Budapest Metro

Budapest Metro
Budapest Metro
	Top: Örs vezér tere, terminus of metro line M2 ; Bottom: Metro line M4, a driverless metro line ; with real-time PIDS system at Kálvin tér, ; transfer station to metro line M3
Overview
Native name	Budapesti metró
Owner	Capital City of Budapest
Locale	Budapest, Hungary
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	4
Number of stations	52
Daily ridership	1.27 million (2009)
Annual ridership	382.6 million (2023)
Website	BKK Public Transport
Operation
Began operation	2 May 1896
Operator(s)	Centre for Budapest Transport; Budapest Transport Ltd. (BKV)
Technical
System length	39.4 km (24.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) ; (standard gauge)
Top speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
System map
System map
	Up and down correspond roughly to north and south, respectively

The Budapest Metro (Hungarian: Budapesti metró, pronounced [ˈbudɒpɛʃti ˈmɛtroː]) is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Opened in 1896, it is the world's second oldest electrified underground railway after the City and South London Railway of 1890, now part of the London Underground, and the third oldest underground railway with multiple stations, after the originally steam-powered Metropolitan Railway, now part of the London Underground (1863), and the Mersey Railway, now part of Merseyrail in Liverpool (1886).

Budapest's first line, Line 1, was completed in 1896. The M1 line became an IEEE Milestone due to the radically new innovations in its era: "Among the railway's innovative elements were bidirectional tram cars; electric lighting in the subway stations and tram cars; and an overhead wire structure instead of a third-rail system for power." In 2002, the M1 line was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.