be Sept 14. What difference will it make to your plans? I would have already cancelled my trip to Hungary several weeks ago. If you haven't read enough to know already the situation is out of control and the present Hungarian government is only likely to make things worse and engage in violence and provoke, then read some more. Locals are likely to tell you a fairy tale. A great many Hungarians seem to have lost touch with reality, and it didn't just happen yesterday.

No personal experience, and no idea how things will be in two weeks, (my crystal ball being broken ;) ) but on a Dutch news site there is an interview with a Dutch tourist staying 100 metres from the station. He says that the city is quiet and normal, his hotel is unaffected by it all despite being so close. It is only the immediate area around the station which is affected. The police have assured him he will be able to get his train home with no trouble, but he is considering flying instead.

I would consider doing the same if you can afford it, and can find a suitable flight. Otherwise all you can do for now is keep an eye on the news and hope for you sake, but mainly for the sake of the refugees that a solution can be found quickly.
Maybe the US can step up and take a few more than the thousand they have taken so far.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/wo...isis.html?_r=0

today's update in NYTimes

I will not weigh in on "who should do what." I can only add that as an American ex-pat living in Vienna, a scant several kilometers from where the abandoned lorry was discovered with the remains of 71 refugees, our applications to both house and help refugees are stockpiled with the hundreds of others, awaiting review. Not everyone has lost touch with reality; there are simply no quick and easy solutions for those willing to help.

Will we be heading across the border to Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, and CZ in the coming weeks for one event or another? Yes.

My advice is, don't watch the news on TV and assume that this is accurate real-time travel information.

TV and papers find newsworthy pictures and repeat them over and over, even if that was a one-off. They don't always give an accurate impression, in fact they often exaggerate.

Instead, check government travel advice and the actual railway websites about what's actually happening at the moment.

www.mav-start.hu is simply talking in terms of controlled access to the station, for those with passports only.

Locals get their news the same way everybody else does, they don't usually have some secret source. It always baffles me why people ask on Fodors if there are some locals who can tell them what the weather is like in a place right now, as if the major weather reporting systems around the world that you can find online are telling lies or something.

We will keep our plans, will get off our train at Kelenfold station which is the station before the main station where all the problems are. We fly home to Houston so no issues there.

There are 3 international stations in Budapest and the one in the news is Keleti - not sure what is happening at the others.

That appears to be the only station affected so far. The trains are running and they are starting to let the refugees board trains for Germany.

www.mav-start.hu is simply talking in terms of controlled access to the station, for those with passports only.>

talk is cheap - TV did show three trains that left Budapest and were stopped 30 miles out - this situation is so so unpredictable be prepared for anything - seems like total chaos from those 'unrelaible' news reports - pictures speaks a thousand words.

Today's Thoms Cook Timetable newsletter carries this:

The large number of migrants attempting to cross Europe by train has seen the short notice suspension of a number of routes, including Szeged (Hungary) – Horgoš (Serbia) where the border crossing is believed to be closed. We understand that the “Hellas” is currently operated by bus between Thessaloníki (Greece) and Gevgelija (FYRoM), and that there are currently no international through services between Budapest and Austria/Germany. The current situation is that services to Wien (Austria) are departing from Hegyeshalom (Hungarian border station), and services to Bratislava (Slovakia) are departing from Szob (Hungarian border station).

Are the trains running from Vienna into Budapest now running?

Hi there,
While it is absolutely safe to be a tourist in Budapest, the situation with the transportation of migrants to Germany (almost 99 % of them want to go there) slowly going out of control.

The Austrian railway authorities announced that they have reached the end of their capacity and stopped temporarily all the train communication from Budapest to Vienna and ALSO from Vienna to Budapest. We do hope this is really a temporary measure.
The last train from the Hungarian border at Hegyeshalom left at 3 pm. After that, all the trains stopped at the border, the migrants has to leave the trains, and walk to the Austrian border station and from there buses to Vienna transport them. The situation in Vienna at the Westbanhoff station is also very tense.

Other trains directed to Sopron, however it is not certain for the moment what is going on there.
So I advise you to make up a double backup plan, otherwise your schedule might get very wrong.
Especially when you tied to an air flight!
It is sad but it is true.

The Keleti station is also sometimes getting under extreme pressure. When the (they call them like that!) European tourists (sic!) get on the train, the police starts to let the migrants to board the train, one by one. Only the people who have reserved seats allowed boarding the train, so you can imagine what is happening there. Occasional clashes happen because everybody wants to get on those trains first.
The new arrivals are CONSTANT. There are thousands and thousands of people coming from the Serbian-Macedonian border, so it seems no end for that.

In Roszke (the Hungarian border) they are trying to get to Budapest as soon as possible, of course the majority doesn't want to be registered by the authorities, so police has to use tear gas a couple of times.
The highway M5 and sometimes the road number 5 closed temporarily during the multiple breakouts of the migrants.
In addition, the Army began mobilizing for a role of protecting the frontier from September 15. The exercises called "Decisive Action".

Also today the police closed the border crossing along the road number 1 (the old Budapest-Vienna road) so if you drive a rent a car or whatever and want to avoid the havoc on highway M1, I would strongly recommend using the Mosonmagyorvar - Rajka - Jarovce route or even much-much better the Mosonmagyarovar - Mosonszolnok - Alber Kázmér Puszta - Halbturn route. If you are lucky, not far from the former border crossing, you can see a few huge eagles flying almost over your car. Especially in the morning:))

Being a tour guide, I have already been hit by the current situation. I have already had two cancellations (one from Russia, one from the USA), you know some people are heavily affected by the media...
Otherwise, everything looks normal and safe with the exception of strong presence of patrolling police cars in the outskirts. I live not far from the highway MO,(the one that all the Balkan and southbound traffic uses for pass along Budapest) and when driving back and forth from my house I saw lots of police cars and bikes checking the traffic at the intersection of the Budafoki/Kondorosi road, occasionally pulling some cars over. Have not seen anything like that in ages. Now I really feel safe:))

Unfortunately there is no precise information concerning the trains from Budapest to Austria. At least for the time being.

Some sources say only the Budapest - Vienna link affected. Other sources inform that the whole Hungarian - Austrian connection cancelled.

This was the Austrian railroads announcement:

"Because of the massive overcrowding of trains coming from Hungary, ÖBB has to suspend train services to Hungary temporarily," the company said in a statement.

The suspension covers both Railjet intercity trains between Vienna and Budapest and regional cross-border services, it said.

It also called on volunteers and bus companies to stop bringing people to train stations.

"The flow (of people)... and the large numbers of people waiting at stations to travel onwards has outstripped available capacities since this morning," ÖBB said.

A problem without any easy solution, sadly!