Budapest neighbourhoods with potential: the projects map

How to read this map

The map and the table list projects that will change how a Budapest neighbourhood is reached or used: metro, HÉV (suburban rail) and tram lines, bridges, a rail ring and large brownfield sites. Each project carries its status on 26 October 2026 and the source used to check it.

Status labels:

• Completed: open or handed over.
• Under construction: works under way on site.
• Planned: decided or in design, with no works on site yet. Many planned projects depend on EU funds that are not yet secured.
• Suspended: stopped by a decision, with no confirmed restart.
• Cancelled: formally dropped.

Policy changed in 2026. After the spring 2026 election a new government took office, and a Ministry of Transport and Investment now leads the major projects ^[5][8]. The Fővárosi Közfejlesztések Tanácsa (Budapest Public Development Council), a joint body of five government and five city members that decides unanimously, was re-established and met on 1 October 2026 ^[1]. Several projects stopped by the previous government have been restarted, and at least one has been halted. Dates announced by ministers are targets, not commitments: the minister himself said in September 2026 that not every project will be finished by 2030 ^[8].

This page does not say whether a project will raise property prices: none of the sources consulted makes that claim.

Metro and HÉV: what is planned

• M3 metro, northern extension (Districts IV and XV). Announced on 22 July 2026: the line will run to Rákospalota-Újpest railway station, with two new stations (the terminus and a stop at the Rózsa utca housing estate). Construction is estimated at HUF 80 billion, funded by the EU; the minister said it could be finished by 2030 ^[9]. A longer extension to Káposztásmegyer (4.8 km, five stations) remains an aim only ^[9]. Status: planned.
• M2 metro – Gödöllő HÉV link (Districts XIV and XVI). In April 2026 the previous ministry signed a HUF 8.5 billion design contract. The whole project is estimated at HUF 270 billion with opening expected in 2035; construction could start around 2029–2030, and EU money is unlikely before the 2028–2035 budget period ^[10]. Status: planned.
• HÉV lines H5 (Szentendre), H6 (Ráckeve) and H7 (Csepel). Track renewal, accessible platforms and partial double-tracking are planned within the 2030 horizon ^[8]. 42 new accessible, air-conditioned trains are being procured, with first deliveries expected in 2029 ^[10][16]. The earlier contract for the Ráckeve and Csepel lines had been terminated under the previous government ^[5]. Status: planned.
• HÉV tunnel (M5, north–south regional rail) and the Danube rail tunnel. Both remain long-term concepts in the agglomeration rail strategy. Neither has been designed or decided; in June 2026 the minister said building them now is not realistic and placed them in a future EU funding cycle ^[11]. Status: concept, no decision.

Trams

• Budai fonódó villamos, phase II (Buda interlinked tram network, District XI). A new 2.8 km double-track line from Szent Gellért tér along the Műegyetem embankment to the Budafoki út–Dombóvári út area, with seven pairs of accessible stops and links to the university campuses, Infopark and Kopaszi-gát. The grant agreement was signed on 6 July 2026 (EU grant of HUF 32.32 billion). Preparatory works could begin in autumn 2026 and completion is planned for the end of 2029 ^[6]. Status: planned, contract signed.
• Pesti fonódó villamos (Pest interlinked tram network, Districts V, VI and XIII). After the change of government, the city authorised BKK to continue the design. The project includes moving the tracks on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, a stop beside the Eiffel hall of Nyugati station, a park in place of the bus station, and the removal of the Nyugati flyover ^[7]. Completion is targeted for 2030 ^[8]. No construction cost has been published ^[7]. Status: planned.

For both projects, works will proceed in stages as sites become available; traffic disruption should be expected during construction ^[6].

Bridges and the southern rail ring

• Déli körvasút (southern rail ring), phase II, Kelenföld–Ferencváros (Districts XI and IX). Works began in January 2024. On 9 October 2026 the government announced that it would terminate the works contract and re-tender; criminal complaints are to be filed over the procurement ^[12]. The European Commission had withdrawn from the grant agreement over suspected irregularities in the tender; technical progress stood at 42% ^[17]. The project includes two new stops, Közvágóhíd and Nádorkert, and is to raise capacity from 18 to 32 trains per hour in each direction. Government Decree 1325/2026 (X.9.) extends the deadline to the end of 2030 ^[12]. Status: suspended.
• Galvani bridge. A new road bridge planned between Galvani út (District XI), the north of Csepel Island and Pest. Its environmental permits were in place, but its planning was halted by government decree on 5 September 2023 ^[4]. In April 2026 the incoming minister said the bridge is still needed, while acknowledging local opposition ^[5]. No restart decision had been published by 26 October 2026. Status: suspended.
• Petőfi bridge renovation (Districts IX and XI). On 25 February 2026 the City Assembly approved the design procurement. A full renovation is estimated at HUF 40–45 billion gross; the choice between maintenance only and full renovation is expected in autumn 2027, and works could start in 2029 at the earliest ^[13]. Status: planned.

Large regeneration areas

• Diákváros (Student City), District IX. A former industrial area between Soroksári út and the Soroksár branch of the Danube, in south Pest and north Csepel ^[1]. The previous government had placed the land in a foundation for a Fudan University campus that was never built; the land is back in public ownership. On 7 October 2026 the minister announced that the Public Development Council had decided to restart the project on the basis of the earlier design competition, with student residence places and affordable homes, financed by EU funds ^[1][2]. Earlier plans provided for 12,000 places; no new figure or timetable has been published ^[2]. Status: planned.
• Rákosrendező, District XIV. A former rail yard of nearly 150 ha, to be developed jointly by the state and the city ^[1]; the plots were bought by a city-owned company ^[3]. The winning masterplan, chosen on 31 March 2026, provides for about 10,000 homes and 25 ha of green space; the state committed at least EUR 800 million of infrastructure; the first visible works could come around 2029 ^[3]. Housing is to follow the principles of the Wekerle housing programme, with details still to be published ^[1]. Status: planned.
• Népliget, District X. The city has prepared renewal plans for the park, starting with the Planetarium, closed for almost ten years; a new stop on the ring railway is foreseen ^[14]. Funding is not secured. Status: proposed, not decided.
• Corvin sétány (Corvin Promenade), District VIII (Józsefváros). The redevelopment of 22 ha began in 2004 and was completed in 2022, with about 2,700 new homes ^[15]. Status: completed; it is shown here as an example of a finished project.

Checking a project before you buy

1. Check the status at the source: decisions of the Fővárosi Közfejlesztések Tanácsa, BKK (Budapest transport authority) project pages, and decrees and resolutions published in the Magyar Közlöny (Hungarian official gazette).
2. Treat dates as targets. Several projects on this map have been stopped and restarted at least once: Diákváros, the Galvani bridge, the HÉV lines ^[2][4][5].
3. Look at the funding. Many of these projects depend on EU funds whose deadlines, in particular the end of the 2021–2027 cycle in 2029, drive the timetable ^[11].
4. Locate nearby construction sites. A property close to a line under construction can face closures, noise and diversions for several years; phase II of the Buda tram is planned to take about three years ^[6].
5. Read the district planning rules (kerületi építési szabályzat, KÉSZ, local building regulations) for the plot concerned.

Frequently asked questions