Latest update: 23. July, 2010.
Route 1 - and its peak-hour insection service 1A - is an often neglected, but important building block of Budapest's tram network. It's basically a ring-route on the outer rim of the inner city, connecting radial services like metro (underground lines), HÉV (suburban railway), bus, trolley bus and tram lines. Originally it was dubbed as a "rapid tram" while it was being built, but it's just a normal tram line now, unfortunately with a number of speed limits due to poor track condition.
Although the number "1" would suggest a long history, it's one of the newest tram lines in Budapest: it's first section (Bécsi út - Lehel utca) was opened in 1984 by utilising already existing tracks (of route 33, stopped in 1981) with newly built ones. The next few sections (Lehel utca - Kacsóh Pongrác út in '87, Kacsóh Pongrác út - Thököly út in '90, Thököly út - Kerepesi út in '93) were also brand new - the tram was built together with the road surface (Although the ring street known as the Hungária Ring, consisting of Róbert Károly körút, Hungária körút and Könyves Kálmán körút was proposed more than hundred years ago, realisation only started in the 1980's. Before the construction of this wide ring, these streets were more narrow, and public transit was mostly done by a bus line 55 and trolley bus line 75). The next section (Kerepesi út - Salgótarjáni utca in 1995) was where route 38 ran until 1970, but the trackage was newly laid here, too. The last section so far, which was inaugurated in 2000, incorporated a new underpass under state railway lines, brand new tracks and the re-used right-of-way of route 23.
According plans the line should already be extended over the Danube to the Buda side, but politics interfered, and although the original scheme saw the line running to Etele tér (outer terminus of route 19 and 49), it now seems that even if politicans will find the funds for the extension, it will only go to Fehérvári út.
Route 1: Bécsi út
- Vörösvári út - Flórián tér - Árpád híd - Róbert Károly körút
- Hungária körút - Könyves Kálmán körút - Lágymányosi híd, Pest
bridgehead 13.4 km
Route 1A: Bécsi út
- Vörösvári út - Flórián tér - Árpád híd - Róbert Károly körút - Hungária
körút - Könyves Kálmán körút - Üllői út 11 km
Commercial speed: cca. 19.6
km/h
Here's a Google Maps overview of the route - the circular shape can be very nicely seen:
Tram route 1/1A in larger resolution
Yellow marks route 1, red the planned extension to Fehérvári út (as voted by the City Council in 2010), and brown the possible future extension to Etele tér.
Vehicles: 15 x T5C5
triple-set on route 1
15 x T5C5 triple-set on route 1A
Home depot: Angyalföld,
Baross
Special remarks: The depot runs of tram line 17 carry passengers between Népliget and Vörösvári út as route 1A, so you can also see Ganz CSMG2 articulated cars along the Tatras. Also, because the stops here are built with long platform aisles, and for vehicles with a width of 2500 mm, this is where all tram types and multiple unit configurations can be used. Trial runs and driving schools often take advantage of this, so one can often see special activities along the line.
Stops and time-table at the BKV website
The terinal complex of route 1 and 17 was built in the early eighties as an ambitious project. The switches and safety devices were designed for a high-speed, high-capacity operation in modern LRT manner. Then years of disrepair came, and now the whole setup is a bit of a mess - at least in my opinion.
Track layout (C) by Balázs
Fejes, from villamosok.hu
Generally, route 1 runs in Vörösvári út, route 17 runs in Bécsi út. The two termini are connected by a single track starting from a side-track in front of route 1's stub endpoint. But there's also a reserve area on the other side of the street, which is also connected to route 17 by another track. Remark: this second connecting track (on the right-hand edge of the map above) was rendered unusable in 2005, so currently only the other one is used.
The existence of such a large reserve area might seem strange, but until 1997 there was a tram depot here (Remise Óbuda), and these tracks were used for shunting in and out of the depot. This area is approachable on a single turnout before the terminus.
These two photos (C) by
Ákos Baracsy
By the way, if you take a closer look at that turnout, you can also recognise traces of another track leading to a nearby street. This track was once a connection to the Filatorigát station of the Szentendre HÉV (suburban railway) line. The pictures above show the status in 2000 - this track is not there anymore.
The first section of route 1 runs through a typical housing area of the communist era, with high-rise concrete panel buildings. Not really nice, I must say, even though I have lived in this area for five years :) It's not easy to take nice photos here because of the heavy car traffic, too.
The pedestrian underpass at the Flórián tér stop might bring some surprise: when you go down there, you will find the ruins of an ancient roman spa inside! Óbuda was known as the roman village Aquincum 1900 years ago. Everywhere you look here, you will find memories of roman history and architecture like aquaducts, ruins of two amphiteatrums, remnants of a civic town, decoration, mosaic floor-tile, etc.
After Flórián tér, the tracks run up the ramp of the Árpád híd (Árpád Bridge). They started to build this bridge before the second world war, but it was only completed in 1950. In the early years it was even called the Stalin Bridge in the typical manner of that era. Now it's named after the leader of the hungarian tribes, who had lead his people into the Carpathian Basin in 895AD.
At the stop on the Buda-side bridgehead, Szentlélek tér, you can change to the Szentendre HÉV (suburban railway) line. This is the one that'll take you to the Urban Transportation Museum in Szentendre. For information about opening times, see the official web page of the museum!
The bridge is quite long (almost 1 km), passing over two islands of the Danube: Margit-sziget and Óbudai-(or Hajógyári-)sziget, where every year the Sziget Festival takes place. It's really hard to make decent tram photos on the bridge, because the tram runs between 2x3 traffic lanes, with overhead masts in the middle. Instead fo tramspotting you should take a walk here on Margit-sziget, it's really a nice place with large parks, ancient runs, a miniature zoo, public baths and sport facilities! Although there's no tram stop at the island exit nowadays - there used to be one until 1981, of course for route 33.
At the crossing of Váci út you can change to the metro line M3, but of course you won't do that, because this is a guide for tram enthusiasts and not underground enthusiasts ;)
Just for the historical record, Róbert Károly (Caroberto) was King of Hungary in the 14th century. He was a descendant of the Anjou-house of Naples, who turned Hungary into a strong monarchy after battling with all the rivalling landlords. He was also who (first) had introduced the forint (florentinus -> florin -> forint) as the national legal tender in 1325, upon the example of the golden coins minted in Florence, Italy . His portrait can be seen on the 200-forint bill.
As for the street, this used to be a suburban area with many hospitals, which is now slowly turning into a more metropolitan area. Of course the huge car traffic is not a great help in this process - who wants to live or work right next to an urban highway?
At Lehel utca we cross the ways of tram route 14. There's a two-way connection to those tracks, although only used by depot runs. In the stop you can also find traces of a non-existing crossover switch.
After the next stop, the road and the tracks go over some railway lines via a flyover bridge. And next to the bridge you can see the large wooden roller-coaster of the city amusement park (Vidám Park). Despite the elderly look and the more modern ones right next to it, this roller-coaster is regularly maintained, and still in use.
The terminus of the Milleneum Subway Line and tram routes 3 and 69 are only a few hundred meters away from here. No direct connections though, because on the surface there's a busy railway line in the way, while under the ground the tunnel of the Milleneum Subway hinders the construction of a really sensible underpass.
Afterwards comes a few hundred meters of grassed area, but it soon vanishes and gives way to asphalt, and some more asphalt. But at least you can take photos from here, without the danger of being run over by cars:
If you alight at the stop Erzsébet királyné
útja, you can change to trolley bus line 70, and/or go to the City
Park (Városliget). Tram
route 3 and 69, on the other side of a railway line, accessible via
a small pedestrian subway, is also not far away.
| Apart from other things,
Városliget
is where the
Transport Museum is located, within 5 minutes of walk
from the tram.
-> Link to a description of the museum And a few more minutes walk away another t will take you to the ecclectic archictecural "mixture" Vajdahunyad Vára, and of course the truly magnificent Hősök tere (Heroes Square). |
Between the stops Ajtósi Dürer sor and Thököly út, you can spot a UV tramcar in a garden. This is the schoolyard of the Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where they're using this vehicle to train blind children how to use public transportation.
There's a crossover just before we reach
Thököly
út, it's used during termporary shortenings and when accidents block
the route.
After Thököly út, the route gets not-so-nice again. It depends on the size of the traffic congestion if you can make pictures here, but I rather suggest to skip this part, unless you're interested in trolley buses: line 77 crosses the tram at the stop Egressy út.
After a while we arrive to the stop Stadionok. This is where a large event hall, a subway station for the metro line M2, a number of bus and trolley bus termini, and a station for country-side and international coach services are located. The stadium after which the stop was named - originally called Népstadion ("People's Stadium"), where the rock band Queen gave a memorable (their first one behind the "Iron Curtain") concert in 1986 - is a bit further away.
The stop at Stadionok has three tracks and multiple crossover possibilities. This is rarely used by normal (scheduled) courses, but trams going from one depot to the another often reverse here. For example, on the picture to the left, you can see a tram 37 and 2A - none of these routes runs here normally.
The trolley bus traffic is not only strong because of the termini here, but also because of the proximity of the trolley bus depot: there are sections of overhead in the neighbouring streets used only by depot-bound vehicles.
From here on the tram is segregated from the street, but it's hard to take good photos of it, because of the overhead supports between the tracks. An exception can be found just before reaching Salgótarjáni utca - a scissors crossover used to be here.
The crossing of Hungária körút and Salgótarjáni utca is an exciting place for the fans of electric public transit: there are diverging tracks connecting route 1 to route 37, and these are crossed by the depot route of the trolley buses. A few meters away you'll find two more connecting tracks diverging from route 37: these lead towards Remise Hungária via Sport utca. If you're lucky, you can catch various depot runs between Hungária and the Grand Boulevard, or even trams on test runs, driving school rides, etc.
The four pictures above might give you a hint of what's to see here: the transport of the first Combino on its way to Hungária, a tram 37 on "wrong road" due to the annual tram drivers' contest, a TW6000 on driving school ride, and a depot-bound Ganz CSMG2 double-set of the Grand Boulevard routes.
This tram depot is the home of the Grand Boulevard services 4 and 6. Until recently this meant lots of Ganz articulated cars, now its more and more Combinos.
You can see more (and more recent!) photos
of this depot under the link below:
->
A pictorial report about Remise Hungária, being rebuilt for the
Combinos
After Salgótarjáni utca, the tracks start to dive to cross a bunch of railway lines via an underpass. The western ramp of this subway (seen on the left-hand-side above, with the transport of the first Combino) is quite easily photographable, although the sun shines from the other direction for most of the day (see photo on the right-hand-side).
From here the ring street is called Könyves Kálmán körút. A bit of history again: Könyves Kálmán was a hungarian king on the turn of the 11th and 12th century, being known for his enlightenedness and education. But back to trams: just as trams rise from the underpass, their tracks are crossed by tram 28. There are no track connections here at all, but this route can very nicely be photographed, as the two pictures above show (the sun shines from the perfect angle in the evening).
The rest is hard to photograph again. Here the line passes by a slightly neglected large park, known as Népliget (People's Park). This used to be a popular hang-out place, but became rather disreputable in the last two or three decades. The stop at Üllői út/Népliget is where the insection service 1A ends, and also, this is where you can change to the metro line 3 (again - tram 1 is being crossed by this metro line for the second time after Váci út!). The terminus of route 1A is quite simple: a stub reversing track in the middle of the two through tracks. There's also a football stadium and a coach station here.
The rest of the route runs on segregated tracks again.
Yes, another tram depot along the line! Just like Hungária, this one doesn't operate trams for route 1 either, yet, it's one of the most interesting places: apart from the Ganz CSMG2 and KCSV7 articulated vehicles for routes 2, 2A, 17, 24, 21, 21A, 37 and 37A, this is where the "Muki" freight cars/locos, heritage tram number 611 and some special vehicles are housed!
The extra track on the side of the street (photo on the left) can also be full of life sometimes. You can also catch route 21A (formerly known as 30A) taking a pause on the stub track between the depot's outer wall and the street (photo on the right). The remise itself is pretty worn, but to go in there you would need written permission from the BKV Communication Department anyway.
Track layout (C) by Balázs
Fejes, from villamosok.hu
Mester utca is another strange juction. Here the tracks of route 1 (horizontal on the track layout above) go (almost) straight ahead, but there are also diverging tracks turning into Mester utca, used only by depot rides. From Mester utca there are two more turnout tracks coming, but these are not connected to route 1, but turn into the other direction.
The latter tracks, used by route 21 (and 21A, but only for reversing) run parallel to route 1 for a while, then they dive under and turn south. Meanwhile our tram 1 climbs the ramp, which is part of the bridgehead for Lágymányosi híd. After passing over Soroksári út, we reach the terminus.
The terminus is somewhat provisonal, although it's in use since 2000, and it will be the endpoint of this line for a few more years.
From here, via an underpass you can either approach the terminus of tram routes 2 and 24 in Soroksári út, or go towards the Danube, where the HÉV (suburban railway line) to Csepel is running. Route 1 ends in a single stub track for reversing with a small resting booth for the drivers next to it. Behind that you can clearly see that the right-of-way for the tram has been prepared on the Lágymányosi bridge: you can spot the fastening points for the sleepers and the overhead masts! The large building in the background of the picture to the left is the Palace of Arts, which is extravagantly illuminated at night-time. Apart from this there isn't much to see here, to be honest.
->
Link to route 2 at Vágóhíd
-> Link to route
24
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