MAV Reviews 48

I have worked inside the worlds busiest railway ( UK ) and I am eternally impressed with Hungarian Rail - Mav Start Services - Punctuality , Price, Services , Train Facilities, Staff courtesy and professionalism is outstanding .. Tatabanya service and staff just brilliant / I am going out of my way to thank them because through snow and storms they have never let me down , thank you

I had a very disappointing experience with this company while traveling through Jánosháza.

The station boards did not display train numbers—only departure times. Two trains with very similar departure times were both delayed, which made the situation even more confusing. The platforms (tracks) were not clearly numbered, and there was no conductor or staff member available to assist passengers.

When a train arrived, it had no visible train number, and there was no one to ask for clarification. Based on the limited information available, I boarded—only to later discover it was the wrong train. By the time I realized the mistake, it was too late. At small village stations, trains stop for barely a minute, and the train departed in the opposite direction.

I got off in Győr and went to the station office to explain what happened. Unfortunately, the staff member told me it was entirely my fault. I was informed I could not receive a refund or replacement ticket and would need to purchase new tickets at five times the original price. I was told I could apply for a refund later, but that it was not guaranteed. I was even warned that reusing my original ticket could result in a fine.

It is disappointing that such a large corporation operates stations with unclear signage and no on-site assistance, and then offers no support when passengers face avoidable confusion. Because the next train to my destination was the following day, I was forced to find overnight accommodation at my own expense.

Overall, this experience showed a serious lack of organization and customer care.

I'm currently traveling by train to Budapest. It's 2°C outside, and there is no heating in the carriage. It's extremely cold. It's very uncomfortable to sit in a freezing carriage for several hours. People are wearing their jackets. It's unbelievable that in the 21st century, in the heart of Europe, passengers are transported in such conditions. Terrible! And the cleanliness of the train is not commendable either. This is extremely uncomfortable, irresponsible, and simply unacceptable.

I am in Romania. I needed a train ticket that would get me to Budapest on the 12th of January, and I bought one through their website, saying the train was leaving at 00:50 on the 12th and arriving in Budapest at 8:50 on the same day. After I paid, for my surprise, the tickets issued showed a different version: my departure from Romania would be indeed on the 12th, but at 23:59, and the arrival would be only on the 13th at 8:50! I guess this company doesn’t know how to account for the time difference of just one hour between Romania and Hungary, and decided that my ticket was actually for the following day, which would not help at all, once I had a flight from Budapest on the 12th!!! I tried calling them and explaining THEIR error, but all they would say is that they couldn’t change the reservation and that the only option was for me to issue a refund - which didn’t cover the whole ticket. So in the end I lost about 50 Euro.

What the hell is first class in your 1st class compartment? No shades, very tight and no restaurant or any supply? At Hegyshalom it came the best. The entire 1st class waggon has been cleared because 1 conductor did not show up and it was not allowed to take a further waggon. Apart from the time loss were stowed like chicks on the bar in the 2nd class who at least had a curtain instead of nothing…

I tried to buy tickets online, round trip, but the site only offered me one way (it said that there were no more tickets for the return on the chosen date).so I only bought one way and later tried to buy a return ticket...but tickets were generated without seats (when I wrote to MAV to resolve the issue, I was told that the transaction was interrupted due to a computer system error and the tickets were canceled.)checking the bank report I found that the transaction had not been made, so two days later I bought tickets again, for the same train on the same date as before.
then I saw that they also collected the money for the "interrupted transaction and canceled tickets"...since then 04.06.2025 and until today I have been trying to recover my money and they refuse under various pretexts...moreover, in the Nyugati station, at the international office they only speak Hungarian, you can barely understand them, using the online translator, on the train one of the toilets was full of feces because it did not evacuate., the air conditioning did not work, it was very hot. overall a company that I do not recommend to anyone, especially in the online system.

Very bad my train was cancelled and the other train was 50minutes late

We got on the train in Kaptalafüred (KATICA 19731) and had to go to Budapest. The toilet of the starting station (Káptalanfüred) was closed, and the only restroom on the train was also closed. My elderly grandparents found the 2 hour journey incredibly uncomfortable and contemplated peeing on the seats.

I'm shocked. in EU countries, no one knows English at the stations. the service is absolutely terrible and the staff is terribly rude. when I tried to make an appointment and pay for a ticket online, it throws an error, even for the last 90 days, that the system is broken, which means that Hungarian IT experts are desirable only where you want to sabotage someone's work. and when I finally spoke in Hungarian and introduced myself as the head of the Travel TV team, they offered me all the possible favors, trying not to make public what we found. of course the show goes without any censorship. AVOID THIS TRANSPORTATION WIDELY. .

Rip off. I Bought a return ticket Vienna though OBB (Austrian) to Budapest and on the return journey ticket inspector claimed I needed to pay a 52 euro supplement to the Austrian border even though my ticket was valid. Daylight robbery. Plus no buffet car on the train and air conditioning was out on my outward journey to Budapest on 4/7 also with MAV

As a Hungarian, I can only apologize for the poor performance of MÁV. Delays, delays, delays, zero communication, often exhausted, bored, underpayed, frustrated ticket inspectors, smelly, outdated cars scrambled tohether in a pile of crap. Sorry all, this is us.
40 mins delay today due to maintenance work.

Disgusting, out of date, smelly, unusable toilets and the staff are vile disgusting ignorant animals. Never again.

Awkward, smelly, dirty, unacceptable delays. Not one good thing I can say about MÁV.

Unreliable, 50-90 minute delays for no reason. It doesn't work due to corruption.

Its just the worst.
If u could use anything else u can!

Lost & Found:
The customer service of MAV in english is just incompetent and very shady. I forgot my luggage on an austrian train in Vienna with keys, laptop, ipad, work-id etc. which travelled further to Budapest, so MAV took over. I called immediately when it was still en route but they yet they claimed they couldn’t locate it either on the train or in their system. I called 10 times over several days, always hearing the same scripted words. Then my hungarian colleague called, suddenly, they were immediately able to find it by my name, the brand of the backpack and also the content of the backpack. Further, the personell was so nice to her and really tried to help her. When I picked up my belongings in Budapest, the service personell was totally unfriendly again and was not able to talk in english despite saying "yes" and "no". I found out that the luggage was located at the same day when I had lost it and was one of the first hits in the system when I checked it with her in the computer. After that, I did a test call to ask the hotline again for the lost luggage. They told me the same script of sentences that I've heard earlier. Then I confronted him with their incompetence and accusedthem that that they tried to defraud me. He felt catched and hang up. If you only speak English, skip the hotline—go to the station and check the system directly.

On November 17th, 2024, I faced a highly disappointing situation while traveling with MÁV-START on the RJX 12066 from Budapest Keleti to Hegyeshalom. I held a valid 1st-class MÁV-START ticket in their app, as well as a 2nd-class ÖBB ticket for the same route. Due to a delay with my earlier IC connection, I missed my scheduled train and was forced to board the RJX without a reservation.

When approached by the female train attendant, I explained my situation and showed her proof of the IC’s delay via a screenshot from the MÁV app. However, she refused to honor my 1st-class ticket, claiming I needed a reservation. I attempted to clarify that it was impossible to book a reservation through either the MÁV or ÖBB systems at that point, but she insisted on a written confirmation of the delay and refused to accept the evidence I presented.

The attendant spoke very little English and almost no German, which made the situation even more stressful. Worse, she showed no effort to assist or verify the information. Her unmotivated and dismissive attitude left me no choice but to sit in 2nd class, despite holding a valid 1st-class ticket I had paid for.

Their train just breaks down in the middle of nowhere from Budapest to Chop and they don't provide any replacement and the alternative route goes somewhere completely different.
Worst experience on a train ever. They can't get anything right.

Terrible-terrible service. I had a direct ticket from Chop to Budapest and I was forced to change wagons twice. In Chop, I was informed that my wagon doesn’t work, as well as one more wagon, and they forced people from 3 wagons to onboard 1 wagon and said that in Zahony we would be able to change to our wagons. People with small kids were forced to stand because there were no available seats for their tickets which they purchased with seats. In Zahony, I finally found my wagon and embarked it (it was open and available to take seats on), as well as other passengers. Then, after I put my heavy suitcase in the department above my head, I was forced to move to the last wagon and take “any” seat, even though I paid for a specific window seat in a specific wagon. When I came to this wagon, I could barely find a place for myself and there was no place for my heavy suitcase in the department above. They just decided to move people from 2 wagons to 1 wagon again. What is the whole point of purchasing tickets with seats in advance?

No air conditioning constantly stopping trains old bad windows go end yourself lazar janos