Hungary has opened a multi-stage procurement for a rail link from Budapest city center to Ferenc Liszt International Airport, setting a February 6 deadline for bidders competing for a 35-year airport rail PPP that includes the construction of a deep underground station.
Hungary’s National Concession Office sent out the contract or concession notice on January 6, which now kicks off a market-oriented multi-stage tender for the construction, operation and maintenance of railways under a long-term concession agreement.
The tender documents call for the construction of approximately 27 kilometers of double-track electrified railway, with a total of about 60.6 km of track, designed for operating speeds ranging from 80 km/h to 200 km/h, depending on alignment and interfaces with existing corridors.
The line is specified for an axle load of 225 kN and must meet European rail interoperability and TEN-T requirements. The scope includes the construction and rehabilitation of new alignments as well as capacity improvements along parts of the existing national rail network serving eastern Budapest.
The works include track and underground, overhead catenary systems, traction power supply, signalling, telecommunications and train control systems, together with the associated civil structures required to accommodate airport services alongside conventional rail traffic.
A map of Budapest’s railway network shows the approximate location of Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport to the south-east of the city centre, beyond the Kőbánya railway hubs. Map for illustrative purposes; the final lineup has not been released
Image courtesy of Adobe/Design by ENR
A central technical requirement is the construction of a deep underground station at the airport, identified in the tender as a minimum condition. This element places the project among the most technically demanding airport rail programs now entering procurement, requiring excavation and structural work under active aviation facilities, integration with terminal buildings and installation of fire safety, waterproofing and passenger circulation systems while maintaining uninterrupted airport operations. The tender does not include project-specific geotechnical data, allowing bidders to assess subsoil risk prior to later design stages, an important consideration given Budapest’s variable alluvial soil and groundwater conditions in the areas surrounding the airport.
Comparable challenges have shaped other airport rail projects reported on by ENR, including Ireland’s Dublin MetroLink, which combines a city center to airport rail link with extensive underground construction beneath dense urban fabric and active airport facilities.
RELATED
Procurement begins in 2026 for the $12.6 million Dublin MetroLink rail line
The project illustrates how deep station design, subsurface uncertainty and procurement structure can materially influence cost, schedule and bidder appetite for rail lines serving the airport. In the United States, the AirTrain Newark replacement has highlighted how buildability, system integration and life cycle performance can complicate procurement when continuing to work in an operating airport environment.
These lessons are amplified by Budapest’s concession structure. Operations and maintenance obligations extend over the entire 35-year term, shifting long-term performance risk to the private partner and forcing bidders to weigh initial construction decisions against life-cycle durability.
Track geometry, power and signaling systems, tunnel assets and underground station infrastructure will be subject to long-term reliability and renewal requirements, increasing the importance of construction and whole-life cost in bid design.
While the tender does not assign a final capital value, market estimates have consistently placed the airport rail link at around $1.1 billion. The project is structured as a privately funded concession rather than a traditionally funded public works contract.
RELATED
$3.5 million AirTrain Newark replacement renovations after bids go over budget
The tender stage follows public commitments made last autumn by Hungarian officials to achieve the privately funded airport rail link. In October, Economy Minister Márton Nagy described the project as an investment in competitiveness and tourism.
Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár characterized the rail connection as a long-overdue national infrastructure priority and confirmed a concession-based delivery approach. Local Hungarian reports have framed the airport-rail link as a long-awaited competitiveness project for Budapest, although they acknowledge that delivery has repeatedly stalled amid funding and execution challenges.
Budapest’s railway network serves a metropolitan area of approximately 2 million residents divided by the Danube into Buda and Pest.
For international rail contractors, designers and concessionaires, the focus now shifts to technical risk allocation and long-term operational exposure as teams assess whether to seek qualification.
