A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR

Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 7:55 am

Saruman a scris:

Bucuresti Nord - Ploiesti Sud with R 5021 07:38 - 08:55
Ploiesti Sud - Sinaua with IR 1732 10:26 - 11:20 RON 25.20
Sinaia - Bucuresti Nord with R 3003 15:37 - 18:26 RON 17.20

If the train from Ruse will arrive with delay (which happens almost daily) and you will not have time to buy tickets and get to R 5021 (you can get into the train an after Bucureşti Basarab h., next stop after Bucureşti Nord - 2 km - you can go to the conductor and tell him that you get in from there. He will give you a normal ticket, otherwise you'll have to pay a surcharge), next trains to Sinaia are:

8:25 - IR 1582 (CFR Călători), from Constanţa to Braşov

9:10 - IR 14001 - http://regiotrans.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131&nr_tren=14001 , form Constanţa to Braşov

Price 38,1 RON

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Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 8:46 am

Or, another option would be to travel with the IR 382 from Ruse all the way to Ploiesti Sud. You can get an online ticket for the whole trip for about 46 RON. However, you can buy just one ticket, but if I remember well, you will have to change cars in Bucharest. You will arrive in a car travelling Sofia - Bucuresti that will be detached in Bucharest, so you have to get off and board another car which will be attachet to this train and will travel from Bucharest to Suceava.

The total price (46 RON) is only slightly more expensive than the combination IR 382 Giurgiu - Bucharest (33.4 RON) and R5021 Bucuresti - Ploiesti Sud (7.3 RON), and you will travel more confortably than in the regional train. However, you stll need the ticket from Ruse to Romania, and I do not know if it is cheaper to buy Ruse - Bucharest or Ruse - Giurgiu + Giurgiu - Bucharest (or Ploiesti)

Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 9:46 am

Probably the cheapest option is to deal with the conductor for Ruse - Giurgiu and buy ticket from Giurgiu (if the customs controll take too long, this might not be possible). A more cheaper option is to find a minibus / bus from Ruse to Giurgiu/Bucureşti. A minibus/bus/"maxi-taxi" (freight van converted into passenger vehicle) ticket from Giurgiu to Bucureşti is about 15 RON and the the trip takes about one hour.

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Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 10:06 am

I think this is a forum of serious people: let's not encourage the "deal with the conductor". You can buy Ruse-GiurgiuNord/Bucuresti in Ruse and the tickets from Giurgiu Nord to Bucuresti/Ploiesti/Sinaia can be bought online: it can be cheaper (up to 13% discount for advance purchase and an extra 25% discount if you pay with Maestro or Mastercard), and like this you can print your tickets at home and it's not necesseary to go out from the train in Giurgiu Nord anymore. However, you can not buy tickets for regional trains online.

Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 10:27 am

International ticket Ruse - Giurgiu is 12 Ron
Ruse - Bucuresti is 36 Ron

Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 10:39 am

Saruman a scris:

International ticket Ruse - Giurgiu is 12 Ron

This is the "normal" IR price for the distance... it's theft, but this is it.

By the way, if you come only for photographing trains, I suggest you go to Predeal instead of Sinaia. If you are interested in tourism, Sinaia is the place to go.

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Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Lun Dec 19, 2011 11:51 am

Saruman a scris:

International ticket Ruse - Giurgiu is 12 Ron
Ruse - Bucuresti is 36 Ron

OK, so in this case:

Ruse - Giurgiu: 12 RON
Giurgiu Nord - Ploiesti Sud (all the way with IR382) is 46 RON (or even 34.5 if paid online with Maestro/Mastercard)
TOTAL: 46.5 - 58 RON

OR
Ruse - Bucuresti: 36 RON
Bucuresti - Ploiesti with regional train: 7.3 RON
TOTAL: 43.3 RON

Ruse - Bucuresti is only 36 RON - that must be the SET Tariff, quite good.
Then, have you also thought about a through SET ticket from Ruse all the way to Sinaia? It should cost something like 50 RON, which looks cheaper than the multiple tickets Ruse - Bucuresti, Bucuresti - Ploiesti and Ploiesti - Sinaia. In addition, a ticket Ruse - Sinaia would give you full flexibility - you can take any train you want. You can buy a return ticket directly in Ruse. However, in the IR trains you have to buy a reservation which costs 3.3 RON/train and in case you take an IC, you also have to pay a supplement, according to the distance you travel.

In any case, since you cross the border with train 382, I think you also have to pay for the obligatory "international" reservation which should cost something like 13 RON.

Numarul mesajelor: 89 Data de inscriere: 09/01/2011

Does the transport police make problems when taking photos at stations ? Because at some stations in Bulgaria it's a problem the take your ID start mocking at you sometimes they say that it is forbidden and stuff like that ... I ask because this is a foreign country and if they do not agree this it won't be good for me Laughing

Subiect: Re: A trip from Bulgaria to Romania by CFR Vin Dec 23, 2011 9:11 pm

The police no (well, maybe on border stations), but some CFR employees may star shouting at you. If they become enoying, tell them to call the police. The Police will ask your papers, then will tell you that there is nothing illegal and let you return to your pictures.

It happend to me for a few times... once the police officers were very angry on the CFR employee... ,,And that's the reason you are disturbing us?! I thought you caught him stealing... let him take his photos and leave us alone".

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Numarul mesajelor: 89 Data de inscriere: 09/01/2011

Here I'll post some clips from our trip to Romania which was different than the plan because we took the Galati - Bucuresti group instead of the Brasov one from Ploiesti sud ...

A photo of IC from Constanta :
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3976/dsci2279d.jpg

Clips :

27.12. Bucuresti nord :

IR 14004 Brasov-Bucuresti nord-Constanta :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJbN-x3wRJE

IC 584 Constanta-Bucuresti nord :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH2qyTe5pdw

Regio 7037 Bucuresti nord-Urziceni :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V1ew_8hgBY

tIR 1597 to Craiova :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzxgPjHZcaQ

IR 1752 Suceava-Bucuresti nord arrives with 8 overcrowded coaches :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AoSNTzvCa4

IR 383 (Moscow) - Suceava - Bucuresti - Ruse - Sofia arrives with delay of 15 mins :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNFYP-0Sb8M

Something I disliked about the travel was that in IR 382/383 most of the passangers (they are really few) give money to the ticket chargers in the train ... 10/20 lei from Ruse to Bucuresti or from Bucuresti to Girgiu. The only ones who have tickets were the group of Bulgarians from our forum and a few foriegners most of them English and one Asian... Also the annoying border control which made a delay of 50 minutes in both directions at Giurgiu nord ... But there are non-eu citizens in the train and this could be a possible explanation. But whatever it's unpleasant.