Sofia to Timioara

[mugam4]

Hi,

In November I intend to travel from Sofia to Timișoara, by train. I've looked at a route on DB's website via Vidin and Craiova - does anyone have any tips generally, and speifically how to buy the tickets and the expected price, as my budget is quite tight? And additionally, whether there are any better (more scenic, or faster) routes to take - evidence of the train over the border at Vidin actually running seems scarce.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MarcVD]

If your budget is tight, then you must purchase your tickets locally as they will be much less expensive than if purchased from western Europe.

There are only two train connections over the Danube, Calafat-Vidin and Giurgiu-Ruse.
I have done both and both are interesting. The plus of Calafat-Vidin is the Calafat-Craiova line which is still equipped (or at least was, when I went there in 2015) like if we were still in 1950. A real time machine and a must see if you are a train enthusiast.

Between Sofia and Vidin it is quite scenic. After Craiova I do not know. I was coming from Budapest and it's quite scenic too, but that's not the route you will take.

Envoyé de mon SM-T819 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

You could go via Bucharest, of course.
The summer through loco-hauled day coaches become connecting local EMU/DMUs with a change at Ruse, but in much the same times.
Bucharest-Sofia cost me RON 136 (€25) when I booked the day before in Romania in June (122 for travel, 14 for reservation).
Bucharest-Timisoara (day train) will cost RON 83-100 depending on when you buy it from CFR (online https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/en/international-traffic ).
You could change at Videle, to save doubling back from Bucharest but I don't think it gains you anything timewise.

I think the cross-border links via Kikinda in Serbia have worsened recently with local service withdrawals.
When I last looked at the overnight Budapest-Sofia train via Vidin I worked out it made 43 stops, mostly between Craiova and Sofia, and is exceptionally slow!

For what it's worth, I found there was a decent express bus service Sofia-Ruse, with a connecting Ruse-Bucharest service, operated by Bulgarian companies (Ivkoni and Pegasus).
Faster and cheaper than the train, but you have to navigate the change at Ruse.
http://www.bgrazpisanie.com/en/bus_line/ruse-sofia+central/union+ivkoni/13410
http://www.pegasusbg.com/?lang=_en

 

[mugam4]

If your budget is tight, then you must purchase your tickets locally as they will be much less expensive than if purchased from western Europe.

There are only two train connections over the Danube, Calafat-Vidin and Giurgiu-Ruse.
I have done both and both are interesting. The plus of Calafat-Vidin is the Calafat-Craiova line which is still equipped (or at least was, when I went there in 2015) like if we were still in 1950. A real time machine and a must see if you are a train enthusiast.

Between Sofia and Vidin it is quite scenic. After Craiova I do not know. I was coming from Budapest and it's quite scenic too, but that's not the route you will take.

Thanks for this. I think I'll take the route via Vidin then, that does sound more interesting! I do have a whole day to spend on the journey so I might spend some time in Craiova.

You could go via Bucharest, of course.

I'm trying to save Bucharest for another time so best avoided. Can I expect DB's times of the border trains at Vidin to be accurate or is it a case of find out at Sofia station?

 

[70014IronDuke]

Thanks for this. I think I'll take the route via Vidin then, that does sound more interesting! I do have a whole day to spend on the journey so I might spend some time in Craiova....

Ha ha! Craiova - home of the Class 56s that didn't work

To be fari, it is a city on the up now, at least as I have heard, so I don't want to have a downer of the folks there.

Timisoara, however, is a top-10 European city for sure in the "alternative" sense of the rankings. (Obviously, you can't compare to Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Rome or London). If you are there for pleasure, check out the Museum of the 1989 Revolution, and ask for Mr Train Orbarn to take you round - he's the founder, and a "special" person. Was shot twice in the Revolution.

 

[Adlington]

ask for Mr Train Orbarn

This is a rail forum, so the typo is excusable.
Ask for Traian Orban instead

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Can I expect DB's times of the border trains at Vidin to be accurate or is it a case of find out at Sofia station?

I can only repeat what I discovered in June, that the DB times did not reflect the local alterations for engineering work, in Romania at least.
The Simeria-Brasov route via Sibiu was closed for a month, with significant disruption to cross-border trains, but this did not reach the DB site.
However, the ticketing web sites (MAV, CFR) did reflect the changes, at least during the CFR booking window (which is only 30 days).
The trouble is, CFR switches to a DB planner whenever you mention somewhere outside Romania (like Vidin).

 

[mugam4]

Reporting back!

Sofia station seems hugely over-engineered. Train to Vidin went at what I would later discover to be a fair pace - when we climbed out of the mist into the Balkans near Vratsa it was absolutely stunning. But the we descended back down into the mist again, with only rotting communist industry dotting the landscape. The train was old DB Regio carriages behind a Skoda. All BDZ staff were extremely helpful, although spoke little English.

Vidin looked pretty bleak. There's a nice place to get a meal-in-a-box before the border checks. Train was a new Desiro (with heating!) which zoomed over the new track over the Danube to the other side of the border, where we trundled at around 15mph until Segarcea. This really is a trip back in time as you said - every station that served more than a few shacks in both countries had a comically smart railwayman or woman holding the fort for the few trains a day. Some stations were just a couple of breezeblocks alongside the track, with a shack if you're lucky, which made the train of 2 Desiros in multiple look very out of place! We passed an old railcar heading the other direction at Bailesti so I guess you could get unlucky.

The IR was fairly quick, comfortable and modern. Reservation only but it was absolutely packed. We were stopped at Caransebeș for a short while for the whole train to be ticket and ID checked at midnight, which was odd. If you do end up getting this late IR into town, then Timisoara seems perfectly safe at this time of night for the walk into the city from Gara Nord - I was told not to bother with a taxi.

Overall it was a journey that really should've been a lot quicker - but the slowest section (Vidin-Craiova) was the nicest place to spend time (onboard the Desiro).

 

[MarcVD]

I hope you enjoyed the old mechanical german style signals, the ground operated points, and the old style barriers at the road crossings. I certainly did !