Comments on: Number crunching with Romanian railways

By: Cristina

Cristina — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:00:38 +0000

Until this summer I was a fan of trains. I got so many ‘hits’ this summer that i downright HATE them. The CFR agency in my town left me speechless two times; once in May we went to get our tickets (Arad to Bucharest) and the system was down (we wanted to leave the same day and we really wanted seats in the over-night train — thank you, couchete is too expensive!); after 2 hrs (luckily the agency is on the street i live) we got the tickets; the 2 time, in August we wanted to get train passes for Vienna (50% off the regular round trip ticket) …they didn’t have a PC and insisted i could get the passes the day I leave. We eventually got them from the train station BUT when we left the train was delayed 6 HOURS and would have lost the accommodation in Vienna so we asked for a refund (pfuuu, we got it)
Next time we plan to go from Arad to Bucharest and we don’t rush to the agency, we are taking the plane (BlueAir flies on the route and the price is really affordable!)

By: Bucharest Life

Bucharest Life — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:59:47 +0000

And I am a fan of trains: given the choice I like to go for the train, but it should be cheaper. And in Romania it needs to be quicker. Three hours to Constanta or Brasov is a nonsense, 12 hours to Satu Mare is nonsense. I do not want to get all green here (heavens forbid!) but the train needs to be cheap and quick: in Germany taking the train is a no brainer. Not here, they too expensive (relatively) and too slow.

By: Bucharest Life

Bucharest Life — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:55:57 +0000

Partly agree. Delivered kids and soacra to the train tonight and the sleeping wagon was fine, but no different to those I have myself slept on many times. I too enjoy waking up in a differnet place. Thing is, because this train is a rapid (they took the sleeping wagon off the acelerat) it costs more, yet it is the same wagon that would have been attached. As for the cuchettes, they fine for adults but not really suitable for children.

By: Rupert Wolfe Murray

Rupert Wolfe Murray — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:53:36 +0000

I take your point that the sleeper car is expensive by Romanian standards but it is also quite good — clean linen, ok bed, sink, electricity, mineral water & washbag laid on, and each wagon has its own waiter/minder — and the 1940s style is attractive to some. The best thing about the sleeper is that you leave at night and arrive in the morning so all that slow travel is done as you are sleeping (if you can! Some people can’t sleep thro’ all the creaking and screeching). But if you compare the price of plane vs train to UK prices I think you’ll find that in UK the sleeper will be about 5 times more expensive that Easy Jet. The other factor is that most train tickets in RO are pretty cheap and if you get the couchette (2nd class sleeper) it’s about half the price, and if you get a normal 2nd class ticket it really does get cheap. I just got the train to Sibiu, with my bike, which they didn’t object to or charge for, and the cost was just under 70 RON. I was very happy with the service and spent a lot more on food when cycling back.

By: Bucharest Life

Bucharest Life — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:24:27 +0000

Well tonight when I take the gang to the train I hope to be pleasantly surprised: maybe it will be a new sleeping wagon with air con, hot showers and a children’s play area ala Sweden/German etc. Then again maybe not…