Tram lines serve as the second-most important backbone of the transit system after the bus network, carrying almost 100 million more passengers annually than the Budapest Metro.

[5] Over a year before, on 22 May 1865, the Count Sándor Károlyi founded the PKVT (Pesti Közúti Vaspálya Társaság (English: Pest Public Road Rail Tracks Company)).

It was Gábor Baross, then secretary of state at the Ministry of Community Service and Transportation who authorised the construction of the first test tram line between Nyugati railway station[5] and Király utca.

[8] Balázs teamed up with Siemens & Halske and Lindheim és Társa and formed a new corporation: BVV (Budapesti Városi Vasút (English: Budapest City Railroad)).

[9] The siege of Budapest left the city with a crippled infrastructure: many houses were destroyed, as well as the bridges bombed, electric cables torn.

It was of course of utmost importance to restore the transport network, however, many trams were destroyed either in the siege or in a depot fire that occurred in 1947.

[13] Along with cost considerations it is important to note that trolleybuses might be better suited for the downtown area than trams: they turn more easily and produce significantly less noise.

The reconstruction of Erzsébet Bridge in 1964 played a significant role in the revival of the tram network: five lines started using it after its opening.

[15] In 1968 there were 83 tram lines in Budapest (10 of which night services) thus reaching the largest extent of the network since World War II,[16] decline was imminent.

As of 24 June 2021 Budapest won the inaugural European Tramdriver Championship in 2012 and repeated that feat in 2016 and 2024, making the city the record titleholder as of 2024.