Hungarians’ favourite narrow-gauge railways are clearly the Lillafüred and Szilvásvárad State Forest Railways, according to an online survey by Csodásmagyarország.hu.
Behind the two narrow-gauge trains of the Bükk hills, the Gemenc railway came third, followed by the Széchenyi-hegy Children’s Railway and the Királyrét Forest Railway. The Nagybörzsöny Forest Railway finished fifth, while the Gyöngyös Mátra Railway, the Balatonfenyves and the Mecsek narrow-gauge railways tied for sixth place. At the bottom of the top-7 list are the Kemence Museum Railway, the Pálháza Forest Railway, the Nagycenk Museum Railway and the narrow-gauge railway of the Debrecen Amusement Park and Zoo.
Hungarians most like to travel on the Lillafüred State Forest Railway, according to an online survey of 5,554 people conducted in spring 2026. The narrow-gauge train winding from Miskolc to Garadna topped the ranking with 28 per cent of the votes.
Close behind came the country’s steepest narrow-gauge railway, at Szilvásvárad, which received the votes of 24 per cent of respondents. Third place on the podium went to Hungary’s only floodplain forestry narrow-gauge railway, at Gemenc, with 9 per cent.
Tied in fourth place, each with 6 per cent support, are the Children’s Railway in Budapest – staffed by primary school children – and the Királyrét Forest Railway, which runs between Kismaros and Királyrét in the Börzsöny hills.
Fifth place in the popularity ranking, with 5 per cent, went to the Nagybörzsöny Forest Railway, Hungary’s only railway line with a switchback. Three railways share sixth place: the Gyöngyös Mátra Railway, the Balatonfenyves and the Mecsek narrow-gauge railways each received 3 per cent of the votes. Four railways are in seventh place: the Kemence Museum Railway, the Pálháza Forest Railway in the Zemplén hills, the Nagycenk Museum Railway and the narrow-gauge railway of the Debrecen Amusement Park and Zoo each achieved 2 per cent.
Source: Turizmus Online