Vulpia ciliata Dumort, a widespread species in the Mediterranean region, has been introduced in several European countries in recent decades, mainly along railways. The species was first discovered in Hungary at Szolnok railway station in May 2016, then a few days later at Keleti railway station in Budapest. In 2020 the species was found in several Transdanubian railway stations. Apparently, V. ciliata has recently been established in numerous parts of the country, probably spreading by railway transport. Until now, the species has only been found in the vicinity of regularly used tracks (in a distance of 20 m at the most). Being an invasive alien species, V. ciliata can displace the native Vulpia myuros in ruderal vegetation along railway lines. The species can easily be distinguished from V. myuros by its hairy lemma. Moreover, it flowers earlier than the other two indigenous species in Hungary, often already in late April. Based on the characteristics examined (number of nodes in the upper 2 cm zone of the rachis, number of fruits per spikelet, rate of fertile and sterile florets within the spikelet, lower and upper glume length, lemma and awn length separately, rachis width in the upper 2 cm zone) we have concluded that V. bromoides and V. myuros are less different from each other than V. ciliata from these two species. In the case of V. ciliata subsp. ciliata, we observed that spikelets (detached from the inflorescens) function as dispersal units. Therefore we assume that the observed low fertility rate within the spikelets, as well as the presence of marginal cilia on lemmas promote the spreading success of V. ciliata (spreading in clusters, anemochory, zoochory, anthropochory). Its early maturation (in May) can also facilitate its spread along railways, because the populations survive the chemical weed control usually carried out in late spring. The other two Hungarian species usually ripen later (in June). For the time being, the spread of V. ciliata outside the Hungarian railway network may be hindered by climatic conditions, or by the lack of seasonal weed control outside that network, which otherwise offers a relative survival advantage for V. ciliata along railway tracks.