Preparations for the upcoming holidays are underway on the 75-year-old Budapest Children’s Railway:
It has been a tradition for several years now that the Children’s Railway surprises excursionists with specially decorated carriages for the Advent season. This year, a light train is also being put into service.
It has been a tradition for several years now that the Children’s Railway surprises excursionists with specially decorated carriages for the Advent season. This year, a christmas-light train is also being put into service.
Last year’s successful debut of the christmas-light carriage is joined this year by a christmas-light locomotive that passengers can encounter every day. In recent days, the area around the railway line has been covered by a continuous blanket of snow. The Buda Hills, for the first time in years, invite winter sports enthusiasts with an unprecedented amount of snow, attracting families for sledding or just a stroll outdoors. It’s worth setting out towards the forest destinations with these charming trains.
The Children’s Railway has a tradition of operating Christmas-themed carriages from early December to the end of the winter break. This year, three of the typical “winter” carriages, commonly seen in everyday traffic, have been transformed into a festive atmosphere. In addition to the “Debrecen” carriage, which ran as a christmas-light carriage last year, a Mk45 diesel locomotive has also been added as a christmas-light locomotive.
Schedule of the Christmas-Light Train
The spectacular illuminated christmas-light train departs on weekdays from Hűvösvölgy at 9:10 am, 11:10 am, 1:10 pm, and 3:10 pm, and from Széchenyihegy at 10:03 am, 12:03 pm, 2:03 pm, and 4:03 pm. On weekends, due to extended operating hours, it departs from Hűvösvölgy at 10:10 am, 12:10 pm, 2:10 pm, and 4:10 pm, and from Széchenyihegy at 11:03 am, 1:03 pm, 3:03 pm, and 5:03 pm.
Advent Nostalgic Vehicles
Another interesting, decorated passenger train consists of two nostalgic vehicles. One carriage has already received a Christmas interior and dates back to 1929. Its new companion, however, is a real curiosity: the Children’s Railway’s oldest vehicle, an open platform carriage made in Arad in 1912, which is rarely seen in everyday traffic. These carriages will now operate regularly: until Christmas, you can encounter it in passenger trains, and during the winter break, it will embark on journeys several times, often pulled by a steam locomotive.
Normafa Area Covered in Snow
This winter started spectacularly with a thick blanket of snow in the Buda Hills. The popular excursion destinations are easily accessible by the Children’s Railway, but due to parking lot saturation, it is advisable to choose the Children’s Railway to approach the Normafa area. From December 11, the cogwheel railway will operate again, so from the city, you can reach the popular area with two special railways: taking the cogwheel railway from Városmajor (tram 60) to the upper terminus, then traveling by Children’s Railway from Széchenyihegy.
Winter Break
The Children’s Railway operates throughout the year, even in winter, except for Mondays during school days when it does not run. During the winter break, trains run in longer, weekend operating hours, typically departing every hour. There are fewer trips on December 24 and January 1. Between the two holidays, on December 28 and 29, a real family program awaits children who are fans of trains: at Széchenyihegy station, there will be a Children’s Railway vehicle display, where you can take a closer look at less frequently seen vehicles in traffic, climb into the driver’s cabs of locomotives, and the operational building of the station will host an open exhibition set up for the 75th-anniversary celebration.
The schedule of the Children’s Railway is available at: https://gyermekvasut.hu/en/timetables