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Travel News Suspension of the direct EC train between Hamburg and Budapest

Suspension of the direct EC train between Hamburg and Budapest

On the timetable change that commences on Dec 12th 2021, the 'Hungaria' EuroCity train between Budapest and Hamburg is being withdrawn.

| Last Updated: about 1 year ago
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One of Europe’s longest daytime rail journeys, the ‘Hungaria’, which travels between Hamburg and Budapest on an epic route via Berlin, Dresden, Praha and Bratislava, has been removed from the commencement of the annual timetable update on Dec 12th.

Replacement trains will still depart from either end of the route at the same times as those used by the ‘Hungaria’, from Hamburg Hbf at 06:48 and from Budapest Nyugati at 07:40, but in both directions these trains will be terminated in Praha/Prague.

South from Hamburg and Berlin

Heading south the 06:48 train won’t offer a particularly good connection on to Budapest via Bratislava, as the next train on to the Hungarian capital is scheduled to depart from Praha hln around 1hr 45mins after the arrival of the train from Germany.
Though better connections will be available at Praha into a Railjet train on to Graz via Wien/Vienna and on to Linz via Cezke Budejovice, on a service which is being upgraded to EuroCity express status.

North from Budapest

Heading north the journey pattern is similar with the 07:40 from Budapest arriving in Praha around 1hr 45mins before the departure of a train to Berlin; travelling from Budapest to Hamburg in a single day by train will only be possible by taking the 05:40 to Praha from Budapest.

It may be a temporary change

Few people probably travel the entire length of the ‘Hungaria’ route, but it’s removal breaks a number of useful connections by direct train including: Dresden ↔ Budapest and Berlin ↔ Bratislava and it also results in the first Hamburg to Praha service of the day not departing until the afternoon.
The only direct train service between the German and Hungarian capitals will be the overnight Nightjet service.

Though SMTJ has seen suggestions on social media that the suspension of the ‘Hungaria’ is only temporary, as its removal is apparently connected to the construction work in Czechia which has led to the current closure of the railway between Usti Nad and Brno; which has caused the international trains between Praha and both Budapest & Wien/Vienna to be re-routed on to a secondary route.

Berlin to Vienna Railjet service also retimed

This work is also a contributory factor for the re-timing of the recently introduced Railjet service between Berlin and Graz which travels via Dresden, Praha/Prague, Brno and Wien/Vienna
It is to depart Berlin hbf more than an hour earlier at 04:57
In the other direction heading north, it will be only 10 mins later into Berlin than the current schedule.

Author

Simon Harper

I wanted to share my passion for train travel and explain how anyone can take the fantastic journeys I have taken.

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