History of the Budapest Keleti Train Station

In 1867, when the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, Budapest has five railway stations. In 1883, due to the increase in passenger traffic to the Hungarian capital, the future is built Keleti instead of grants Kerepesi út, located on the current Baross tér. The Budapest municipality decides to align the front of the large hall on the perspective of Rákóczi utca. Due to the configuration of the site, this decision forced manufacturers to extend the railway along Thököly út, which complicates still maneuvering and handling.

In the early years, the Keleti railway station is connected by a double track the rest of the Hungarian national network. Originally, the junction was via the station Józsefváros, located a few hundred meters to the south. The rapid degradation routes pushes designers to consider their own access to the Keleti railway station. Over the years, the station is constantly redesigned and reconfigured. The railway line runs gradually equips a rotunda, a train repair shop, but also an area dedicated to postal transport. During the First World War, the station essentially responds to the needs of the army, which blocks the expansion envisaged.

In 1926, the station receives only 72 trains per day. To fight against the decline of passenger traffic, cars are added to each train to increase the length. Due to the small size of the siting of the station, engineers create a new system of correspondences to deal with the increased traffic. The first catenary is installed in 1931.
After the Second World War, Keleti was badly damaged by bombing in succession. In 1969, the arrival of the Budapest M2 metro line transforms the station forecourt in open forum, allowing access to subways.