Vörösmarty tér ↔ Mexikói út
Budapest’s M1, known locally as the kisföldalatti (the small underground), was the second underground railway in Europe after London and the first on the Continent: it opened for the 1896 millennium celebrations. Together with Andrássy út it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002. It runs from Vörösmarty tér to Mexikói út, all the way beneath the boulevard, past the Opera, Oktogon, Heroes’ Square and City Park.
The line was built between 1894 and 1896 by the Hungarian subsidiary of Siemens & Halske, dug from the surface as a cut-and-cover tunnel in less than two years. Emperor Franz Joseph opened it on 2 May 1896. It originally ran underground from Gizella tér (today Vörösmarty tér) to Aréna út (today Heroes' Square) and then across City Park on the surface to Artézi fürdő: 3.7 km in all, with nine underground and two surface stops.
Between 1970 and 1973 the City Park section was moved underground and the line was extended to Mexikói út, bringing it to 4.4 km. That rebuild brought the Ganz trains that still run today and switched the line from left-hand to right-hand running. A disused stretch of the old tunnel at Deák Ferenc tér became the Underground Railway Museum. In 1995 the whole line was renovated and the stations got back their period tiling.
| Departure from the terminus | Weekdays | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vörösmarty tér → Mexikói út | 4:45 – 23:45 | 4:45 – 23:45 | 4:45 – 23:45 |
| Mexikói út → Vörösmarty tér | 4:32 – 23:32 | 4:32 – 23:32 | 4:32 – 23:32 |
| Time of day | Weekdays | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning (4–7h) | 4–10 min | 5–10 min | 10 min |
| Morning peak (7–9h) | 2–3 min | 4–5 min | 5–10 min |
| Midday (9–15h) | 3–4 min | 3–4 min | 3–5 min |
| Afternoon peak (15–19h) | 2–3 min | 3–4 min | 3–4 min |
| Evening (19–22h) | 3–5 min | 4–5 min | 4–5 min |
| Late evening (22–1h) | 5–10 min | 5–10 min | 5–10 min |
First and last departures from each terminus, and the interval between trains by time of day, from BKK's official GTFS data (August 2026). Public holidays run to the Sunday timetable. First and last trains at all 48 stations →
Vörösmarty tér ↔ Mexikói út · 11 stations · ~10.5 min travel time
The M1 line has 11 stations in total, and the total travel time between the two termini (Vörösmarty tér ↔ Mexikói út) is about 10.5 minutes.
A single metro ticket costs 500 Ft — the same on every line. See all tickets and passes.
On weekdays, first and last departures from each terminus: Vörösmarty tér → Mexikói út: 4:45 – 23:45; Mexikói út → Vörösmarty tér: 4:32 – 23:32. Weekends and public holidays differ slightly, see the table above. Full timetable.
