BHÉV (''Budapesti Helyiérdekű Vasút'', "Budapest Railway of Local Interest") is a system of four commuter rail lines ( Szentendre HÉV, Gödöllő HÉV, Csömör HÉV and

Ráckeve Ráckeve (Serbian: Српски Ковин / Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are Magyars, with minority of Serbs. The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and one of two in the Dioces ...

HÉV) and

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

( Csepel HÉV and Békásmegyer HÉV (part of the Szentendre HÉV)) lines in and around

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. The BHÉV operates on standard gauge ( ), and is electrified at 1000 V DC. The BHÉV lines were constructed as

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

s of the

Hungarian State Railways Hungarian State Railways ( hu, Magyar Államvasutak, MÁV) is the Hungarian national railway company, with divisions "MÁV START Zrt." (passenger transport), "MÁV-Gépészet Zrt." (maintenance), "MÁV-Trakció Zrt." and "MÁV Cargo Zrt" (freig ...

. ''Helyiérdekű vasút (HÉV)'', literally "railway of local interest", is a general term in Hungarian traffic. Therefore, like internationally with the term ''metro'', the stations are only marked with ''H'' or ''HÉV'', though this is not the full name of the system. The five BHÉV lines are operated by the public transport company MÁV-HÉV Zrt., a subsidiary of

. Inside Budapest, standard BKK tickets and passes are valid on the BHÉV. Outside Budapest, a separate ticket must be purchased.

Lines and developments

Network

The BHÉV connects

Csepel Csepel (german: Tschepele) is the 21st district and a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. Csepel officially became part of Budapest on 1 January 1950. Location Csepel is located at the northern end of Csepel Island in the Danube, and covers ...

(south),

(far south), Gödöllő (northeast), and Szentendre (north) with various points of central Budapest. The four BHÉV lines are not connected directly, each originating from a different

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

, but their railway are still connected to the MÁV lines. The BHÉV is a hybrid between a commuter rail and a rapid transit. Although most of its stations are above ground and outdoor, some are underground (for example the city centre terminus at Batthyány tér).

Future

The BHÉV lines are planned to become integrated into the metro network. The Szentendre, Ráckeve and Csepel lines are slated to be merged into what is called the metro line 5 (North-South Regional rapid railway). The connection will be made by an underground line between the Kaszásdűlő and Lágymányosi bridge stations, and extended in order to reach the center of

Pesterzsébet Pesterzsébet is the 20th district of Budapest, Hungary. It is located in the southern part of the capital and is the 17th biggest district in the city. It is a mostly suburban area with approximately 70,000 residents. History Pesterzsébet was ...

. The Urban and Suburban Transit Association (''Városi és Elővárosi Közlekedési Egyesület'') has presented a plan to merge line 2 with the HÉV from Gödöllő. The city government did not totally accept the plan, but it still may be built after 2021."https://bkk.hu/fejleszteseink/m2h8/" Centre for Budapest Transport. Plans for this project."

Former lines

Today there are four (plus one branch line to Csömör) BHÉV lines in and around Budapest, although other HÉV lines around Budapest have existed in the past. Now integrated to MÁV's (Hungarian State Railways) network: *

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...

HÉV (today suburban railway, since 1931 owned by

) * Lajosmizse HÉV (

suburban railway Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are cons ...

, a.k.a. Budapest-Tiszai HÉV, 1909) * Vác–Budapest–Veresegyház–Gödöllő HÉV (partially abandoned, but the Vác–Veresegyház–Budapest line is still in operation) Owned by the local tramway operators and abandoned or integrated to the actual tramway network: *

Budafok Budafok (german: Promontor; literally "Promontory near Buda, or Buda Point") is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. It is situated in the southwestern part of Buda, near the Danube, and belongs to District XXII. Budafok was an independent munici ...

HÉV (today tram route 47; branch of Budapest-Budafok HÉV, owned by BKVT) *

Törökbálint Törökbálint is a town in Pest county, Hungary. Törökbálint received town status on 1 July 2007. The city also has a German name, ''Großturwall'', which originates from the times of the Swabian immigration after the Ottoman times of Hunga ...

HÉV (mostly demolished), the remaining line is tram no. 41 * Nagytétény HÉV line (from Budafok to Budatétény and Nagytétény; converted to tram line 43 in 1963, later withdrawn) Withdrawn BHÉV lines: * Pesterzsébet (converted to tramway and radically reduced) * Rákosszentmihály (a line connected to Budapest-Gödöllő branch, replaced by bus) * The BVKV (Budapestvidéki Közúti vasút – Budapest Suburban Tramway, owned by BKVT) is almost totally withdrawn and has been replaced by bus service, although the first stop has been converted to a tram stop. Branch of Budapest-Szentlőrinci HÉV (owned by BLVV): * Pestszentlőrinc line (now tram line 50) * Kispest line (now tram line 42)

References

External links