The early days The first horse-tram line in Budapest was inaugurated on 30 July 1866 between
Újpest-Városkapu and Kálvin tér, through
Váci út. Over a year before, on 22 May 1865, the Count Sándor Károlyi founded the
PKVT (
Pesti Közúti Vaspálya Társaság ('''')). but it had since become obvious that the technology had become obsolete. A steam-driven suburban railway line from Közvágóhíd (Slaughterhouse) to Soroksár, which was run by HÉV, was separately introduced in 1887, and two more lines soon followed. The second step in the expansion of the system were two lines: on July 20, 1889 the second line, which spanned from
Egyetem tér to
Fiumei út via
Kálvin tér, was opened. It was designed so that in case of a power failure steam engines could tow the carriages. The third line, also standard gauge, was opened on September 10, 1889 and ran from the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences to
Andrássy út. Even though not a tram line
per se, the first underground line in
Continental Europe, the
Millennium Underground Railway must also be noted. It was built using a
cut-and-cover method between 1894 and 1896 and was first named
FJFVV (
Ferenc József Földalatti Villamos Vasút ('''')) after emperor
Franz Joseph. It used electric cars from the very beginning. The dynamically growing network brought new companies: two of them served
Újpest, the northern part of
Pest, one
Pestszentlőrinc, which then was a separate town, and one the southern part of
Buda and the then-separate village
Budafok. These companies were joined together in 1923 by the name
BSZKRT (
Budapest Székesfővárosi Közlekedési Rt. ('''')). It was during 1939-1944 that the most tram lines (66) existed in the city. Along with cost considerations, trolleybuses might be better suited for the downtown area than trams: they turn more easily and produce significantly less noise. While some tram lines were abolished in favour of trolleybuses, the expansion of the system did not stop. Near
Nyugati railway station a new junction of tram lines were built to transport people back and forth to the factories in
Angyalföld and
Újpest and line 33 through the newly built
Árpád Bridge. Line 4 on the Buda side and the tracks on Nagy Lajos király útja were also extended around 1960. The reconstruction of
Erzsébet Bridge in 1964 played a significant role in the revival of the tram network: five lines started using it after its opening. In 1968 there were 83 tram lines in Budapest (10 of which night services) thus reaching the largest extent of the network since
World War II, decline was imminent. This happened partly because of the replacement of tram lines with single track and old vehicles with autobuses but also due to the construction of underground lines
M2 and
M3, which were then thought to be a replacement for the tram lines that used to run above them. In 1972 tram lines on
Erzsébet Bridge and
Rákóczi út were abolished, then until 1982 tram lines were removed along M3 as well thereby effectively erasing 40 km of rail tracks, around 20% of the Budapest tram network. Along with lines in the city centre, most of the lines in
Újpest and some in the southern parts of
Pest were demolished. While many lines were closed down, a significant one was rising: tram 33 was shut down for the renovation of
Árpád Bridge in 1981 but when the bridge was reopened, a new line was born on the eastern end of the outer ring road,
Hungária körgyűrű, line 1. It has been under construction ever since with segments opened in 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2015 and 2019. In 2015 the line crossed to the Buda side of
Rákóczi Bridge which was inaugurated in 1995 and was designed for the tram to cross it.
Present and future As of 2024, it seems that the local governments have shifted towards a more tram-friendly view: line 1 and 3 were renovated and line 1 was extended to
Kelenföld vasútállomás. Line 42 is planned to reach the centre of
Kispest, and line 47 and 49 are planned to reach
Lehel tér, so they can connect into line 12 and line 14, forming a transfer-free connection between
Újpest and
Budafok. ==Lines and developments==