What's been happening on Budapest-Belgrade?
The 350 km (220 mile) railway from Budapest to Belgrade is largely straight over flat terrain, but speeds were slow and journey times long. The line was completely closed from 2019 until 2025 while the line was rebuilt to allow speeds of up to 200 km/h. A temporary service has been running since 2025, but direct fast trains have not run since 2019.
Finally, direct express trains to start from 13 December 2026?
Direct express trains from Budapest to Belgrade were due to resume in March 2026, but problems with the new signalling system meant this was postponed, originally until June, then 'early autumn', but now I'm hearing 'December 2026'. But this time it looks as if it's really happening at last, as Budapest-Belgrade tickets have gone on sale on the MAV (Hungarian Railways) website jegy.mav.hu for travel from 13 December.
When trains resume, two direct Eurocity trains with restaurant car will run Vienna-Budapest-Belgrade every day. In addition, modern air-conditioned Serbian SOKO trains will link Budapest Keleti & Belgrade Centar every 4 hours in 3h17. I will update this page further as details emerge.
From 13 December 2026: Direct fast trains due to start!
It now looks as if direct trains will resume from 13 December. Here are the planned timings for the two daily locomotive-hauled trains between Vienna, Budapest & Belgrade. Tickets for Budapest-Belgrade are now on sale on the MAV website jegy.mav.hu, although as I write this ÖBB has not yet opened sales. There will also be regular Serbian Budapest-Belgrade trains, not yet shown below.
Read downwards, each column is a departure you can take. You change trains at each dark grey bar.
EC-A = Eurocity Avala.
EC-I = Eurocity Ivo Andric.
Both the Avala and Ivo Andric offer a mix of air-conditioned Hungarian 2nd class and air-conditioned Austrian 1st & 2nd class cars, and a Hungarian restaurant car. Treat yourself to lunch or dinner and a beer or two!
Modern air-conditioned Serbian SOKO trains will also run, linking Budapest Keleti & Belgrade Centar every 4 hours in 3h17, but details are not yet online.
How much does it cost?
Budapest to Belgrade costs €41.40 in 2nd class or €62 in 1st class, regular flexible fare.
+ €2 compulsory seat reservation.
How to buy tickets
Buy Budapest to/from Belgrade at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu.
Until 12 December 2026: Change at Szeged & Subotica
A fast SOKOL train service started running between Subotica on the Hungarian border and Belgrade in October 2025. These are smart double-deck Serbian trains capable of 200 km/h. So until 12 December 2026 (and beyond, if the start of fast trains is deferred again), you can travel from Budapest to Belgrade using a Hungarian Intercity train from Budapest to Szeged, a cross-border local train from Szeged to Subotica, and a Serbian SOKOL train from Subotica to Belgrade. You can buy a through ticket from Hungarian Railways.
Read downwards, each column is a departure you can take. You change trains at each dark grey bar.
* Novi Sad station remains closed after an accident and trains aren't stopping there. From 12 October 2026, trains call at a new station called Rumenački, on the outskirts of Novi Sad 3.8 km from Novi Sad station. At some point they'll reopen the main station, if you find trains calling at Novi Sad again, please let me know!
How much does it cost?
-
If you buy a through ticket from MAV (Hungarian Railways):
Budapest-Belgrade starts at €26 in 2nd class, limited availability, the price varies.
Budapest-Belgrade costs €45.60 full-price bought on the day.
No 1st class fares available.
-
If you split the booking:
Budapest-Szeged starts at €11 in 2nd class, €14 in 1st class or €17 in Premium 1st class, booked in advance.
Szeged-Subotica costs €6, 2nd class only, fixed-price.
Subotica-Beograd costs €11 in 2nd class or €15 in 1st class.
How to buy tickets
-
Buy tickets from Budapest to Belgrade (or vice versa) at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu, see my tips for using it.
This gets you a through ticket, but only 2nd class fares are available, you can't book 1st class this way.
If this doesn't work for you, split the booking as shown below.
Or split the booking:
-
Splitting the booking can actually make it cheaper, and it allows you to select 1st class or Premium 1st class on the Budapest-Szeged train, with an option to select your seat from a seat map. It also allows you to choose 1st class on the Subotica-Belgrade train.
-
Step 1, buy a ticket from Budapest to Szeged (or vice versa) at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu, see my tips for using it.
You'll see each train listed twice. The first is the Intercity (IC) with 1st & 2nd class, air-conditioned with reserved seats. The second is the cheaper older Gyorsvonat (Gy) carriages attached to the same train with no air-con, reservations, power outlets or WiFi. I recommend the first one, unless you're on a very tight budget!
-
Step 2, buy a ticket from Szeged to Subotica (or vice versa) at the Hungarian Railways website jegy.mav.hu.
-
Step 3, buy a ticket from Subotica to Belgrade (or vice versa) at the Serbian Railways website webapi1.srbvoz.rs/ekarta. It's in Serbian, but easy enough with a little help from Google Translate (or use Google's Chrome browser, right click and select Translate).
Interrail passes
-
Interrail passes cover all these trains. A seat reservation is required between Budapest & Szeged, make this at the station in Budapest or Szeged or using jegy.mav.hu, as explained here. A seat reservation is required for 200 km/h SOKO trains between Subotica & Belgrade, around €1, this cannot be done online, make it at the station when you reach Serbia.
Route map
What's the journey like?
Step 1, Budapest to Szeged by Intercity train
These comfortable Hungarian Intercity trains have air-conditioned 1st & 2nd class, a cafe-bar, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi. Seat reservation is compulsory and included with your ticket. There are one or two 2nd class Intercity cars with seats in an open saloon and one first class Intercity car with a cafe-bar counter.
Built in 2021, the first class car has a small 15-seat 1st class open saloon, two 6-seat 1st class compartments and two spacious Premium 1st compartments each with 4 electrically-reclining leather seats. A higher fare is payable for Premium 1st, shown as 1+, this includes a complimentary cup of tea/coffee from the cafe counter.
You can check the train formation, car numbers & seat maps at www.vagonweb.cz. Change cs to English, click Train formations, then look for Hungary & click IC.
You can select your seat from a seat map if you book this train at jegy.mav.hu, separately from the Szeged-Subotica train.
A number of older non-Intercity cars are attached, these are classified Gyorsvonat (Hungarian for express) and listed on the MAV website as a separate train. They have no reserved seats, no air-con, no WiFi or power outlets and more basic interiors. Stick with the Intercity cars!
A Budapest to Szeged Intercity train at Budapest Nyugati. The yellow stripe indicates the 1st class car. Photos courtesy of Josef Blazej.
Step 2, Szeged to Subotica by local train
This is an air-conditioned diesel train, 2nd class only, there's a toilet but no catering so bring your own food & drink. Hungarian and then Serbian border guards come on board during the journey to check passports.
The 08:58 & 17:58 from Szeged and the 13:37 from Subotica are a Serbian diesel train like this, seen at Szeged. Photos courtesy of Josef Blazej.
The 14:58 from Szeged and 07:37/16:37 from Subotica are a Hungarian diesel train like this. Photos courtesy of Stephen Gallagher.
Step 3, Subotica to Belgrade by SOKO train
You take a swish 200 km/h double-deck SOKO train from Subotica to Belgrade Centar. Built by Swiss firm Stadler, these modern air-conditioned trains have 1st & 2nd class with refreshments, toilets, power outlets at all seats & free WiFi. Soko is Serbian for falcon, hence the logo.
A 200 km/h double-deck SOKO train at Belgrade Centar. Courtesy of Hugo van Vondelen.
