A locomotive began emitting smoke at Budapest’s Keleti Railway Station shortly before 1 p.m. on Tuesday, prompting emergency services to respond and causing temporary disruptions to rail services.
According to Hungary’s National Directorate General for Disaster Management, the cooling system of a multiple-unit train started smoking inside the station’s main building. Around 400 passengers evacuated the train before firefighters arrived at the scene.
By 1:45 p.m., railway operator MÁV reported that restrictions had been reduced to a single track at Keleti Station, allowing services on the Újszász, Hatvan, and Mátra InterRegio lines to gradually return to normal.
Service disruptions
Several trains on the Újszász line were cancelled, while others were replaced by alternative G60 and Z60 services, with substitute trains making additional stops normally served by the cancelled S60 services. One Z60 train to Szolnok was expected to run 20–25 minutes late due to the incident.
On the Hatvan and Miskolc line, the Hernád–Zemplén InterCity service to Košice and Sátoraljaújhely was delayed by approximately 35–40 minutes. An S80 suburban service to Gödöllő was cancelled, with passengers redirected to a Mátra InterRegio train making extra stops.
Services to Gyöngyös were also affected. The IR85 Mátra InterRegio departing from Keleti was cancelled, and passengers were advised to travel on the Agria InterRegio to Vámosgyörk, where replacement buses were provided for the remainder of the journey. Replacement buses also operated in the opposite direction between Gyöngyös and Vámosgyörk.
Rail services are expected to return to normal gradually as operations at Keleti Station continue to recover.
