Dávid Vitézy, the head of the Budapest Development Centre, has issued a tender to create a new transport hub at Kelenföld, site of a neglected rail station and bus terminus in south Buda. As well as a new bus station, several P+R car parks and a comprehensive study of the railway links have been called for. The goal, however, is more green space.
A combined terminus for BKK city and Volánbusz long-distance buses, P+R car parks and a study of the large railway area around the former train station at Kelenföld in Őrmező, south Buda, are all now on the drawing board.
Kelenföld has already been in the news recently due to its transformation of the former station building into a train museum.
New transport hub for Budapest
According to Dávid Vitézy, CEO of the Budapest Development Centre (BDC): “Since
the opening of the M4 metro terminal in 2014, Kelenföld railway station has
been an important hub for Budapest. It can no longer be considered suburban,
and a plaza and an office building are still being built nearby. However, the
terminus for city buses and the car parks cannot be deemed suitable, Volánbusz long-distance
services arrive on the wrong side of the junction according to traffic
regulations, so they only reach Etele tér by the slip road. According to our
original plans created before 2014, a bus terminal on the Őrmező side should
have been completed shortly after the start of the metro, but in the end this
element was omitted from the project”.
An agreement has just been reached between the City of Budapest and the Hungarian government, who will take over and implement this development. The further development of the node will start under the supervision of Secretary of State Balázs Fürjes, under the direction of the BDC.
In addition, an assessment of the feasibility of a new railway station building directly connecting all platforms. The project will also be coordinated with the railway development under preparation between Kelenföld and Törökbálint, with a new platform to serve the growing suburban railway traffic.
Another important aspect will be to improve accessibility of the planned South Buda Central Hospital by public transport.
