The Grand Boulevard routes

Introduction

The Grand Boulevard is the birthplace of the Budapest electric tram: this is where the first such vehicle - designed and manufactured by Siemens&Halske - started it way from in front of the Nyugati pályaudvar (Western Station) to the crossing of Király utca. All this on a meter-gauge track, using an under-surface conduit, built as an experiment. The site was chosen because the still uncomplete Nagykörút (this word translates simply into "Grand Boulevard", so I'm going to use it from now on), designed to be noble and burgeois at the same time, did not had any public transportation in it (other boulevards of the city were already served by the horse trams of the BKVT). Upon the favorable reception of this experiment, the newly formed company BVV started to build out the Grand Boulevard electric tramway in its full length between Nyugati and Boráros tér, now on normal (1435 mm) gauge.

What exactly are the "Grand Boulevard routes"?

The Grand Boulvard is a collective noun. When we say it, we usually mean the Pest half-ring-shaped street consisting of Szent István körút ("St. Stephen Boulevard" between Margarite bridge and Nyugati), Teréz körút ("Therese Boulvard" between Nyugati and Király utca), Erzsébet körút ("Elisabeth Boulevard" between Király utca and Blaha Lujza tér), József körút ("Joseph Boulevard" between Blaha Lujza tér and Üllői út) and Ferenc körút ("Francis Boulevard" between Üllői út and Petőfi bridge). The "Grand Boulevard tram routes" however do not end at the two ends of this half-ring, but continue on the other side of the Danube. Until 1972 there were various routes which used the Grand Boulevard, but ended at different places (e.g. route 4: Margit híd, Buda bridgehead - Móricz Zsigmond körtér or Margit híd, Buda bridgehead - Budafok, Városháza tér in another times, route 66: Petőfi híd Buda bridgehead - Nagyszombat utca), now there are only two: route 4 between Moszkva tér and Lágymányosi lakótelep (Fehérvári út) and route 6 between Moszkva tér and Móricz Zsigmond körtér. These only have two separate stops, in order to distribute the passenger load on the southern end.

These two tram lines are vital to the city's life: their passenger load (more than 10,000 passengers/hour/direction during rush hours!) would call for an underground line, had not the main drain canal of the district be underneath the street surface. Until the middle of the 19th century, the streets we now know as the Grand Boulevards were a small water-course, which was the deepest point of the surroundings, so it was the best choice for a main catchment sewer tunnel to be built. There were voices suggesting that the small brook should have been converted to a Venice-style canal for ships, but then it didn't happen. Fortunately - at least for us, tram photographers ;-)

Route 4 and 6

Route 4: Moszkva tér - Széna tér - Margit körút - Margit híd - Szent István körút - Nyugati tér - Teréz körút  - Erzsébet körút - József körút -  Ferenc körút - Petőfi híd - Irinyi József utca - Október huszonharmadika utca  - Fehérvári út (Lágymányosi lakótelep) (8.6 km)
Route  6: Moszkva tér - Széna tér - Margit körút - Margit híd - Szent István körút - Nyugati tér - Teréz körút  - Erzsébet körút - József körút -  Ferenc körút - Petőfi híd - Irinyi József utca - Karinthy Frigyes út  - Móricz Zsigmond körtér 8.5 km

Here's a Google Maps overview of the route - the circular shape of the line can be very nicely seen:

View Larger Map

Vehicles: 36 x Combino Plus (or Supra)
Special remark: The route runs almost entirely on tracks on reservation. This is necessary, because the Grand Boulevard is usually congested all over the day. The result: despite infavorable traffic light timings, the tram is the quickest transportation method around here during rush hours. Except when careless motorists are blocking the way of the tram in crossing streets.

Update:The Combinos have taken over these routes entirely, but there are still some photos on this page with the old Ganz articulated cars, because I have lot more photos of them, than of the Combinos :)

Update 2: Due to the closure of Szabadság híd (which means one Danube-crossing minus), the Grand Boulevard routes will be running more frequently from September 2007, with intervals around only one minute (!). If that happens, we will see Ganz double-sets here again (2 sets).

Update 3: The Combinos that receive their air conditioning system in the first half of 2008, are also being supplemented by Ganz double-sets (5 of them).

Stops and other information at the villamosok.hu website
Time-table at the BKV website: route 4 and route 6

Moszkva tér

The terminus of route 4 and 6 at Moszkva tér

The routes depart from a joint 2-track stub terminus on the northern side of Moszkva tér. After a few hundred meters they reach Széna tér, where a VOLÁNBUSZ pályauvar and two large shopping centers are located. By the way, this is also where the Ganz Electric  Work once was - the company where (beside other things) the electric parts of our trams were produced.

Hint: The mostly baroque Castle District is close to Moszkva tér, you should take bus line 10, and you're there within minutes.

Margit körút near Széna tér: the Ganz Electric Works was located behind the big boxy building

After Széna tér the trams reach the winding Margit körút ("Margarite boulevard").

After the first major bend (l.) starts the narrow section of Margit körút (r.)

There are two major bends in Margit körút. The first is at Bem József utca. If you look at the Y-shaped turnout, you might notice that this used to be a junction for trams.

Left: Combino Budapest on its very first day in revenue service. Right: the sharp bend at the feet of the Rózsadomb (Rose Hill)

From here on we have a few hundred meters in a narrow part of Margit körút. In fact, this street used to be so narrow, that trams used in from only one direction - the other direction went through the neighbouring streets (Bem József utca, Bem József tér, Frankel Leó utca and Henger utca).
 

Lost rails: Bem József utca (Királyhegyi utca on the map below) This used to be where horse trams from the Danube embankments passed through to Zugliget via Széna tér. Then it was used by various routes coming from Margit híd (Margarite bridge) via the small streets north from the Margit híd bridgehead. It was also part of the "Right Riverside Railroad" freight train route between the Szentendre HÉV (vicinal) line and Déli pályaudvar (Southern Station). Also, a tram depot used to exist near today's Bem József tér (then called Pálffy tér) in Feketesas utca/Tölgyfa utca: its remnants can be seen in the facade of a modern office building.

The other major bend of Margit körút is a T-shaped turnout, where you can still see one track coming from north. This is only used by special runs; route 4 and 6 turns to east here, and approaches the bridgehead of Margit híd.
 

Lost route: Török utca After 1937 this T-shaped turnout has became a junction for Grand Boulevard routes turning either to north (Óbuda) or south (Moszkva tér). In 1950 they even built a reversing loop via Frankel Leó út-Török utca for insection routes. But the juction's straight direction was also used by north-south tram services like route 18. This ended in 1972, after that the Margit híd-Moszkva tér route became the most important one, the Margit körút-Török utca direction was only used by depot rides, and the Margit híd-Török utca bend was removed. Both directions of Török utca were preserved until 2000, when the tracks in Margit körút were renovated, after that only the southbound track remained intact.

On that map above you can see a reversing loop approachable via Vidra utca. It was once used by routes 11 and 17, and it still exists, although route 11 is history since 1981, and route 17 only uses it halfways by not going round in it, but reversing at its exit.

-> Over to route 17 at Margit híd

Margit híd

Trams on the western (Buda-side) wing of the bridge, photographed from Buda (left), and from the middle of the bridge (right).

Margit híd (Margarite bridge) is a Parisienne-style arch bridge that was designed designed by french architects in the 1870's as the second permanent bridge between Buda and Pest. It was built with tracks on it for the horse tram, but the tram companies of the already united cities were unable to negotiate, who should operate this important connection, so the first train went over the bridge in 1879, after PKVT, the transit operator in Pest, have bought up BKVT, the transit operator in Buda. After that the bridge was rebuilt for a few times, including once after it was blown up by german troops in 1944 by mistake in the middle of the busy rush-hour traffic.

The eastern (Pest-side) wing of the bridge (left), and the bend in the middle (right).

The tracks on the bridge are nowadays in a very bad condition, trams literally rock and roll on them. The whole bridge should have been renovated and broadened a few years ago, but it still fails to happen due to local politic struggles. There's a stop in the middle of the bridge, at the side-bridge to Margit-sziget (Margarite island). There's also a 30-degree bend there, so you might be able to take nice photos, but be careful, because the traffic island of the tram stop is very narrow, and sometimes cars illegaly use the tram tracks. Warning: vehicular traffic is usually very strong here, so don't cross the street on the surface, use the pedestrian underpass!

Big trams, small trams...

Hint: Margarite island is a beautiful place to have a walk under the huge trees as a way of relaxing. There are also two public baths there, plus a small zoo.

Hint: if you have strong zoom lenses, you can take distant photos of trams on Margarite Bridge from Batthyány tér!

Jászai Mari tér

The other end of the bridge is Jászai Mari tér, named after a famous actress (1850-1926). This is where now you will find a strange one-track connection to route 2. This track was built out (provisionally) because route 2 was cut in two halves in 2007, and the northern section would have been unworkable (is there such a word?) without  it.

Depot runs take place over this connecting track early in the morning and late evening/night.

-> Link to the terminus of route 2 at Jászai Mari tér
 

Lost rails: Pozsonyi út, route 15 First map: Jászai Mari tér with tram crossing in 1925. Next map: the same place in 1966: route 2 and 15 is separated by the tracks of the Grand Boulevard routes. Pictures: the one-track stub terminus of route 15 in front of where now the McDonald's restaurant is. If you face north, you'll see the shady Pozsonyi út, where route 15 ran until 1977. It wasn't connected to the Grand Boulevard routes either, but to the tracks of route 2 on the other side of the bridgehead. The connection was removed after WW2, but route 15 has remained for a few decades...

Riding comfort gets better as the old track ends and the recently renewed one begins...

The section between Jászai Mari tér and Nyugati pályaudvar still looks pretty much like how Grand Boulevard was planned in the 1870's. It's hard to believe that before that this part of the city housed mills and a few of the the most imfamous pleasure-grounds! The highlights of today are the antiquities shops in Falk Miksa utca, the Vígszínház (Comical Theater), cafes and confectioneries - with less grand second-hand shops and pizza places side-by-side. All this whirling is dubbed by the rattling sound of the trams running down the old rails belonging to Margit híd onto the recently rebuilt tracks.
 

Lost rails: Szemere utca The Lipótváros (Leopoldstadt) route of BKVT was one of the first victims of the "let's not delay Grand Boulevard routes with divering/crossing routes"-policy. It only existed between 1907 and 1932 as a by-pass route (yellow line on the map) to ease the overload of the Small Boulevard routes running in Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (marked with blue line on the map).

Lost rails: Visegrádi utca and Bihari János utca Only a few blocks from Szemere utca lays another "lost rail location", namely Visegrádi utca. This is where the BURV (a tram company - later a BKVT subsidiary - operating routes to Újpest and Rákospalota) services have turned onto the Grand Boulvard to use a short section of it as a reversing loop. After 1950 this reversing loop was rebuilt so that only depot and special rides would use the tracks in the crossing of Visegrádi utca and Szent István körút. It was abandoned around 1981. Until the very early 1990's you could also see some lost rails in Bihari János utca: this used to be another reversing loop (there were three of them as you can see on the map on the left-hand side) for the services starting from Nyugati pályaudvar, but then it was used as a stub terminus for route 49 until the late 1960's. The connection to the Grand Boulevard was abandoned in the 1970's.

Nyugati pályaudvar

Night shots at Nyugati, taken from the flyover bridge

Left: the very first Combino Plus (or Supra) on its first ride ever on the Grand Boulevard.
To the right: now an everyday moment in the same stop.

This wonderful railway station was designed by the best architects of the time (the fragile-looking iron roof frame was designed by the Eiffel (as in Eiffel Tower) Bureau for example), and built in 1877. The old railway station that used to stood here, was one of the most important stops of the first horse tram in 1866, as this institution was Budapest's first railway station, where the first railroad to Vác started out from in 1846. The old building was in the way of the newly designed Grand Boulevard in the 1870's, so the new one - which you can see today - was built a bit to the north. Until the 1980's the place was not a real city square, but a street junction with very heavy public transportation load.

Regular and special vehicles in the Nyugati tér stop

This is also where the first electric tram started out in 1887, and because of its importance as a traffic node, three reversing loops were built around the surrounding blocks. Between 1977 and 1982 the square was rebuilt: two buildings were demolished, to round off the sharp bend between Szent István körút and Teréz körút, and to make room for a new bus terminal and a parking lot. Also, a new flyover bridge was built, which is now unfortunately closed for pedestrians, so making photos from above is not possible anymore :(

Interestingly the originaly layout of the square - now called Nyugati tér, and known under various designations over the decades like Berlini tér (Berlin square), Vilmos császár tér (Emperor William square), Marx tér (after the philosophical father of communism) - was more of a deformed Y, because this was the point where the Grand Boulevard and the Small Boulavard (Kiskörút) - consisting of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, Károly körút, Múzeum körút and Fővám körút - diverged. The not really ring-shaped Small Boulevard was more important in the beginning, because its history reached back to hundreds of years, as it was built right around the medieval city walls of Pest. It was also BKVT horse-tram territory with Váci út as its continuation, just like Szent István körút and Margit híd, the first rail-bound link to Buda. The then newly built Grand Boulevard however fell into the hands of the electric tram company BVV (later BVVV). This was a bit frustrating, because passengers arriving with BVVV services had had to change for BKVT services. And basically this stayed until the companies merged.
 

Early electric trams The first experimental electric tram service had a small carbarn and power generator right in front of the railway station (l.). A few decades later Nyugati tér (then called Berlini tér) became a gigantic tram juction with trams arriving and departing from and to every direction (r.). -> More about the history of the trams around Nyugati pályaudvar

Hint: although Nyugati pályaudvar has most of the unpleasant qualities of a large and overused railway station, it's worth to check out its architecture: the wooden roof held by the fragile cast-iron frame, the "Royal Waiting Hall" built for Emperor Francis Joseph the First, and the mostly-crowded ticket office in the same style. And the station also features what we probably should call the nicest McD*nald's fast food restaurant in the world :-)
 

Lost rails: Váci út and the Visegrádi utca-Kádár utca "giant loop" Nowadays you won't see much tramlife around here except for route 4 and 6. Okay, they're probably the busiest tram service in Europe, but the place was far more full of tramlife when the Váci út routes still had their termini around here. In the last decades, these routes were 3, 12, 14, 33 and 55. Normally route 33 had its terminus in the middle of Váci út, close to Nyugati tér, and the other routes went into a long reversing loop located in the narrow neighbouring streets (see drawings above). Of course from time to time there were exceptions, but the main rule stayed: unidirectional sets turned in the loop (marked with an arrow on the map on the left hand side), bidirectional ones at the stub track in Váci út (marked with an annor on the other map). The large reversing loop inside the streets was connected to the Grand Boulevard via Visegrádi út.  The stub terminus in the jaw of Váci út into Nyugati (then Marx) tér. Photos: Heinz Heider The two-track terminus in Visegrádi utca on a photo by Tim Boric. To the right: a Bengali tram leaving the loop by turning onto Váci út. The Váci út trams were replaced by the M3 underground line in three stages between 1982 and 89.

Lost rails: Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (originally Váczi körút, then Vilmos Császár útja), Pest's entrance from north was part of the first horse-tram route in 1866 together with Váci út. Because the rails in it belonged to BKVT, most of the inner-city tram routes were dominated by this company, while the other company, BVVV had tried to connect its other services to the Grand Boulevard, which "belonged" to them. The two companies' networks were united by the joint transportation company BSzKRt, but in the 1930's they separated Szent István körút from the rest of the Grand Boulevard again. It was united again after WW2, but after that the importance of the Small Boulevard routes reduced. By the seventies, the jaws of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út was terminus of route 47, 49 and 52, but there was no service that would continue from here, although the rail connection was still there. Note: this terminus was the remainder of a reversing loop in the neighbouring streets. As you can see, the Grand Boulevard became "straighter" with the demolition of that old building which can be seen on the picture on the left-hand side. The UV triple-set in the middle comes from Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, and is a depot ride. (Photo: Tim Boric). The Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út tramline was closed in 1980. Since then routes 47 and 49 terminate at Deák tér.

Lost rails: Podmaniczky utca We see the Grand Boulevard vertically, and Podmaniczky utca horizontally here.  Podmaniczky utca was part of BVV's second normal-gauge route in 1889 between the Pest bridgehead of the Chain Bridge (Lánchíd) and Városliget. It not just crossed the Grand Boulevard, it was also connected to it. Later the jaws of Podmaniczky utca and the Boulevard became the end point of route 46 connecting Nyugati Pályaudvar (Western Station) and Keleti pályaudvar (Eastern Station) with a stub track. The line was given up in 1949 between the inner city and the Boulevard, then in 1952 between the Boulevard and Szinyei Merse Pál utca, and then in 1956 all tram traffic in Podmaniczky utca was stopped. The successor of it was the trolley bus.

Two more views around the tram stop:

... and now let's continue our way!

There's a crossover near the next stop Oktogon, used during temporary shortenings.

Oktogon

Oktogon (Octagon) was named after its shape. This is where the elegant Andrássy út and the illustrious Grand Boulevard cross each other. When you look at the way the road and the trams are crossing Andrássy út, you can notice the big hump, which is how the surface gets over the tunnel of the Milleneum Subway Line. The subway tunnel was built over the large sewer tunnel running under the Boulevard, hence the swell.

Hint: it's worth to take a walk in Andrássy út, especially towards the Milleneum Monument at Hősök tere. Mansions, palaces, museums and villas are what you're going to see, all built with the will to express the spiritual superiority and newly-found wealth of Hungary inside the Austro-Hungarian Empire..

Morning and evening in the stop at Király utca
 

Lost rails: Király utca The second tramline of BVV to Városliget was opened in 1891 between Dózsa György út and the Grand Boulevard. It was then extended into the inner city in a couple of steps (1893 and 1906). In 1949 this was the fist tram line to be permanently supplemented with trolley buses (trolley line 70 to be exact - the route number was celebrating the 70th birthday of the soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.).

The stop at Wesselényi utca

The tram is crossed by trolley buses twice after Király utca: first at Wesselényi utca (line 74 inbound), then at Dohány utca (line 74 outbound). You are also passing by beautiful eclectic-style mansions, the magnificent Hotel Royal (it now has a much longer name, but to us it's just Hotel Royal), Madách Theatre, and the New York Palace.

Blaha Lujza tér

Our next big stop is at Blaha Lujza tér. This is where the Boulevard crosses Rákóczi út, the busiest avenue of the city. This place wasn't a large square until the National Theater (earlier Popular Theater, built in 1875) was torn down in 1965. Unfortunately the square was not really trimmed ever since: something is missing, although some of the neighbouring buildings look quite magnificent! Another unfortunate thing: the small park in the middle is mostly occupied by homeless people.

Because of the metro line M2 and the tram routes 28 and 37 coming in from the suburbs this is the busiest stop of the Grand Boulevard routes. In rush hours you might not get a chance to get on board of the first incoming tram because of the herds of people going to and from different directions.

Hint: You should take some time, sit down and have a coffee in the recently renovated New York Palace, which is located on the corner of Dob utca and Teréz körút, somewhere between the stops Wesselényi utca and Blaha Lujza tér.
 

Lost routes: Rákóczi út To the left: the junction in the underground conduit days. To the right: trams in Rákóczi út crossing the Boulevard, with the old National Theatre in the background. Rákóczi út was the main traffic path to Pest since ages, so it was logical for BKVT to extend their horse tram network into here and further in 1868. Then it was one of the busiest sections in the electric tram years, too, with sometimes 10 or 15 different routes using the tracks here. The Rákóczi út tram was closed because of the metro line M2 running beneath it. Since then much of the bloom of the street has vanished, and the public transportation performance on the surface is still immense in the form of the buses 7, 7A, [7], [173] and 78. It was a big mistake to close this tram line!

The tram stop seen from south. To the right: a special transport towed by a "Muki".

There's also a crossover located near the tram stop, and a connecting track to Népszínház utca, where routes 28 and 37/37A run. This connecting track is used by the Grand Boulevard routes to enter service from depot Hungária, and of course by special runs and transports.

-> Link to the terminus of route 28 and 37/37A in Népszínház utca  (COMING SOON)
 

Lost rails: Rókus kórház and route 2 The Grand boulevard was once crossed here, too, first by the steam tram going to Új Köztemető (the line that later became tram route 37), then by route 2. Also, some routes have had their terminus on the other side of the square in form of a reversing loop around the department store currently called "Centrum Corvin". The name of the old terminus "Rókus kórház" refers to the old, but still functioning hospital located next to the department store. The terminus of the routes ending here was moved to its current location in Népszínház utca so that they don't obstruct the Grand Boulevard routes while crossing their tracks.

The next section of the Boulevard gets a bit less patrician. Some of the most down and out parts of the city hide only a few streets away from here to the east. Of course it's not near as bad as it was ten years ago, but the rehabilitation of those "inner city skid rows" goes slowly.

Rákóczi tér

I hope a bit of urban folklore does not ruin your appetite for more Budapest: Rákóczi tér and the neighbouring streets were the center of the "red-light business" in the communist days, and therefore it was considered a quite infamous place. That's over now, and  the nice old market hall might give you a hint that once this was a blooming downtown area.
 

Lost rails: Baross utca Contemporary map of the Baross utca line between Kálvin tér and Orczy tér. Our next stop is again a once-existing and long-before-abandoned tram junction: Baross utca, which we will just cross now, was the first normal-gauge electric tram line in Budapest, opened in 1889. The line, connecting the inner city to Orczy tér was closed in 1953.

Left: the stop at Baross utca. Right: further along on József körút just before reaching Üllői út.

Üllői út

And our next stop is again of "lost rails" fame. As for the present, this is a stop, in which you will very likely see two south-bound trams standing in a row.
 

Lost rails: Üllői út To the left: the crossing around 1900. To the right: the early seventies with UV's on the Grand Boulevard. The Üllői út tram fell victim of the M3 metro line. The section that crossed the Grand Boulevard was closed in 1976. Until that this was another vital pulse of the tram network.

Hint: the Museum of Applied Arts is located in a characteristic "hungarian art nouveau" building nearby. You can see  it on the picture above to the left.

Mester utca

To the left: the stop at Mester utca. To the right: a depot run on the connecting track to Mester utca.

Our next stop is where you can change to tram line 30 or 30A, which have a stub terminus in Mester utca, perpendicular to the Grand Boulevard. This is where depot runs of route 4 and 6 leave their normal route for depot Hungária normally. You might also see broken-down 4/6 trams standing next to a tram 30 here, because this is one of the very few places were faulty vehicles of the Grand Boulevard routes can be put aside.

-> Link to the terminus of route 30/30A in Mester utca (COMING SOON)

Boráros tér

Combino climbing the ramp to the bridge, and a Ganz double-set in the stop on an older photo.

Boráros tér was southern endpoint of some Grand Boulevard routes until Petőfi híd (bridge) was opened in 1937. The square was also crossed by some north-to-south services. After WW2 it was the southern end point of route 2, and northern end point of some tram routes heading for South-Pest. It also became the end point of the Csepel Express Railway (erroneously called "HÉV" - "vicinal railway" by the people, because it was operated by the same company as the other HÉV services) in 1951, and more and more buses during the decades until it became a vital traffic node for southern Pest.

Hint: The trams of route 4 and 6 are hard to photograph from the pavements of the bridge because of the heavy car traffic, but you can take nice pictures from there of route 2 trams running beneath.

-> Link to route 2 and 2A at Boráros tér

Petőfi híd

To the left: view of Petőfi híd from a boat with the city in the background
To the right: Combino heading for Pest at the Buda bridgehead

From Petőfi híd you can take wide panorama views of the city, Buda Castle, Szabadság híd (Liberty Bridge), with the Buda Hills in the background!
 

Lost rails: a reversing loop at Goldmann Károly tér Until a few years ago there was a double-track reversing loop in the middle of a park just after the bridge. It was originally used by various routes like 6, 46, 66, but after 1972 it became the reserve/resting station of the Boulevard routes. Unfortunately the site was then sold, and the loop was removed. Now the whole area is a big university and IT-technology campus.

Hint: the three-track junction is a nice photo-site, but be careful for vehicular and tram traffic aswell!

And now comes the point where route 4 and 6 part ways: the first goes straight forward in Irinyi József utca, while the latter turns right, onto Karinthy Frigyes út.
 

The stop of route 6 at Budafoki út (left). On the other picture: a sunny view of two Combinos near the terminus.

The stretch in Karinthy Frigyes út can be nice with all the trees at the right lighting conditions (like on the right, shot in the afternoon).

The Móricz Zsigmond körtér terminus

The reversing loop (see below) was abandoned in May 2006.

-> Link to Móricz Zsigmond körtér
 

Lost rails: the reversing loop at Móricz Zsigmond körtér On 19. May 2006 the reversing loop for the terminus of route 6 was abandoned. To the left: the tram first turned onto Siroki utca, then onto Váli utca (to the right). The terminus of route 6 was the last street-running inner-city reversing loop in Budapest. It was also quite steep and in addition the 54-meter-long Ganz CSMG2 double-sets looked great in the sharp bends. Passengers had to alight in the narrow Váli utca, while  boarding took place a bit further, on the side of Móricz Zsigmond körtér: Some things changed, other things stayed the same: the tram stop was rebuilt in 2003, the old house in the background remained rather run-down... Passengers boarded the trams from the sidewalk. Unfortunately the new terminus is a bit further away from this site, so the closure of the loop was a negative event in the sight of most Budapest tram fans.

The separate section of route 4

The separate section of route 4 runs in Irinyi József utca and Október 23. utca.

It only has one stop before the terminus, just like route 6, and it even has the same name (Budafoki út), because it crosses the same street, only a few hundred meters away.

The terminus of route 4 at Fehérvári út

The Fehérvári út terminus of route 4 was reshaped in 2003, and then in 2006.

Night shot of the very first Combino Budapest at this terminus

The logic behind this "other Grand Boulevard route terminus" was to lift off some of the traffic of Móricz Zsigmond körtér. Until 1972 route 4 turned onto Fehérvári út and went all the way to Budafok. Now it's just a two-track stub terminus with a connecting track to the Fehérvári út lines for special runs.

-> Over to the Fehérvári út trams

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