Bicycle transport not possible. Compartmens are equipped with air-condition, power plug and a washing basin. Is your favourite line often sold out or are tickets way too expensive? The total trip duration is 12:45 hours. Operated by MÁV, this night train offers comfort in three categories: sleeping car (standard compartments with up to three berths available), couchette car (four or six berths per compartment) and 2nd class coach (six seats per compartment).
WC and washing rooms are at the end of the carriage. You could think there is little to be done about that – but actually this can be solved politically: By improving conditions for both operators and travellers. The train runs daily. It has intermediate stops in Vac, Bratislava hl.st., Brno hl.n., Dresden Hbf, Dresden Neustadt and Berlin Südkreuz.
2nd class coaches have air-condition and six seats per compartment.
Snacks, drinks as well as toiletry can be bought from the stewards in sleeping and couchette cars.
Unfortunately, no accomodation for passengers with reduced mobility. It's probably the most relaxing, fun, and eco-friendly way to get to your destination. The train runs daily.
Read more on the global warming reduction potential of night trains in our study on the topic.
When travelling with the EN 40457 + EN 40476 train, you can choose between the following categories:
Please always verify timetable information with the operator when booking the train, and also prior to your departure.
Night train EN 40457 departs from Berlin Hbf at 19:21, and arrives at Budapest Nyugati at 08:29.
A cosy 2-berth sleeper in the Berlin-Budapest sleeping-car. Book online at www.thetrainline.com |
A Hungarian Railways sleeper train called the Metropol links Berlin with Bratislava & Budapest every night. The train has a comfortable air-conditioned Hungarian sleeping-car with 1, 2 or 3 berth compartments with washbasin and an air-conditioned Hungarian couchette car with bunks in 4 & 6 berth compartments, ideal for families. Centre to centre overnight, saving time compared to flying and saving a hotel bill too.
Train times
What's the sleeping-car like?
What's the couchette car like?
Travel tips
Route map
How much does it cost?
How to buy tickets
Berlin Hbf station guide
Bratislava Hlavna station guide
Budapest Keleti station guide
Trains from Berlin to other cities & daytime trains Berlin to Budapest
Trains from Budapest to other cities & daytime trains Budapest-Berlin
Berlin ► Budapest |
| Budapest ► Berlin | ||
Days of running: | every day | Days of running: | every day | |
Train type: | EuroNight sleeper | Train type: | EuroNight sleeper | |
Berlin Hbf depart: | 20:11 | Budapest Nyugati depart: | 19:30 | |
Dresden Hbf depart: | 22:10 | Bratislava Hlavna depart: | 21:58 | |
Bratislava Hlavna arrive: | 06:02 | Dresden Hbf arrive: | 05:48 | |
Budapest Nyugati arrive: | 08:29 | Berlin Hbf arrive: | 07:41 | |
The Berlin-Budapest portion of this train has one Hungarian sleeping-car. In the sleeping-car it's air-conditioned, carpeted, quiet and civilised. The sleeping-car has a side corridor off which open 10 compartments. Each compartment can be sold as a 1, 2 or 3 bed room with upper, middle & lower berths folded out as required. Luggage goes in the large recess above the door to the corridor. The compartments have normal locks plus a security deadbolt which can only be locked & unlocked from inside. There's clean bedding, a washbasin, soap, towel & bottled water.
You'll find a complimentary fruit juice in your compartment and (if you have a single-bed sleeper) a small bottle of Hungarian sparkling wine. Morning tea or coffee and a light breakfast are included in the fare, you're given a menu in the evening and can choose 7 items from the list. You can pay for additional items if you want.
Hungarian Railways normally uses one of its CAF sleeping-cars (shown below), but occasionally uses a DWA-built one instead as shown here.
Berths are sold individually, if you don't want to pay for a single-bed sleeper you can book one bed in a 2 or 3 berth and share with another passenger of the same gender. Compartments are single-sex unless your party occupies the whole compartment. An excellent way to travel.
The sleeping-car from Budapest to Berlin about to leave Budapest Nyugati on a summer evening.
Sleeper corridor. | Sleeper, set up as a 2-berth. | Washbasin & bottled water. |
Single sleeper, corridor side. | Sparkling wine (single only). | Nighty-night... |
Breakfast, included in the fare. | Sleeper with seats set up for morning use. |
The train has a comfortable couchette car with a side corridor and 9 compartments, each of which can be sold as 4-berth or 6-berth. Clean sheets, blanket and pillow are provided, the doors have a normal lock and security lock or chain, there are several European-type 2-pin 240v power outlets in each compartment. Toilets and washrooms at the end of the corridor. Couchette compartments are not segregated by gender, as you do not normally get fully undressed. See generic couchette car numbering plan. Click the interior image for larger photo.
The couchette car to Berlin at Budapest Nyugati. | 4 or 6-berth couchette compartment. |
Should you take the sleeper or a daytime train?
You can travel from Berlin to Budapest by daytime train taking a leisurely 11 hours, or by overnight sleeper. The EuroNight sleeper is more time-effective and saves a hotel bill - it's also an interesting experience.
Seat, couchette or sleeper?
For solo travellers on a budget, a couchette is fine, you get a flat bunk in a safely lockable compartment and can sleep just as well as in a sleeper - but never travel overnight in a seat, always book a couchette or sleeper for comfort and security. It's worth paying a little extra for a couchette in a 4-berth compartment as you get a lot more space per person than in a 6-berth.
For families, a 4 or 6 berth couchette compartment is ideal, you're together in one compartment and can have a blast - bring a bottle of wine for mum & dad. Paying more for two separate 2-berth compartments in the sleeping-car probably isn't worth it unless you've older kids and mum & dad want a break! If there are 5 of you, you can buy 6 tickets for sole occupancy of a 6-berth couchette compartment, simply add a phantom child to the booking.
But the sleeping-car has a quieter, more civilised atmosphere and it's obviously the best option for solo travellers & couples not on a tight budget. Some families and many solo travellers prefer it: A bed in a shared 3-bed single-gender sleeper doesn't cost that much more than a bunk in a 4-berth couchette compartment. In the sleeper, you get a proper fully-made-up bed with duvet (in couchettes you get a blanket, sheet & pillow and arrange them yourself), there's a washbasin in the compartment, and a light breakfast is included.
Is the overnight train safe?
Yes. In the sleeping-car or couchette car it's safe and comfortable for families, solo females, for anyone. Compartments in the sleeping-car & couchette car have a normal lock (which can be opened from outside by leys used by railway staff) plus a security deadbolt and/or security chain which can only be locked and unlocked from inside. An attendant is on duty in the sleeping-car & couchette car throughout the journey, in the attendant's compartment at the end of the corridor.
Finding & boarding your train
As with virtually all European trains, there's no check-in. Just walk into the station, find your train and get on any time before it leaves. And yes, Berlin, Bratislava & Budapest stations are safe at night, with plenty of people around. The sleeper or couchette car attendant will normally greet you on the platform outside the sleeping-car or couchette car entrance door and check your reservation. He'll come round and see you soon after departure to take your ticket or pass.
Berlin Hbf station guide. Budapest Nyugati station guide. Bratislava Hlavna station guide.
Luggage
You take your luggage with you into your sleeper compartment and simply stick it on the luggage racks above the window, over the door to the corridor, or on the floor. Nobody weighs it, measures it, or worries about how much you take. More about luggage on European trains.
Power sockets & WiFi
There are several 240v European-type power outlets for laptops & mobiles near the washbasin in each sleeper compartment and near the window in each couchette compartment. The sleeping-car has free WiFi, the couchette car may not be fitted. Mobile data reception works fine for most of the journey.
Food & drink on board
There's no restaurant car, so bring any provisions (and maybe a bottle of wine!) for the evening. In the morning, the sleeper fare includes tea or coffee plus a few breakfast items, served in your compartment.
See general tips & advice for European train travel.
Click for larger map Highlighted = Berlin-Budapest sleeper route. Green = scenic sections of line. This sleeper has been routed through Poland over the last few years, but returned to its original route through Dresden & Prague from December 2023. Reproduced from the excellent European Rail Map with kind permission of the European Rail Timetable people. I recommend buying a copy of the European Rail Map for your travels, www.europeanrailtimetable.eu with shipping worldwide. |
Berlin to Budapest (or vice versa) starts at €59 with a couchette in a 6-berth compartment, €69 with a couchette in 4-berth, €99 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or €129 in a single-bed sleeper. Fares are dynamic like air fares, so book ahead for these cheapest prices.
Berths are sold individually, one person = 1 ticket = 1 bed. You don't have to pay for sole occupancy if you're travelling solo on a budget, you can book one ticket and get one bed in a shared 2 or 3-bed sleeper with other civilised sleeper passengers of the same sex. But if you book 1 person in a single-berth sleeper or 2 people in a double or 3 people in a triple, you'll get sole occupancy of a whole compartment.
If you have a Eurail or Interrail pass you pay the sleeper or couchette supplement, see prices on the Interrail/Eurail reservations page.
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Comfortable "EuroNight" night train from Budapest to Berlin.
You do not have to change trains. The times are for information only.
Connection available on these week days (1=Monday / 7=Sunday)
Category: Only the available categories are listed.
Eurail: if you want to travel this route by Eurail instead of train tickets, have a look here for reservation fees and further information.
Have you ever travelled by night train to Berlin or Budapest?
Especially if travellers want to use their rail ticket to pass through the gates.
To avoid this, if you have a bank card stored on your mobile phone, it is best to use a printed ticket (not a screenshot of the ticket barcode) to open the gates.
You can use an Android mobile phone as soon as NFC is deactivated; unfortunately, this function does not exist for iPhones.
and Vac. The total trip duration is 13:08 hours. Travel overnight from the Danube to the Spree.
The return trip, night train EN 40476, departs from Budapest Nyugati at 19:30, and arrives at Berlin Hbf at 08:15. It has intermediate stops in Berlin Südkreuz, Dresden Neustadt, Dresden Hbf, Ústí n.L.hl.n., Praha-Holešovice, Bratislava hl.st.
We also recommend you read our tips and tricks page for booking international train tickets.
Do you find it too difficult to book night train tickets?
This night train line is operated by MÁV-START Vasúti Személyszállító Zrt. and you can book tickets on their official website.
In this case, please contact the Dutch Railways NS staff at the gates.
If you have been debited € 20.- by OVpay, you can get this amount refunded at https://reisoverzicht.ovpay.nl/. These debits can be identified by the code NLOVxxxxxx on your billing statement.
Since 31 January 2023, travellers will be able to check in and out at Dutch gates (passage barriers) with their (mobile) debit card via the new OVpay system of Dutch Railways NS, if contactless payment is possible.
Toilets are available at the end of the carriage. However, this innovation may result in an erroneous debit of € 20.- when passing through the gates. Breakfast is included for all passengers in sleeping cars. The 995 km long train journey emits approximately 23 times less compared to a flight. Six compontents of a large menu are included, additional items can be purchased from the steward.
Couchette cars have four or six berths per compartment.
In sleeping cars standard compartments with up to three beds are available. Travellers in couchette cars get a complimentary small breakfast.