HUNGARY: A wild boar disrupted Budapest’s M2 metro for nearly 90 minutes on 8 August after entering Kossuth Lajos tér station, briefly entering a train and later reaching the tracks.

Budapest M2 metro disruption lasted nearly 90 minutes after a wild boar entered Kossuth Lajos tér station and reached the tracks.
Lajos Kossuth Station

The incident forced BKV to evacuate and close Kossuth Lajos tér station. Trains were suspended between Déli pályaudvar and Deák Ferenc tér, while replacement buses carried passengers during the interruption.

The unusual station incident therefore had a clear operational impact: a defined partial-line closure, passenger evacuation and replacement transport before normal M2 service returned.

Replacement buses ran during the partial M2 suspension

Station staff first spotted the wild boar descending toward platform level on an escalator that was not operating. The employee at the station control centre immediately alerted the driver of a train that was arriving at the station.

As a safety precaution, passengers waiting on the platform were asked to board the train again. The animal then briefly entered one of the metro trains before leaving it and descending a service staircase to the tracks.

Once on the tracks, the wild boar took refuge beneath a stationary train. BKV staff evacuated and closed the station, and all passengers left the area safely while emergency services were called to capture the animal.

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Full M2 service resumed at 12:06

According to BKV, service on the entire M2 line resumed at 12:06 after the disruption had lasted nearly an hour and a half.

The animal was later found to be injured. A veterinary officer examined it and, after assessing its condition and the available options, decided to put it down.

It remains unknown where the wild boar was injured or how it entered the underground station. BKV said it had never encountered such a situation before. The incident took place on Saturday, 8 August, and no passengers were injured.

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