It is deservedly popular Kingfisher by express train from Göd we can easily and quickly get to Lake Balaton. A double-decker also runs on weekends and holidays in the pre-season KISS motor vonattal between Szob and Fonyód, providing a direct connection from the area of the Danube bend, stopping at stations and stops with higher traffic. At some point, it already is new county and national pass we can also enjoy its benefits.
The pre-season started on May 15, and the advantages of the new county and national passes can be used even when traveling to Lake Balaton, MÁV Zrt. told MTI on Thursday. It is important for those traveling from Göd to know that
the Jégmadár express train between Balatonaliga and Fonyód can be used with the national pass and the county pass.
It is mandatory to exchange tickets for the Jégmadár Express Train and bicycle tickets.
They wrote: from May 15 – a month before the vacation – trains to Lake Balaton will run more frequently. With the introduction of the pre-season schedule, the interest of more than 330,000 county and national pass holders in using the Balaton flights has increased. The new fare products offer a new and competitive alternative to those who commute regularly within the counties or across at least two counties, but the national passes are valid without exception on the more frequent InterRégió trains between the capital and Lake Balaton, which run typically every 1-2 hours.
On the orszagberlet.hu website, passengers can find out more about the possibilities of using the new passes in the separate Balaton menu item, as well as receive help and suggestions on how to take advantage of their benefits when traveling to the lake or between its coastal settlements – explained MÁV Zrt.
According to the information, from May 15 to June 16, MÁV-START is once again waiting for travelers with a pre-season schedule:
the larger settlements along the coast became accessible with additional services in addition to the regular, hourly trains. Compared to the winter schedule, more InterCity cars and motor trains were in service, and there are more seats available for passengers on the trains compared to the early spring period. On the Balaton InterCity trains between Déli pályaudvar and Keszthely, a bistro section already provides full catering in the 1st and premium class IC+ cars.
Many Balaton trains are available for those traveling with a county or national pass. Passenger trains and high-speed trains can all be used free of charge, so you can also travel with the new pass type on the Déli-Parti, Katica and Vízipó InterRegions, as well as on the Tanúhegy, Lesence and Fenyves high-speed trains and the Balaton-Fenyves light railway. When traveling on InterCity and express trains, passes are only valid within sections without a surcharge.
The surcharge-free section is typically the section between the first lakeside station or stop (from Budapest) and the final station of the given train. In the case of the Balaton and Tópart InterCity trains, the designated, non-InterCity-quality cars between Siófok and Keszthely and between Siófok and Nagykanizsa are free of charge. The Kék Hullám express trains can be used between Balatonalmádi and Tapolca, and the Jégmadár express between Balatonaliga and Fonyód with a national and county pass.
These, as well as the route of the train types, and the main traffic characteristics are illustrated with maps on the orszagberlet.hu website.
As previously indicated by the MÁV-Volán group: county and national passes can only be used on trains without a surcharge, so not on ICs, with the exception of certain carriages or sections. As always in previous years, at Balaton, these exceptions will cease in this year’s preseason and main season, so that they can also serve passengers who choose the IC service, they said.
They also informed that Volánbusz also runs direct buses between Budapest and Lake Balaton a few times a day in both directions, for which the national pass is also valid. By bus you can reach the towns of Balatonkenese, Balatonalmádi, Balatonfüred, Tihany, Révfülöp, Keszthely, Hévíz on the northern shore of the lake, as well as Siófok, Balatonlelle, and Balatonboglár on the southern shore.
More than 90,000 people already have a national pass that allows them to travel throughout the country on trains and intercity buses. Thinking primarily of them, but also of county pass holders, the MÁV-Volán group has created a “Balaton” menu item on the orszagberlet.hu website, which specifically helps in planning travel with the new type of pass and in providing preliminary information.
It was emphasized: from the pre-season, trains to Lake Balaton run more frequently. From May 15, travel options from the capital have been expanded to the north coast with the Kék Hullám express train to Tapolcá, to Balatonfüred with the Vízipók InterRégio every two hours, and to Siófok, Fonyód and Balatonszentgyörgy with the South Coast InterRégio, which also runs every two hours. From Saturday on weekends and holidays Katica InterRégió between Déli pályaudvar and Balatonfüred, Last year between Szob, Vác and Fonyód Jégmadár express has become extremely popular completes the transportation optionsand makes public transport more attractive to Lake Balaton among travelers. They added: the transport of pre-season trains from the Western Transdanubian region was also transformed.
According to the information, the state-of-the-art, air-conditioned KISS double-decker motor train runs between Szob and Fonyód under the name Jégmadár express train on weekends and holidays in the pre-season, providing a direct connection from the Danube Bend area.
Even in the pre-season, Owl Trains run along the southern shore, so a train runs along the lake even after midnight. Between Budapest and Keszthely, you can travel with a pair of trains from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday, MÁV Zrt announced.
In the announcement, they also mentioned that the Volánbusz schedule will not be changed in the pre-season, but it will provide travel in coordination with the trains. The usual Balaton 24/72 day tickets can be purchased every day since April 29 and can be used until October 31 at the same price and usage options as last year.
