Széchenyi Hill, Children's Railway

This guide to the Children's Railway on Széchenyi Hill in Budapest follows the line since its 1948 opening under a Soviet-allied government eager to raise disciplined young workers, staffed then as now almost entirely by ten to fourteen year olds who pass a real railway exam for the job. You'll hear how the line kept running through the 1956 revolution and how it renamed itself from the communist Pioneer Railway to Gyermekvasút after 1990, quietly dropping its political badges while keeping the exams and uniforms. Listen for the platform announcements: the voice calling your stop may not be old enough to vote.