Europe's WORST First Class? Romanian Long Distance Train Review!
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- Опубликовано: 20 мар 2022
- Today, we take a CFR Călători InterRegio long distance train from Timișoara to Cluj-Napoca.
Date of Travel: October 2021
Class of Travel: First Class
Rolling Stock: Various
Operator: CFR Călători
Service type: InterRegio
Train Number: IR1834
Origin: Timișoara, Romania
Destination: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Cost of Ticket: 98.95lei (£16.80, $22.55, €20)
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I think whoever came up with this "first class" traveled on Thameslink first class on a 700 and thought "Yes, this is the answer"
At least thameslink first class is better than the "ironing board" standard class seats
The rear section is *DECLASSIFIED* and I use it where possible
😹
I love how in Europe, they try shoving first class into everything but in the US, most it’s non existent
@@The4905 it's offered to try and raise extra revenue through higher fares, but it rarely raises anything substantial
Most revenue comes from season ticket sales, hardly anything from leisure travel and season ticket sales are only from a minority of passengers
@@Keithbarber it's bigger but they have the same comfort rate
Oddly about 10 years ago I travelled on a CFR sleeper from Bucharest to Budapest (1st class I admit) and it was fantastic: comfortable, clean and a polite attendant,.
It is still the same quality that being sent abroad. Dylan has a video from a first class journey from Budapest to Timisoara
Well, that the same now,. This guy take a different route (internal)
8:30 this 'rather strange' layout was typical for Germany's InterRegio coaches, particularly Aimz, Bimz and their relatives.
This coach was a former Aimz261 in Germany ;-).
And it probably hasn't been refurbished since
@@EdVonPelt On the contrary, we did upgrade all the Aimz / Bimz stock back in 2006-2007 with air-co and 220 V electric plugs for IT devices. Some of the German railfans praised us for the improvement. Some of the coaches, depending on the region, have been slightly refurbished with new seat coverings
@@EdVonPelt They been actually refurbished.
@@mureseanu976 There was no real upgrade done on these Aimz/Bimz stock except the retrofitting of air conditioning units in those carriages that were missing a/c. Even the seats are of the late 1980s DB IR vintage, designed for short and medium-haul working, and not providing much confort. Most interiors are over 30 years old, and are in no way fit for working any service, let alone a 16-hour long journey... At most, these should be relegated to 2nd class working on local lines, if not scrapped altogether...
I made a similar comment last week, but the more off the beaten track you go the more interesting the videos become. I'd certainly watch you do Frankfurt to Paris, or Brussels to London, but not half as closely as this one.
we always love train reviews like this
A couple of points from a Brit who has lived in Romania since 2010 and used trains since UK driving licence expired in July 2016. First, I have used Interregio trains from Sighișoara to Alba Iulia, Brașov and Vișeu de Jos (up in the far north west of the country). Very often there were declassified First class carriages in the consist which I found to be clean, roomy and comfortable. Perhaps your First class carriage was a declassified one but they'd forgotten to remove the First class stickers 😁
Secondly, a lot of infrastructure modernisation is in progress between Brașov and Simeria. Track is now continuous welded rail, curves have been realigned and tunnels either built or in course of construction to avoid large hills which, when the Hungarians first laid out the route in the 19th century, they skirted round with long deviations following river valleys. New 160kph electric multiple units are being built to speed up the journeys. All the stations between Sighișoara and Copșa Mică have been completely rebuilt with raised platforms instead of concrete blocks at rail level as has Sibiu station which I travel to at least once a month from Daneș which is the nearest station to the village where I live.
tl;dr It takes a life time to modernize a single railway route in this country. In 1000 years we'll probably finish upgrading to present-day Germany/Switzerland standards.
What type of work do you do in Romania?
@@gigikontra7023 I'm retired and have been since coming to Romania.
@@746laurie I think we're starting not to like that foreigners use Romania as a cheap retirement destination. They take up resources from the young generation. It's alright because you're still from an allied country, but people are becoming a bit nervous about the whole trend.
@@gigikontra7023 I'm sorry you feel that way. My pension is all spent in the local area. I go to Sighișoara once a month for food shopping, mainly fresh meats but also buy fresh food, vegetables, cakes, milk etc almost every day from the excellent little shop in the village. About 10% of the houses in the village are empty, are available for young people and are low priced. I also help out some of the poorest with money for medications whenever I can.
I am very much part of the community.
You had a toilet with an actual toilet you can sit on. Get back to me when you've travelled Romanian 1st class and found there's nothing but a hole in the floor and a highly corroded floor and when you get up into the mountains you suddenly go through tunnels and realise there isn't actually any lights in your '1st class' carriage. 🤣
Shh don't ruin the surprise 🤣🤣🤣
Thats the trains we railfans love.Old school.🙃
17:44 wow great to know that DB Regio offers a long-distance connection to Cluj-Napoca 😆
Thank you again for sharing such an interesting experience and particularly when you had no idea what was going on when the train stopped! The cities looked very majestic with the architecture and equally worth the trip.
Well Dylan, I travelled several times via Romania in the nineties and this train is paradise compared what we experienced. In the midst of winter, -15 or -20 degrees we travelled in carriages without light, doors that could not be closed because the toilet water was frozen and had leaked into the corridor etc etc. It was adventurous but I never saw in my life in any country such dismal conditions in a train.
Wow, that was an abysmal first class. I was worried about how second class would fare until you walked through, Dylan, and second class definitely appears much nicer. (And like you, I appreciate the satisfying sounds of the clickety-clack.)
The murals in the Timisoara station are lovely and the terminal building at Cluj-Napoca is just stunning. Would love to see your footage from the city!
Thanks for sharing. See you on Friday!
Agreed!! Second class definitely looked better than first class. Also, the toilet was really disgusting.
@@cherylkavanagh3387 If it was in the UK, that "1st Class" coach would have been condemned years ago, and long since fed to the shredders at Newport Sims Metals. Tbh that's where that coach, as well as the broken down diesel, deserves to go.
@@TheSpotify95 If Romania was anywhere near as wealthy as the UK, I'm sure it would've replaced that stock by now. As it stands though, Romania is definitely among the poorer countries in Europe, so having the money to do such improvements isn't a given.
I agree! I was dreading what I'd find in 2nd before opening the door to find it was actually alright.
@@bahnspotterEU It's more the fact that the CFR (Romanian Railways) is very poorly run. In fact, the fares are pretty high and they should be making quite a decent profit to reinvest into newer stock. But because it is a state company they employ too many office workers that basically do nothing, so most of their earnings go into wages. It's quite a shame, but on some of the mainlines (Bucharest to Constanta, Bucharest to Brasov) they have added newer or refurbished cars.
In Bulgaria our trains are probably worse but, on my opinion, those trains are meant to be taken not for the comfort but rather the experience and sometimes the stunning views you may see along the way. Also, old-fashioned trains are sometimes a great way to socialise with people. We stumbled across an Argentine solo traveller around the Veliko Tarnovo region last year and ended up having a great chat and a couple of beers along the way to Sofia. Either way, trains in this part of Europe need a lot of cash and work. Cluj is a very beautiful city indeed. Very nice and enjoyable video :)
Well that was entertaining purely due to how bad it was! I was expecting you to say that it cost you like £5 or some such really low price but it is actually quite pricey for what you get. A journey on a railway this bad must surely be a distress purchase for anyone other than an enthusiast. Makes the UK railway seem like the gold standard to aim for!
That makes the EMR Class 360s seem modern and feature packed! :p
@@TheSpotify95 when on greater Anglia I thought the 360 first-class was worse than standard class - head rests were really hard
@@Keithbarber Nothing has changed since then - except that 1st Class has been declassified, and none of the 360s have had any sort of internal refurbishment. Given that Wellingborough and Corby previously had Intercity services, and we now have the 360s, I can see why people would drive if they had the choice.
At least the old first class sections are 2+2, not the horrid 3+2 that the rest of the train has.
Agreed!
Sort of...
POV: _A Romanian get to UK_
*_He sees the trains_*
Romanian: *What the...What are these? Trains?! Are you serious? Nope, that can't be trains*
And a ticket in Romania at first class still cost around £20-£30 for....this...
It’s funny to see coaches I traveled with in my childhood in Germany. Good recycling 😉
This occasionally happens with ČD too, though. Let's say you catch a fast class train sporting an Aee145 and a Bee238. As the latter is ex-EuroCity coach, it's actually more comfortable and modern than the first class. This was the fast connection between Brno and Prague through Havlíčkův Brod just last year, btw.
Hey there Dylan.
Just discovered your video and I quite agree with most of what you said.
I am passionate for travel with trains in Romania, and do it every 2-3 weekends, also have a RUclips channel with trips arround most of the country, objective is finishing all of it.
My take on this first class is the following:
It is very poor in my mind, but it has compartments and you can get down the window, for most of the time, so you can enjoy the sound of the train, traveling on the railway, and enjoying the scenery, with the wind blowing.
I am addicted to these sounds, and besides the poor conditions, I still love to travel with the train, solely for the enjoyment of the sounds, sensation and retro feeling, with the windows down.
Happy to come accros your channel and will be keeping an eye on future contents. BIG LIKE!
Cheers, 😉👍
Patrick
Beautiful video .. I just love the Eastern European railway experience! It might not be modern from a Western European point of view, but the interior doesn't appear to be broken or filthy in any way.
Thank you for an interesting video. Makes our trains here in the UK seem luxurious by comparison.
Niiiice, I loved travelling in those carriages when they were in service as Interregios in Germany.
As much as the rail infrastructure does suffer in Romania, I take the glass half full approach which is if everything were standard and clean and sterile, what a boring world it would be! The beauty of travel is taking in places for what they are and going with the flow. You just happened to get a doozy lol but again that's half the fun. I have had many trips on CFR and just put headphones on and watch a movie. I will say with summer coming up, its not pleasant to get a wagon with no AC on a scorching day. If you want a real throw back to the past with carriages frozen in time and heating still powered by coal fired furnaces in each carriage, take the trip from Bucharest to Chisinau on the 'Prietenia' or friendship train.
17:43 nice to see a former German class 628.4 still in its original livery in the background. I found these to be great regional trains and after watching your video it seems they may be the best travel option in the CFR's network
Funnily enough those are not even CFRs trains, they are used by a private company called Interregional Calatori
I really enjoyed this video, especially as I knew nothing about Romanian railways. The station mosaics at the start of your journey were stunning and Cluj railway station looked really attractive. I liked the colour scheme of the loco that crossed in front of you after you left the train. Although not luxurious, I would not mind travelling in these coaches. The FIrst Class coach seemed quite spacious actually.
Nice video . Thanks
Loving the ancient Thunderbird loco and the two that make a cameo at the end. The last one sounds great
Great trip report
Thanks!
Your expectations were much too hight for a simple InterRegio service. I think for Romanian standards that was a quite nice train.
It was average for an InterRegio but quite acceptable for a „Hunger Train” (Iași-Timișoara service is populary known with this name). This Timișoara-Iași service is one of the longest route in Romania and one of the slowest and usually had the oldest and the worst shaped cars from the IR fleet. Probably is the same now but sincerly I expected worse cars and travel conditions. The rest of the route from Cluj to Iași is fully electrified but passes mostly through small cities and towns.
What are the " Romanian standards"?
I like your vocal comments. Lots of information for those who are less familiar with our hobbies.
If you think 30-76 Aeem is a bad example of 1st class, try using a 19-76 Ameet (DWA 1992 - 1994, modernized 2019 - 2022 and counting) open saloon coach. I firmly believe that 19-76 Ameet offers worse seating than the 30-76 Aeem ex-DB Regio, the seats are simply too narrow to follow a UIC regulation for 1st class, the back rest is uncomfortable, yet they "brand" it as a "long distance" alternative. The "natural" advantage in 30-76 Aeem are the openable windows, provided the air-conditioning system fails, whilst in a failed 19-76 Ameet you will be "boiled" like potatoes in a pot during the summer. 😆
Regarding Sulzer 60-1213, it did recieve a "local" TLC at Jibou / Satu Mare sheds back in 2018, but the quality of the job was rather appaling and the result lasted less than expected.
That sunrise sure was spectacular and beautiful. 😊
AMAZING REVIEW DYLAN MATE
Thanks!
Those old coaches are still used on some routes in Germany! I was on one on the IRE route from Hamburg to Berlin back in 2019. The ones there seem to be much better-maintained, though (and that was sold as as second-class product). Also, that train had wifi.
Great trip. It's sad to see some Double Decker car was abandoned and rusty when approaching Cluj Napoca. Also that traffic on station with plenty of classic locomotive, feels back into the past.
Nice timing as I am off that way very soon, so I shall mentally prepare myself.
It's a 50/50 as something much better might come along.
@@DylansTravelReports Svilengrad to Sofia is a train journey you should make sometime.
Hello Dylan. I watched your video with shame. I know the result right of the beginning. The explanation is that, we, Romanians love car rides...look on the streets..we have nice cars...that s why in CFR was not invest enough money,and the management is full of crooked people. I was from Bucharest to Vienna 19 hours....with my car I make 12..and cheaper. Welcome to Romania...a very beautiful country.
Oh boy, you really drew the short straw on this coach. I've regularly traveled between Cluj and Iasi by train as a student and the coaches on that route are abysmal. Some of the second-class coaches are even worse since there are 6 seats In a compartment and you are all facing each other, which means no possibility of moving your legs and no leg space. And the first-class coach is barely better. The only worse coaches in use are older still and seat 8 people in a compartment. Yes, 8 people. Legroom is 0 and no AC. Traveling for 10-11 hours in one is a test of patience.
The best coaches are on the Cluj-Bucharest direct route, not the one that you took in the previous video. The first-class seats are air-powered seats that can recline and arranged in a 2+1 config. And the second class seats are also like that just smaller and in a 2+2 config.
Fun fact. The Timisoara-Iasi route is the second-longest at 16 hours. The longest is Satu Mare-Mangalia, which runs only in the summer as a direct connection to the seaside and takes 19 hours. Usually having around 10-12 coaches and packed to the brim.
reminds me of old german IC's who are sometimes still used mostly at night etc. The red decor in 1st class is remarkable. In germany they degraded them to 2nd class. So you have 2 2nd classes in one train. One with the slightly comfier 2+1 configuration and one with more modern 2+2 configuration. The weird seat configuration is somehow familiar... but in 2nd class the seats are way more uncomfy...
That car hit me with nostalgia.
Try some of the ironing boards they supply on class 700 Thameslink trains.
Love to see you in my hometown Timișoara, sadly our train stations it's not up to a city like ours.. I've been on this train to Cluj in the past with the politehnica football supporters. Is on my bucket list to go all the way to Iași.
We are starting to improve our infrastructure, but it's a lengthy process.
Hope you will visit soon our country again.
I also recommend that you issue an official complaint to cfr călători highlighting the problems you've encountered.
Greetings from Timișoara!
With trains like this, it's not comfort that is the reason of travelling by them 🥰
Yea it’s a special, but fun experience
Someone evidently had the thought "Two is higher than one, so Second Class will get the better, cleaner coaches."
Also... your train breaks down in a remote Transylvanian village and you can't even be bothered mentioning Dracula? What a golden opportunity lost.
Dracul lived further south in the soouh carpathians
Personally I'm glad no Dracula references were wheeled out. Transylvania is a real place where normal people live, and while the history and stories of Dracula are certainly interesting, it gets tiresome hearing them mentioned any time Transylvania is brought up.
Wow I just realized now why CFRs Class 60 looks so close to the ubiquitous Swiss engines from the same era. They were built by SLM and Brown-boveri in Switzerland.
They were built between 1960 and late 70's by the Electroputere plant in Craiova Romania under Swiss licence. The bulk of the production was made in the 60's, after 1970 were built mostly electric locomotives under ASEA (Sweden) license, now class 40 and 41 (mostly class 40 were built). The diesel engine (2100 HP, under Sulzer licence) was built in Reșița Romania. Electroputere plant was sold, destroyed and demolished in the mid 2000's, now we have a mall in its place. But we have a new locos and EMUs producer in Craiova, privat owned, named Softronic. New CFR electric locos class 47x are built by Softronic.
@@andreiaiosif2534 Un răspuns perfect!
Sorry, but this report is typical of 'Englishman abroad'. The train has an IR number so does not claim to be Inter City which would be IC. It is unfair to expect a Romanian guard on a train which is only semi-fast to speak English although Inter City guards generally do. I found Romanian trains to be reliable if somewhat elderly & it is not unusual for a failure in the U.K. to take 2hrs to rescue. Romanian fares are extremely cheap compared to U.K. & are walk-on fares, not only available by booking weeks in advance as in U.K. A little more fairness to a country still recovering from years of Communism would, I am sure, be appreciated!
💯% agree with your comment! Sometimes you need to look at available service from the pov, of the country you are travelling in & not blindly compare with well established ones!!
thank you
Timisoira station really reminded me of Cardiff Central in the 80s prior to refurbishment
In 1983 I did this journey overnight in the opposite direction and by a different route (we got off at Lugoj as we were heading for Craiova). I seem to remember we had a seat part of the way, but for the rest it was sitting on my luggage in the gangway. Not much if any sleep I can tell you. Also I remember the double decker coaches between Timisoara and Arad.
NB: 'Oradea' is pronounced something like 'ora DAY uh'.
I pleased you are having bad experiences on trains. Too many vloggers just portray the good points and if there are inconveniences they display a sense of entitlement. You however show warts and all in a matter of fact fashion. Well done
Very nice and funny video! 😁
If you will return to Romania make sure to explore the eastern part of the country (so cities like Suceava, Iași, Bacău and Galați), in order to experience something different from Western countries.
If you take regional instead of interregional trains you can see the train running with the doors open and I think that is something which you can see only in Romania:)
Thanks! 😃
nice one again dylan shame about the train, but the views outside where great. brian d.
On most romanian trains, 1st class is a trap. Sometimes is much more worse than 2nd class.
At 1:03 - there is a door on the left which give access to a model railway permanent exibition. It is free of charge to visit and is the biggest diorama in Romania :)
Yup, indeed. But sometimes should be okay.
Well, in Romania we have a saying "It could be worst" (as in try it in winter time). I'm sorry for your experience.
That was an interesting experience! Their idea of First Class is as bad as the Australian XPT on its thousand km journey from Sydney to Brisbane with only light beer to soften the awful blow of nearly 16 hours in a barely reclinable seat!
Back to your train, and looking at your First Class seats, it looks like compartment cars having been gutted, which is a shame as I like having my own compartment. Second Class looks so much better! On another note, with the trains, where possible can you show us the loco/s? I'm not keen on Romania, but I am on the whole, keen on seeing more of European and UK trains as well as something of the cities and towns you visit. 🙂
Really good report! I've after posting my first ever trip report on my channel, and I was wondering if you could let me know on what I could improve on with rather basic editing and recording gear. It would be much appreciated Dylan.
2:20 "Maybe I've missed these..."
The stations, as many in Romania, without lifts or ramps for wheelchairs: _we've got away this time_
An odd trip it is when second class is better than first. Everything about it was so out of date. at least it was a beautiful day with nice countryside passing by.
The car you were travelling with, was an ex-DB Interregio Wagen, which is a pity, actually judging from the tragic conditions on board, concidering that the Interregio service in Germany had been an excellent one.
That train reminds me of my Inter-railing in the early 80s. Might even be the same train!
I wanted to go home from Cluj Napoca, and I had 2 options: go from Cluj to Baia Mare, but it had an 80 minutes delay. I chose the other direction, from Cluj to Oradea. It was quite OK, except the fact, that during my trip, I saw a locomotive, which was stopped, because of a fire. Unfortunately, CFR has very old locos, and they are not safe at some point. In the summertime, it is even trickier.
Had one been relying on a punctual service for whatever reason, then this would have been a nightmarish journey, but for a travel presentation by a rail fan for other rail fans, then it has been a teriffic success. One can get bored with modern, sleek rolling stock which all looks similar, so to come across this particular video is like a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Dylan. You do a splendid job.
That was depressing. You would have to really want to get to that city in order to make that trip. It’s not often you hear a traveller say that the best past of the trip was getting off the train.
Totally agree on the part of _"the best past of the trip was getting off the train."_ In September 2018 I did my first (of so far two) trips on the Eurostar. I did London to Paris, which in itself was ok for Second - or ""Tourist" Class. When I got off at Paris Gare Du Nord I saw every type of law enforcement there is, all heavily armed, around the station. I'm not out to break the law, only to photograph and video trains for my own interests and channel, but having had a "heads up" on French police and their supposed attitude towards photography of transport, I was looking for a way to get back on that Eurostar and go back to London!!!
@@tobys_transport_videos Wow. That must have been disconcerting. Most of us don’t expect a law enforcement “welcome” at our destination.
@@ozgirl45 "Disconcerting" is one way of putting it! When you see heavily armed soldiers with massive guns in their hands and big German Shepard dogs at their side as you walk along the concourse. Them there's the issue of sirens constantly wailing! It put me off Paris big time! Milan was a bit more relaxed while Munich was fantastic!!!
Oh, boy... during my Erasmus year in Timisoara I had to take a lot of trains as they were almost free for students and that was a challenge, A/C all out whether in summer or winter, no restaurant car at all and the journeys took ages 😂 conversely, they were pretty scenique .
The only good service I found in Romania was Astra Transcarpatic which is a private company if I'm not mistaken, nice trains, nice compartments, you could buy stuff onboard, even take a shower and the price was decent, CFR, well, it's always there.
True, but Astra runs trains only in the Arad area and their long route is Arad-Bucharest only.
The inter regeo seating layout is a great design
“The only good thing (besides getting off)…” Dylan, tell us what you really think 🤣🤣🤣
Breakdowns, bad carriages and a beautiful country make for interesting videos. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed!
´I travelled frequenty in this cars,, when used in German Express trains, and I liked them.. Formerly they had a yellow/green interior. I m glad they have got a new carreer!
Funny that this video has been added at the time when CFR signed a contract for Alstom Coradia between Cluj and Timisoara. :-)
It is not electric between Cluj and Timisoara. Probably, if you go on the other line, but that is longer.
Took a train from Targu Mures to Cluj-Napoca in October last year and while the comfort wasn't very good, it was on time. I didn't have anything planned for that afternoon, so I didn't mind the slow pace and stopping at many small stops along the way. It can actually be quite soothing, with the right mind-set. However, IMO, an advantage for travelling longer distances by train is to get there faster than a car. My trip didn't do that, and neither did this trip.
I never thought I'd say it, but a railroad in my country is better than a railroad from another country.
Bine ca aveti voi in tarile voastre conditii bune! Se fac eforturi sa fie asigurat acest transport! Aratati doar lucruri rele ..pacat! Cred ca nici la voi nu s-a ajuns dintr-o data la conditiile care le aveti!
Îți spun sincer, au condiții de rht.
For me the joy of train travel is being on a train, the scenery, and being able to relax and read a book. I have travelled in Romania, and although the trains are old and a bit run down, I have not had what I would call a bad trip. I have always had a seat, although once in winter I was in a compartment that the heating didn't work in. As for power and wifi - it is not necessary. It is nice to have, but otherwise I watch the scenery or red. The worst trip I have had is from London to Edinburgh on LNER on a Bank holiday weekend. Packed, and was sitting on luggage in the vestibule until Newcastle...
You won’t believe but most trains in Switzerland are not WiFi enabled too…really strange but it’s real.
The layout of the coach you were traveling on reminds me of similar former DB coaches used (rented? leased?) by Dutch Railways NS probably some 8~10 years ago if not longer ago, now all set aside and possibly/probably scrapped (or maybe sold to Romania?)
Dylan, my first ever connection with a Romanian rail waggon was in 1990 from Prague to Dresden onboard the legendary "Pannonia Express" that with connection from Athens travelled all the way through the capitals of old Socialist Europe, Sofia, Buchuresti, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Berlin(east), Warsaw. During that journey I was appointed a seat in a Chechslovak car but I went around the train as much I could, in the Romanian car the flushing of the loo was out of order aswell as only one hinge of the door working, and in the Bulgarian car I managed to get into even the "throne" was missing so not even one of those hooking loos, just a hole in the floor, I was appointed a seat in a GDR car but had to walk around of course. Were all the outer doors closed during your trip? I travelled from Buchuresti to Timisoara 1992 and several outer doors were open. Passing Orsova I heard the shelling from ex. Jugoslavia and saw several brigdes bombed and blocking the Danube. Sorry to remind all of the viewers of the film about how one brave country of Europe suffers right now but having been less of 200 metres from a war on the other side of a river you get a little feeling.
Romania seems a very loyal NATO ally. It has American defense equipment deployed in its territory.
Will you review the Eurostar sometime?
Well, at least the scenery was great! 🙂 In Romania, we have a joke about the CFR trains' speed, saying "Who needs TGV, when you won't have time to admire the view, given that speed" 😁
Has anybody even considered that the Romanian economy does not have the funds to Buy New trains New carriages , The main thing is there is a train service, How easy it is for Monitised travel bloggers from Western Europe to Compare 1st class travel in northern European countries to Other states in Southern Europe that has a Extremely lower GDP To well developed EU & UK Standards.
If you watch the video through and his other Romania videos he makes a point of acknowledging that. Multiple times
There are lots of newer trains but they're DMUs on local services. At least two Siemens two car articulated units appeared briefly in the video. New 160kph 4 and 6 car EMUs are on order for the electrified route from Bucharest Nord via Brașov, Sighișoara and Alba Iulia to Arad.
That's not an excuse. Even Ukraine has much better and modern trains in Romania (at least between big cities).
The problem with Romania is idiots are in charge of a lot of things. Populism is a synonym for Romania. Money has nothing to do with it. Imagine that in Bucharest it takes them 2 years to refurbish 1km of tram track, and at the end, a big ceremony will probably be held and politicians will tell you how this is the second best thing after hot water, as if they are unveiling a pyramid, not a measly 1km of track. So yeah, f this stupid excuse and all the losers and idiots in this country that are holding most of the offices.
Super video! Great train ride in romanian style! Good work! Thumbs Up & Subscribe 🚆🚂🚊😉👍
Greetings from Oradea, Romania
Andrew
Welcome to Romania!
I just started watching youre video and let me tell you we have the " blue arrow " train you can see on back on Arad station it is a new train starting in 2008 but our railways dose not suport the high speed so the train is limited to 110 kmh yes mainly becose CFR or RR if you want to translate it dose not do a grate effort to modernise the traks or the old trains just the blue arrow is new this is mainly why we dont travle by train like we use to
Some countries have really benefitted from EU membership since 2004. The country I live in certainly did. But it looks like Romania, which joined only three years later, has still a long way to go.
Mine certainly benefited. Pity it decided to leave though!
@@philroberts7238 Memories, unfortunately, are short. Wishing you all the best.
@@SeverityOne And to you!
The abandoned coaches shown, pulling into the final destination, sums up this railway I think. Also, did the train driver wave at you at 18:20 perhaps?
I doubt it, as I had my GoPro discretely on a clip on my backpack.
What a random train. Second class looked really nice where as First, a bit of tip!
Second class is cheaper and usually better. Only the seats are narrower but the comfort is the same or even better sometimes.
Hello Dylan - greetings from Poland.
I lived in Romania from March 2005 to November 2015 in Pitesti and Constanta. I travelled many many times on CFR trains. NEVER use first class. All the coaches are just like the one you travelled in. They're all ex German or Austrian and are all about 25 to 30 years old. The open plan second class coaches are far more comfortable. Sanitory conditions in Romania are generally very poor. Once you live there, you get used to it! From memory, I don't recall ever been delayed as long as you were.
Did you meet the "Control Officers" ? Nearly every train at some time has a ticket check by the guard/conducter and then by officious bodies who are looking for none ticket holders.
May I suggest you try the journey from Bucharest Nord to Constanta. Also the trip from Bucharest Nord up to Brasov is lovely scenery but rough track. Thirdly, The Blue Arrow service from Bucharest Nord to Pitesti is a bit of fun. Country lines on a relatively modern train.
Thoughourly enjoyed your video. Looking forward to the next one.
I think you're being a bit optimistic with 25 to 30 years old (which is the age of some of the newer coaches in daily Imtercity service in Germany). I'd say at best this coach is from the 70s (and probably older), and the interior would be from the early 90s. It'd be helpful to know the top speed of this coach, as 200kph would indicate a car from the 60s or 70s, and 140kph would mean early 60 or 50s.
I didn't come across them, but I know that fare dodging is a bit of a problem in Romania so I believe there were some about.
Not all the coaches are the same. There are some coaches built by Astra Vagoane Călători. Both 1st and 2nd Class and are quite okay.
Sad but true At least the scenary is fantastic between Oradea and Cluj
I'm fairly sure 11:55 is Alesd station in Chistag.
Well, eBay recommended me this episode instead of the "official" April Fool's one... ;p~
I honestly thought you were going to move to 2nd class!
Best feature: PULL DOWN WINDOWS.... instant nostalgia. : )
Those seats also looked dirty. I really expected you to say "steam engine" instead of diesel...LOL
Bald and Bankrupt must be seething with envy ... worth taking the Bucharest to Chisinau train for a really Soviet experience
Bald and bankrupt, the guy that almost got convicted for rape?
Started as a DB compartment coach. In the 90s they created a brand called InterRegio for semi-fast, cross-country services, and refitted said stock plus some ex-DR coaches much like you experienced. Tbh it's been further downgraded to its present form, although they were kind enough to keep those seats! The undercarriage seems to have been filled out, though. The IR brand has long since vanished.
It sure does seem like Romania is the place where trains go to die! That one scene just before arriving at the station of Cluj-Napoca - all those deserted and rusting trains....very sad sight. But I have to say, that it was a real blast from the past to see the saloon-style carriage - that's something I haven't seen in years!!
Reminds me of a greater Anglia 321 class, for first class you get.... A lovely GA branded headrest cover. :/
I think it really depends on the coaches themselves. Have travelled through Romania by train many times and can say safely say that 2nd class and sleepers are far better and a lot more up to the European standards than the 1st class but private Romanian companies are far better when it comes to overal cleanliness in my opinion.
You should try the CFR Siemens. I think is one of their newer trains.
Private operators sure give better service, but they fight for the same slice of bread with the state railways, so on routes that would matter (like Bucharest to Cluj) the only choice remains just CFR, but on shorter routes like Bucharest-Brasov you got 3 operators, Bucharest-Craiova as well and also Astra Transcarpatic offers pretty great service but only on Bucharest-Arad. The rest is cursed either to use CFR or use commuter trains like Interregional's DB purchases.
I agree with you. 2nd class cars are cheaper and quite confortable (quite good individual seats). The same goes for 2nd class (6 berth in cabin) and 1st class (4 berth in cabin) couchette cars. In my opinion these are the best options for travelling with CFR IR service.
Totally unfair. I have been living and working in Romania for 5 years now and CFR are my main way of travelling from place to place. Your experience is not typical. I have made many many journeys across the country and the trains are always clean and comfortable. OK First Class isn't how a British person would define First Class, but it is spacious, clean and AFFORDABLE. Ordinary people can afford it, unlike the UK. It is not CFRs fault that the whole infrastructure is run down and relies heavily on the good will of people who love the old railways. That sadly is politics.
WTF? Where are you traveling with CFR to have clean trains? Almost all trains in Romania I travelled with were very filthy and usually without a functional toilet.
@@sebastianr1204 Suceava, Bucharest, Turnu-Severin, Brașov
Sounds like metro line 12 in Paris!
If you're unlucky you can get a similar seat with MAV, and they'll sell the seat as a table seat too.
That was quite interesting, mate. Terrible train, lovely country. How was Cluj?
If sometime you will "land" in Bucharest, let me know, I will show you around.
Haha same experience in France with the TER's
The train you choosed is named the "hunger train". I travelled with it milion times as a child. You should have chosen the sleeping car or second class. Way better.
Next time in Cluj let me know...
Travelling along the Körös river is great, it's quite scenic. That 1st class car was absolutely terrible, though. Hope they can replace them soon. As a matter of fact, I've seen several railcars in Romania that were much worse than this one.
They don't even want to build highways because they claim they will have airships and flying cars soon (interview Ion Tiriac).