📋 Tender Overview
This year the main summer season at the MAV group starts on June 20 and lasts until August 30. During the vacation our train and bus services also operate with more frequent departures and greater capacity. The possibilities of getting between Budapest and Lake Balaton are increasing but in the summer there are more trains and bus routes to the lake area from Transdanubia as well as from Northern Eastern and Southern Hungary. Bicycle transport is available on all trains and there are regular trains to both the North and South coasts with large capacity bike carriages. Our passengers can use the Utasellato dining car service on the south coast and the bistro service on the north coast. In the case of long-distance journeys on the special Balaton trains - all InterCity and express trains - it is mandatory to change your seat ticket Changing the seat ticket is also mandatory for travelers with a national pass or Hungary24 day ticket on the designated sections. In the case of transporting a bicycle in addition to the bicycle ticket it is also necessary to exchange a bicycle seat ticket for each Balaton train so it is also worth buying the tickets in advance in the case of transporting a bicycle so that the journey is possible on the selected route. In the MAVPlusz application you can exchange travel and seat tickets as well as bicycle tickets and bicycle seat tickets for 15% cheaper. We ask that larger groups and cycling companies notify their intention to travel at least one week in advance through the channels of the MAV group so that we can provide them with the necessary seats. All important information and map help about high-season flights are available in one place on the website of the MAV group by clicking on this link.
This summer alongside maximizing capacities we set the goal of significantly improving schedule stability at Lake Balaton. The well-established familiar Balaton routes will remain but based on experiences from recent years we have also adjusted the offerings: on one hand to reduce the risks posed by malfunctions and on the other hand to prevent delays caused by overly long routes at Balaton. If necessary the FLIRT and KISS motor trains heading to Balaton can utilize the maximum track speed of 160 km/h between Budapest and Szekesfehervar thus improving punctuality.
We have adjusted pricing to match the actual comfort level of the vehicles and have specifically developed onboard catering. Serving the tourism peak season is one of the most complex organizational tasks in domestic public transport year after year which this year is further complicated by bottlenecks in the Budapest network (construction of the southern ring railway) but direct national connections will remain.
More people are traveling to the southern shore and we are preparing new offerings for them. Based on decades of experience a significant majority of Balaton trips are directed towards the southern shore settlements. It is also favorable for travelers that the partial utilization of the 160 km/h track speed between Budapest and Szekesfehervar allows for more stable travel times for which we have also introduced a new simpler pricing and categorization system based on the actual service level. The Balaton InterCity trains depart every two hours from the southern railway station to Keszthely and we will also attach dining cars to these.
The lake shore trains - similar to last year will operate with FLIRT motor trains but now as express trains. Although these services are modern and air-conditioned they do not provide classic intercity comfort which is why they can be used with a more favorable 650 HUF seat reservation fee. Those who choose the non-air-conditioned express trains will uniformly have to pay 300 HUF for seat reservation. We are adjusting to the regularly increasing passenger traffic on weekends by operating two new inter-regional services with late morning and late afternoon departures helping Sunday returns; the former connects Fonyod and Budapest-Kelenfold while the latter on an extended route this year connects Fonyod all the way to Gyor allowing for travel home to places like Tatabanya Komarom and Gyor without transfers and of course without luggage handling at Kelenfold station.
There will also be fine-tuning for northern shore services. The most important task on the North Balaton line is to reduce delays and improve predictability which we have established by reducing the number of previous speed restrictions and maintaining safety equipment. In this spirit the Blue Wave InterCity trains will only operate uniformly between Budapest and Tapolca this year.
More stable reliable traction will be provided by modern Traxx locomotives between the southern railway station and Balatonfured while high-performance diesel Henschel locomotives will ensure service between Balatonfured and Tapolca. To improve quality we will gradually introduce eight high-quality first-class air-conditioned passenger cars suitable for bicycle transport on these routes starting from June 15.
Szombathely will not be without direct Balaton (northern shore) trains either: two pairs of Tanuhegy express trains will connect the Vas county seat with Balatonfured compensating for the lost connections due to the route shortening of the Blue Wave InterCity trains. In the western basin this will also be supplemented by a new daily express train pair operating between Tapolca and Keszthely which will significantly improve the accessibility between the northern and southern shores.
Alongside the IC trains operating with air-conditioned cars and bistro service the already familiar Katica inter-regions and the Vizipok express trains guarantee frequent access between the capital and Balatonfured.
Direct trains will remain between several rural cities and Balaton. The uniqueness of the summer peak season timetable is traditionally provided by direct services from major rural cities and it is important for us to maintain t
