A bit of correction: at 2:50 that is NOT a CFR train. In Romania there are some private operators (although they are state-subsidized), Regio Calatori (whose train you saw there) is one of these.
Train traveling in Eastern Europe is always full of adventures and old-school climate, which I love so much! 15:29 concrete catenary poles are very common in many former communist states, since concrete back then was very cheap and in extremely massive production.
Excellent video! I took this train in 2010. The TCDD car only consisted of 6 seats compartments as far as I can remember. I wasn’t alone but we were only 3 passengers, plus the attendant. Surprisingly, the booking system put us all together! One Turkish man was travelling by train all the way from Sweden to go back home to see his family. The other passenger was a Romanian man who had never left the country and was on his way to meet his mother who was working in Istanbul. He was getting increasingly nervous throughout the journey and was worried he wouldn’t be allowed to enter Türkiye for whatever reason. We could barely communicate in broken English but it was a good time anyway. The attendant changed from his TCDD uniform once we reached the border between Bulgaria and Romania and was rocking his Adidas tracksuit and slippers until the end of Bulgaria 😂 He actually had a portable stove and made a large dinner for us which was really nice. It was eggs, vegetables and Turkish sausage. He also gave us tea! The night was brutal, especially being woken up for passport control in the middle of the night as you mention. Back then, the train arrived in Sirkeci and it was really amazing. I didn’t know about the whole situation regarding the car being moved from one train to another, so that’s really interesting to learn! Thank you for sharing this!
As a turk i can tell TCDD is made out of delays but in the end every kind of TVS 2000 cars are very very comfortable (actually sleeper cars are more comfortable than my own bed)
You made a very good experience to travel with an Turkish train from Bucharest to Istanbul, my experience with an Bulgarian train from Budapest to Sofia was the dirtiest train I have been in my life,I hope they improved since 2016.the journey Sofia to Bucharest was not so bad.
Very nice video as always Thibault. I just need to add some info for the arrival. The Halkalı Station is also a terminus station for Marmaray in European side (Istanbul's main commuter train between Halkalı - Gebze) That's why it's not a subway. The only underground stations in this line are between Yenikapı -Üsküdar which contains the tunnel crossing under the Bosphorus to reach Asian side. You can easily reach to Sirkeci from Halkalı by Marmaray in 40 minutes but it can be challenging if you have heavy luggage. Sirkeci station of Marmaray is under ground and takes a pretty long time to reach the surface of the Nostalgic Sirkeci station. About the Turkish TVS2000 vagons; The latest built ones are almost 20 years old but they're still going strong. Especially the sleeping car version is very nice with many useful specs. Unfortunately it's only being used for touristic expresses in very few destinations inside Turkey nowadays. Train travel inside Turkey and to other countries are a very missed opportunity because of many reasons. One of them is the bureaucratic difficulty of course when entering/exiting from the country and the second one (the most important in my opinion) is the management. We had so many decent and cheap local and mainline trains to use in the past but after building high speed railways, it's all gone and that high speed lines are very limited, so expensive and without any local slow line alternative. I can rant more about our railway system but there is no need :) Happy to see that you have a review on this express again and i hope you enjoyed your time in Istanbul. See you in the next video.
Especially internationally, I'm wondering whether a passage later or earlier in the night wouldn't be preferable. I mean, I don't mind having to wake up at 7 for border checks, arriving in Istanbul around noon, for instance. Or border checks around 10-11pm would work as well, if needed with some slumber time in a siding to arrive at a more relaxed time in Istanbul. And in reverse, leave Istanbul 1-2 hours earlier, it would mean that you get to the border before midnight... It would be even better if you could simply stay in bed for border control, as in most places, of course, but that doesn't seem to be going to happen. Totally agree that the local lines are very much ignored in Turkey nowadays...
"You can easily reach to Sirkeci from Halkalı by Marmaray in 40 minutes but it can be challenging if you have heavy luggage. Sirkeci station of Marmaray is under ground and takes a pretty long time to reach the surface of the Nostalgic Sirkeci station." -- yes, it is about four escalators deep, because the track is about to go under the sea to the Asian side. As far as I could see, the nostalgic surface station has no active platforms at present, it's all being renovated or something, so you have to use the Marmaray connection for long-distance trains. And likewise on the Asian side if you are trevelling on to Ankara etc, that nostalgic station currently has no tracks leading into it and is being converted into a hotel or something.
Metin. I visited Turkiye many times in the 1980s to explore the railways. You are right - it was a wonderful system back then. I have just finished a 3,000 km tour of western Turkiye by what is left of the railway lines, and by bus. The high speed lines seem to be a "vanity project," catering to a minority, at the expense of the former rail travellers, who as you say, have had to transfer to bus travel, as there are no passenger services, or very few, on the old lines. As a retired railwayman I found I was welcomed warmly by the staff. I was also impressed at how beautifully restored the old station buildings were on the old lines, even although they now no longer see passengers. In other countries, infrastructure not in use is either left to rot, or demolished. Another sign of respect for railway history is the number of former steam locomotives nicely painted and maintained on plinths in front of stations. You may rant about your railways, but there is much to be proud of.
@@boblennox9251 Well Bob you had an amazing experience for sure for yourself. Unluckily i got have a little less experience that i remember between end of 90s and early 00s as a kid with my father who was a train passenger enthusiast and we even got an accident (derailment) together while riding the old school version of Dogu Express. Train travel evolved into something faster and more technological overall especially in Western Europe and i can understand that but shouldn't be too much dramatic about missing old days but the problem is we didn't put any progress about train travel by just putting new and fast trains in the country. Since late 40s, early 50s train track improvement intentionally halted by our governments who handshaked with Americans and they always put the first priority into making more roads. It's even more for the last 20 years. They just opened some couple of high speed lines (or restored lines) unfinished fully and this caused some tragic events with 10s of deaths each one. Nowadays all we have got is decent commuter train between asia and europe non stop in İstanbul unless it break downs, couple of very expensive high speed intercity lines and some old classic sleeper trains converted into tourist traps. way away from local people to use as a transportation. I don't wanna talk too much about using old stations and restoring them because we almost burned one of them intentionally to get rid off it (Haydarpasa) and after they weren't successful, they dig the rail lines so deep that finding some historical pieces to make the station unusable for train travel completely to reach their goal to use the historic building as something else (Sirkeci station will probably have the same fate one day) and the other old station buildings are either closed or had a makeover that they're not being recognized as historical building. Sorry for the extra vent but I'm just a frustrated person who's stuck living inside this country for 35 years and can't stand anymore about every intentional bad change happened in this city and the country by the people just for getting extra corrupted money in their pockets that's all.
I am not at all surprised that you were the only passenger! The frontier controls in the middle of the night (particularly those into Turkey) must put a lot of people off using this route. Also the remote station in Istanbul.
Indeed, this train is not for you. It gets peope to their destination in a fraction of the cost whith no air travell luggage limits. Look at the previous video from this train and see a ful train, this one was empty since it's just the start in seasn.
When I took this train last year it was fully booked several days in advance. I was also able to book it online via the Romanian railways (CFR) with no problem (indeed, the Turkish railways don’t allow you to book it online) you just have to collect the paper tickets at the station in Bucharest before getting on the train. Halkali is indeed a bit remote, but it’s connected to the Marmaray subway line, so in another 40-50 minutes you’re in the center of Istanbul. I do agree that the passport controls in the middle of the night are a bit annoying, as they break up your sleep. Edit: indeed it seems that this year you can’t book this trip online (the website shows a sleeper only from Kapikule), which is a shame
Nice video! The train at 2:52 isn’t owned by CFR. It’s owned by Regio Călători, a private company. CFR only really purchased some loco-hauled coaches second-hand (although most stock is quite old), but the aforementioned Regio Călători and Transferoviar Călători (TFC), another private operator, have trains from SNCF and DB respectively.
The BDŽ locomotive was indeed rebuilt. There is a plaque visible even it got attached to the consist that reads "ŽOS Vrútky" which is a repair shop of sorts in Slovakia
I really like how you put a map thumbnail in the top left at every stop. Thanks for the video. I plan on taking the train from Istanbul to Sofia in a couple of weeks.
yaaay Timisoreana Beer :D (might not be best in its class, but it does its job). Great video and I am not surprised you were the only one on that sleeper car to Istanbul. Personally I would have NEVER considered taking such a long train ride to Turkey, knowing well enough the quality of Romanian trains (unless just for a refresher of what it feels like to ride with a train), when there are multiple faster options... But great video again and I love your content! Keep up the good work
Thanks again! Your remark on concrete catenary poles reminded me of the route from Utrecht to Hilversum (NL). In 1938 it was decided that this track had to be electrified. The work was done in 1941 and 1942. Due to shortage of steal during WW II, the poles were build in reinforced concrete. They are still there and are now a monument. When in 1994 5 poles were torn down by a crane, they got rebuilt in the same style and in the same way. Have a look whenever you happen to be there. I live in a village near that track.
Conversely in the late 2000s my country (Singapore) had a concrete shortage as neighbouring Indonesia banned sand exports (supposedly for environmental reasons I think), so for a while I remember that our public housing apartment towers were built out of steel instead of reinforced concrete. & neighbouring Malaysia's PetroNas Twin Towers are among the rare skyscrapers worldwide of that height to be built of (a special blend of lighter & stronger) reinforced concrete instead of steel as its cheaper (since Malaysia has way less metal ores than sand), which also makes the skyscraper more resistant to strong winds too
Well... The UK had catenary posts made out of - wood. Not joking, nor jesting, on the long closed Woodhead line, a large number of the catenary posts were wood. This is for a 1500v DC system, so not to be sniffed at!
It just reminds me of the Balkans back in 1963! The complex shunting, the rattly track, the trundling through this wild scenery. Quite nostalgic. At my age I don't think I can cope with it though - But the West Highland lines to Mallaig and Oban are magnificent and make up for this. No passports there at least - unless the independence guys get their way!
Regarding trains, Romania is so very special. I had a train with just one wagon and a loco from Iasi to Ungheni/Moldova. And In Iași I saw a former German 628 train, that was in service here in my region until 2021. Oh yes, I miss riding with a train and being able to open the window. Our railroad between Ulm and Lindau was just electrified and the only old school train is a “bicycle express” with a 218 locomotive and old school coaches. Loving it
The red one next toe the ex-SNCF train ( at 2,46) is an ex-NS train. A DH-2, build by Waggonfabrik Uederingen AG. It was used for regional services in the north of The Netherlands.
I remember the old Sirkusi station in Istanbul from the 1980s. Just a couple of blocks away was the old red light district, which was always bustling at night. The old district was legal, lined for several blocks with brothels that displayed their "wares." Now it is gone.
Great video - thanks. In 2008 I travelled from the top of Norway To Istanbul mainly by train & ferry boat. Unfortunately the line from Plovdiv (Bulgaria) to Turkey was closed at the time so we had to finish the journey by bus.
Awesome video. I loved whaching it. I really liked the scenaries aling the way and through the bulgarian mountains. And the sound of the jointed track... music to my ears. A small correction for the begining, where that french X75000 was not owned by CFR, but by one of the private operators, Regio Calatori. CFR does indeed buy second hand rolling atock from abroad, a good example being the Z electric trains from SNCF(as far as I know, not in use anymore even here) and a few other examples but does not own trains like that one. The private operators also buy a lot of sh rolling stock, as you could see. Not that important, but I thought you might like the extra info. I hope you'll take a trip around the Carpathian Mountains too, for some awesome scenaries and some trains that i love. Cheers!
Did you check the Bucharest to Varna route? Recently, this train goes to just 2 routes in Bulgaria, and one route to Turkey. There is a coach to Sofia from BDZ, a coach to Varna from CFR, and a coach to Istanbul from TCDD. There are times when the coach to Varna can also be from BDZ.
The DMU you showed belongs to a private operator called Regio Calatori. CFR uses old electric and diesel locos and has diesel Siemens units bought in the early 2000's
On this dokument Is fact to Bulgaria was in the socialistic block part. This Bospor expres was hauled by locomotive Škoda from the Czechia, Pilsen, and was completed from the Y-type Fast train cars Gorlitz from the DDR/easr Germany.
2:52 sorry, but these purchases were not made by CFR, thry were made by some private train companies. There are a lot of them in Romania, and they are mainly based on second-hand trains
It was a nice experience watching your video. A very objective and nice description. I can tell you are pasionate about trains and not doing this just for youtube. A true Sheldon Cooper if you know what I mean. :) Safe travels friend!
I just did the same trip a few days ago, was a comfortable ride. One correction, the tickets can be booked online - I did so on the website of the Romanian Railways. It was not possible to only book a reservation (to use with an interrail ticket). I needed to catch the connection so to be certain bought a ticket online, and in Bucharest station it was easy to book a reservation and I cancelled the ticket purchased online (this can only be done online, there is a small fee). The border controls take some time - and some of the stops along the way - reconfiguring the train - are a bit long, but good to stretch your legs a bit. With the interrail app you have a decent idea about the timeline of the trip, but it would be nice if the operators would announce the timeline at different stops - I got some cold drinks in Bulgaria and at the Turkish border. Comfort was ok, I ended up alone in a 4-person couchette and the car was about 50per cent full. The toilet on our car (at least on the end I used was a classic porcelain toilet bowl, it was clean. Air conditioning did not work until the last station in Romania. Opening the window helped a bit but a lot of dust entered the car. The trip through Bulgaria was stunning and very relaxing. The border crossing with Turkey took some time - and in the middle of the night - but all said, it was efficient - just for you own comfort try to travel as light as possible.. At the arrival station in Istanbul there are only a few ticket machines to get the Istanbul card for public transport. The train ride from the station to the city center took about 30 minutes. I agree a very nice experience, comfortable, 'old school' rail travel. Some tips: take enough food and drink (it can be hot on the train). there are loads of sandwich shops and small supermarkets in or near Bucharest station, travel as light as you can and enjoy the ride. Look forward to take the train from Istanbul to Sofia soon...
I remember I was the only person in the two carriage train from the border to Oradea (Ro). This year I will visit Greece, Bulgaria and Bucuresti for the first time
@@ki5739 Yes. They are owned by DB Cargo, but they were bought from DSB a few years ago. They were the first electric locomotives in Denmark and entered service in 1986.
@@NerdX151 I meant that they had not been sent directly from Denmark to Bulgaria but to DB first, which use them for their cargo services in Bulgaria. Didn't DSB have electric trains before 1986?
Hi Thibault, thanks for your content. Very interesting for those of us embarking on new journeys. We've done many night trains in Europe but plan to take the train through South-East Europe to Turkey - the Dacia, followed by the Bosphorus. I can see sleeper cars on the Dacia but not the Bosphorus. There is reference to three-person sleeper cars on the Interrail site but I don't really trust it for its accuracy or regular updating. I can find no info elsewhere save for couchettes, though they do look closer to sleeping cars re bedding etc. so that in itself is not a deal breaker. The issue is more privacy. Do you or any of those commenting know whether it is feasible, in the absence of a three bed sleeper compartment, to purchase a four bed couchette and pay for the extra bed in order to give more privacy and alleviate worry for my wife and young daughter? We usually book three-bed sleepers on the OBB night jet and Trenitalia Inter Notte services. P.S Any knowledge about sleepers on the Chopin service - can't see any scheduled serve or know how to book the train from Krakow to Budapest. Kind regards, Mark
Awesome video. I've been on the Sofia-Istanbul sleeper and indeed it was a great experience apart from the Turkish border control. It's a lot busier than Bucharest-Istanbul seems to be - I wanted to book a ticket in early may and they were sold out for a few weeks ahead and they run more carriages from Sofia.
Great video. Thanks for posting. Last year, I travelled in the daily overnight train from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Istanbul. I felt I was an extra in the James Bond movie "From Russia with Love." Not much had changed since the 1960s, but it was for me a wonderful and nostalgic experience. There is much to be said about these journeys. They have character, and so much more interesting than the clinical and soulless rail travel found alost everywhere today. One thing to point out if you are arriving in Halkali station from outside Turkiye. Take with you some Turkish cash, especially 50 lira notes. There are no cash dispensing machines in the station or within a kilometre walk! The ticket machines do not accept credit cards - only 50 lira notes. If you arrive cashless, then you can't buy a ticket to get on to the metro system. I was lucky - there was a bread stall in the street outside the station, who changed my cash for me - I think he must do a good trade with frustrated tourists. The bread "simit" is always fresh and tasty, so if you are stuck, you can try that.
@@fatihgunay4616 Yes things have improved a lot since my visit last year. It is refreshing to see such investment in public transit of all types in Turkiye.
Thank you for your videos. Here's a small correction/addition: I do not know about June 2022, but I took the train in 2023 and I booked it online. You are just asked to pick up the tickets in person in the international tickets office.
I traveled the Sofia-Istanbul direct one back in 2010 to the old main station in istanbul. The border control in turkey wasn’t that complicated back then as far as I remember. Also there were several cars not just the one today. Did Interrail from Munich to Istanbul via Zagreb & Sofia and back via Greece and the ferry to italy. fun times good old times
Born in 1983 I still had the experience in post soviet countries with open window (it would open straight down, and you can easily even put you upper body out of the window) it was the best. I think this is the real railroad experience by smelling, hearing, feeling the railroad around you. Too bad modern world is a bunch of whiners and safety freak money hungry consumers with that it's nearly impossible unless going to Eastern Europe or post soviet countries. Plus the post soviet is 1520mm which make them much larger, and soviet Skoda's like CHs7, CHs8, CHs4 were the pices of art.
Used two days ago from Sofia to Istanbul. Great experience the only drawback is the passport and baggage check in the middle of the night at the Turkish border :(
Excllent Video at the Border Station Ruse you saw a Bulgarian DR Baureihe 110-112 DB Baureihe 202-204 298 V100 Ost Fabriqué en République Démocratique Allemand. Another Bulgarian locomotives that is from the former German Democratic Republic which you spelt as République Démocratique Allemande, is BDZ Class 52 known in Germany as the DB Baureihe 345-347 V60 Ost Goldbroiler. Turkish style toilet seems to be the same as a Japanese style toilet. The Turkish couchette carriage should have been ordered by SNCF for their Corail sleeper
Turkey produce sleeper cars. Some 10 years ago BDZ bought such sleepers for its night trains in Bulgaria. The feedback from travelers is usually very positive.
As summer comes, if you want you should do a trip in Romania with cross-country seasonal overnight trains that go from Satu Mare (North-West) to Mangalia (South East)
I did the overnight turkish sleeper from Sofia to Istanbul. Had a 2 bed compartment to myself. Really great comfort and an amazing journey!
A bit of correction: at 2:50 that is NOT a CFR train. In Romania there are some private operators (although they are state-subsidized), Regio Calatori (whose train you saw there) is one of these.
Thanks for the correction :-)
Неки.сви.можте.фрцнкуа.првиа.вжна.кад.има.ншеа.вгеноа.спецјинла.међнореда.шине.пргвоеа.бтенско
Train traveling in Eastern Europe is always full of adventures and old-school climate, which I love so much!
15:29 concrete catenary poles are very common in many former communist states, since concrete back then was very cheap and in extremely massive production.
Not only that, unlike wood, or metal, it doesn't degenerate or rust over time.
Унитаз тоже Буряты украли из вагона? ))))
@@iiii85, Нет, есть еще один в дальнем конце, стандартный туалет.
Excellent video! I took this train in 2010. The TCDD car only consisted of 6 seats compartments as far as I can remember. I wasn’t alone but we were only 3 passengers, plus the attendant. Surprisingly, the booking system put us all together! One Turkish man was travelling by train all the way from Sweden to go back home to see his family. The other passenger was a Romanian man who had never left the country and was on his way to meet his mother who was working in Istanbul. He was getting increasingly nervous throughout the journey and was worried he wouldn’t be allowed to enter Türkiye for whatever reason. We could barely communicate in broken English but it was a good time anyway. The attendant changed from his TCDD uniform once we reached the border between Bulgaria and Romania and was rocking his Adidas tracksuit and slippers until the end of Bulgaria 😂 He actually had a portable stove and made a large dinner for us which was really nice. It was eggs, vegetables and Turkish sausage. He also gave us tea! The night was brutal, especially being woken up for passport control in the middle of the night as you mention. Back then, the train arrived in Sirkeci and it was really amazing. I didn’t know about the whole situation regarding the car being moved from one train to another, so that’s really interesting to learn! Thank you for sharing this!
Bu hikayen tam bir film gibi içinde samimiliği ve sıcaklığı görebildim
@@Okeyad Thank you for your kind words!
Nice! Next week i'm going to Romania , Bulgaria and Istanbul by train
As a turk i can tell TCDD is made out of delays but in the end every kind of TVS 2000 cars are very very comfortable (actually sleeper cars are more comfortable than my own bed)
You made a very good experience to travel with an Turkish train from Bucharest to Istanbul, my experience with an Bulgarian train from Budapest to Sofia was the dirtiest train I have been in my life,I hope they improved since 2016.the journey Sofia to Bucharest was not so bad.
Very nice video as always Thibault. I just need to add some info for the arrival. The Halkalı Station is also a terminus station for Marmaray in European side (Istanbul's main commuter train between Halkalı - Gebze) That's why it's not a subway. The only underground stations in this line are between Yenikapı -Üsküdar which contains the tunnel crossing under the Bosphorus to reach Asian side. You can easily reach to Sirkeci from Halkalı by Marmaray in 40 minutes but it can be challenging if you have heavy luggage. Sirkeci station of Marmaray is under ground and takes a pretty long time to reach the surface of the Nostalgic Sirkeci station.
About the Turkish TVS2000 vagons; The latest built ones are almost 20 years old but they're still going strong. Especially the sleeping car version is very nice with many useful specs. Unfortunately it's only being used for touristic expresses in very few destinations inside Turkey nowadays. Train travel inside Turkey and to other countries are a very missed opportunity because of many reasons. One of them is the bureaucratic difficulty of course when entering/exiting from the country and the second one (the most important in my opinion) is the management. We had so many decent and cheap local and mainline trains to use in the past but after building high speed railways, it's all gone and that high speed lines are very limited, so expensive and without any local slow line alternative.
I can rant more about our railway system but there is no need :) Happy to see that you have a review on this express again and i hope you enjoyed your time in Istanbul. See you in the next video.
Especially internationally, I'm wondering whether a passage later or earlier in the night wouldn't be preferable. I mean, I don't mind having to wake up at 7 for border checks, arriving in Istanbul around noon, for instance. Or border checks around 10-11pm would work as well, if needed with some slumber time in a siding to arrive at a more relaxed time in Istanbul. And in reverse, leave Istanbul 1-2 hours earlier, it would mean that you get to the border before midnight...
It would be even better if you could simply stay in bed for border control, as in most places, of course, but that doesn't seem to be going to happen.
Totally agree that the local lines are very much ignored in Turkey nowadays...
Thanks for these explanations :-
"You can easily reach to Sirkeci from Halkalı by Marmaray in 40 minutes but it can be challenging if you have heavy luggage. Sirkeci station of Marmaray is under ground and takes a pretty long time to reach the surface of the Nostalgic Sirkeci station." -- yes, it is about four escalators deep, because the track is about to go under the sea to the Asian side. As far as I could see, the nostalgic surface station has no active platforms at present, it's all being renovated or something, so you have to use the Marmaray connection for long-distance trains. And likewise on the Asian side if you are trevelling on to Ankara etc, that nostalgic station currently has no tracks leading into it and is being converted into a hotel or something.
Metin. I visited Turkiye many times in the 1980s to explore the railways. You are right - it was a wonderful system back then. I have just finished a 3,000 km tour of western Turkiye by what is left of the railway lines, and by bus. The high speed lines seem to be a "vanity project," catering to a minority, at the expense of the former rail travellers, who as you say, have had to transfer to bus travel, as there are no passenger services, or very few, on the old lines. As a retired railwayman I found I was welcomed warmly by the staff. I was also impressed at how beautifully restored the old station buildings were on the old lines, even although they now no longer see passengers. In other countries, infrastructure not in use is either left to rot, or demolished. Another sign of respect for railway history is the number of former steam locomotives nicely painted and maintained on plinths in front of stations. You may rant about your railways, but there is much to be proud of.
@@boblennox9251 Well Bob you had an amazing experience for sure for yourself. Unluckily i got have a little less experience that i remember between end of 90s and early 00s as a kid with my father who was a train passenger enthusiast and we even got an accident (derailment) together while riding the old school version of Dogu Express.
Train travel evolved into something faster and more technological overall especially in Western Europe and i can understand that but shouldn't be too much dramatic about missing old days but the problem is we didn't put any progress about train travel by just putting new and fast trains in the country. Since late 40s, early 50s train track improvement intentionally halted by our governments who handshaked with Americans and they always put the first priority into making more roads. It's even more for the last 20 years. They just opened some couple of high speed lines (or restored lines) unfinished fully and this caused some tragic events with 10s of deaths each one. Nowadays all we have got is decent commuter train between asia and europe non stop in İstanbul unless it break downs, couple of very expensive high speed intercity lines and some old classic sleeper trains converted into tourist traps. way away from local people to use as a transportation.
I don't wanna talk too much about using old stations and restoring them because we almost burned one of them intentionally to get rid off it (Haydarpasa) and after they weren't successful, they dig the rail lines so deep that finding some historical pieces to make the station unusable for train travel completely to reach their goal to use the historic building as something else (Sirkeci station will probably have the same fate one day) and the other old station buildings are either closed or had a makeover that they're not being recognized as historical building.
Sorry for the extra vent but I'm just a frustrated person who's stuck living inside this country for 35 years and can't stand anymore about every intentional bad change happened in this city and the country by the people just for getting extra corrupted money in their pockets that's all.
I am not at all surprised that you were the only passenger! The frontier controls in the middle of the night (particularly those into Turkey) must put a lot of people off using this route. Also the remote station in Istanbul.
And most especially that they don't sell tickets online. If I can't see a price online and book it beforehand I surely wouldn't do it.
Indeed, this train is not for you. It gets peope to their destination in a fraction of the cost whith no air travell luggage limits. Look at the previous video from this train and see a ful train, this one was empty since it's just the start in seasn.
Enjoyed seeing the country side. I don’t know if I would want to travel on that train. Bathroom and no food????
When I took this train last year it was fully booked several days in advance. I was also able to book it online via the Romanian railways (CFR) with no problem (indeed, the Turkish railways don’t allow you to book it online) you just have to collect the paper tickets at the station in Bucharest before getting on the train. Halkali is indeed a bit remote, but it’s connected to the Marmaray subway line, so in another 40-50 minutes you’re in the center of Istanbul. I do agree that the passport controls in the middle of the night are a bit annoying, as they break up your sleep.
Edit: indeed it seems that this year you can’t book this trip online (the website shows a sleeper only from Kapikule), which is a shame
@@paulpjy4996 Yeah, the squat toilet and complete lack of food/drink options (Not even a vending machine? Seriously?) are deal-breakers for me.
Those sleeper carriages are very nice. And the mountains and scenery is just incredible 🤩😍
Hey
Oh, the good old rattling sound of old trains on old tracks ❤
Merci Thibault. CES IMAGES SONT MAGNIFIQUES . Bravo 👏👏👏
THE ONLY PASSENGER!!!! WOW THIS IS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE!!!! VERY BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩. Beautiful sunset in Bulgaria!!!!
Very interesting, Thibault. You are so right, new is not always better. Liked the contrast of old world and the new. Good video.
Looks like a very scenic and comfortable ride. Thank you. Thibault.
We did the same trip with my friends, but from Békéscsaba (Hungary) also in 2022. Thanks for bringing back the memories. 😄
Wonderful video!!! Spectacular scenery!!! Thank you for taking us along!!!
7:49 that cute little dog
Solid video, tons of real info and really sweet captures : ) Thanks and thumbs up!
Fantastic video! Great train ride! Nice places and landscapes! Also lovely train wheels sound! Thumbs Up
Greetings from Ireland
Andrew
HEI BROOOOOOOO DAU PESTE TOT DE TINE =)))0 HEHEHAAHAHA 🤣🤣🤣😆😆😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@drksoft3882 😂😂😂😂😂😂😎😎
Sehr schön 🤗
Ich vermisse die guten alten Zeiten.
Totale Entschleunigung👍
13:41 This is a part of a contract from 2019 with a Czech and a Slovak factories for practically re-building of 20 Skoda locos. from 44 series.
That noise of a train music to my ears.
Nice video! The train at 2:52 isn’t owned by CFR. It’s owned by Regio Călători, a private company. CFR only really purchased some loco-hauled coaches second-hand (although most stock is quite old), but the aforementioned Regio Călători and Transferoviar Călători (TFC), another private operator, have trains from SNCF and DB respectively.
Great video and nice ride.
Hope you enjoy Bucharest.
Congratulatiln for video and friwndly greetings.
Geo
Thank you so much for these videos, they really help making interrail less scary for me
The BDŽ locomotive was indeed rebuilt. There is a plaque visible even it got attached to the consist that reads "ŽOS Vrútky" which is a repair shop of sorts in Slovakia
I liked very much that you gave an overview of the trip using google earth!
Nice and details pros and corns you had mentioned ! Thank you and best wishes !!
I really like how you put a map thumbnail in the top left at every stop. Thanks for the video. I plan on taking the train from Istanbul to Sofia in a couple of weeks.
yaaay Timisoreana Beer :D (might not be best in its class, but it does its job). Great video and I am not surprised you were the only one on that sleeper car to Istanbul. Personally I would have NEVER considered taking such a long train ride to Turkey, knowing well enough the quality of Romanian trains (unless just for a refresher of what it feels like to ride with a train), when there are multiple faster options... But great video again and I love your content! Keep up the good work
Thanks again! Your remark on concrete catenary poles reminded me of the route from Utrecht to Hilversum (NL). In 1938 it was decided that this track had to be electrified. The work was done in 1941 and 1942. Due to shortage of steal during WW II, the poles were build in reinforced concrete. They are still there and are now a monument. When in 1994 5 poles were torn down by a crane, they got rebuilt in the same style and in the same way. Have a look whenever you happen to be there. I live in a village near that track.
Conversely in the late 2000s my country (Singapore) had a concrete shortage as neighbouring Indonesia banned sand exports (supposedly for environmental reasons I think), so for a while I remember that our public housing apartment towers were built out of steel instead of reinforced concrete. & neighbouring Malaysia's PetroNas Twin Towers are among the rare skyscrapers worldwide of that height to be built of (a special blend of lighter & stronger) reinforced concrete instead of steel as its cheaper (since Malaysia has way less metal ores than sand), which also makes the skyscraper more resistant to strong winds too
Well... The UK had catenary posts made out of - wood. Not joking, nor jesting, on the long closed Woodhead line, a large number of the catenary posts were wood. This is for a 1500v DC system, so not to be sniffed at!
It just reminds me of the Balkans back in 1963! The complex shunting, the rattly track, the trundling through this wild scenery. Quite nostalgic. At my age I don't think I can cope with it though - But the West Highland lines to Mallaig and Oban are magnificent and make up for this. No passports there at least - unless the independence guys get their way!
Great video !!
I love such unique trips so muuuch 🎉🎉🎉 Big memories! Thanks for bringing them to us Thibault 😊😊
Regarding trains, Romania is so very special. I had a train with just one wagon and a loco from Iasi to Ungheni/Moldova. And In Iași I saw a former German 628 train, that was in service here in my region until 2021.
Oh yes, I miss riding with a train and being able to open the window. Our railroad between Ulm and Lindau was just electrified and the only old school train is a “bicycle express” with a 218 locomotive and old school coaches. Loving it
The red one next toe the ex-SNCF train ( at 2,46) is an ex-NS train. A DH-2, build by Waggonfabrik Uederingen AG. It was used for regional services in the north of The Netherlands.
Fantastic sharing😊
Super nice Video! BIG LIKE😍👍👍👍
Das ist was für einen hartgesottenen Nostalgiker wie mich. ❤️
I remember the old Sirkusi station in Istanbul from the 1980s. Just a couple of blocks away was the old red light district, which was always bustling at night. The old district was legal, lined for several blocks with brothels that displayed their "wares." Now it is gone.
Fantastic thanks felt like really 17:33 travelling in the train 😊❤
Great video - thanks. In 2008 I travelled from the top of Norway To Istanbul mainly by train & ferry boat. Unfortunately the line from Plovdiv (Bulgaria) to Turkey was closed at the time so we had to finish the journey by bus.
The blue screens are the digital schedule. The 72500 DMU train is not CFR, it`s a private operator on the same railway
Awesome video. I loved whaching it. I really liked the scenaries aling the way and through the bulgarian mountains. And the sound of the jointed track... music to my ears.
A small correction for the begining, where that french X75000 was not owned by CFR, but by one of the private operators, Regio Calatori.
CFR does indeed buy second hand rolling atock from abroad, a good example being the Z electric trains from SNCF(as far as I know, not in use anymore even here) and a few other examples but does not own trains like that one. The private operators also buy a lot of sh rolling stock, as you could see. Not that important, but I thought you might like the extra info.
I hope you'll take a trip around the Carpathian Mountains too, for some awesome scenaries and some trains that i love.
Cheers!
Brother, in Germany i almost got a warning by the police for filming in the train😂 somebody had a problem with it.
#justgermanthings :D
Zazdroszczę takich podróży. Też uwielbiam kolej. Pozdrowienia z Polski :)
Even me, from India 🎉
Did you check the Bucharest to Varna route? Recently, this train goes to just 2 routes in Bulgaria, and one route to Turkey. There is a coach to Sofia from BDZ, a coach to Varna from CFR, and a coach to Istanbul from TCDD. There are times when the coach to Varna can also be from BDZ.
So happy to see my hometown in your video…Ruse❤️
The old french trains belong to a private company Regio Calatori
The DMU you showed belongs to a private operator called Regio Calatori. CFR uses old electric and diesel locos and has diesel Siemens units bought in the early 2000's
This is so satisfying to watch absolutely amazing I want to see more 👍🏻
On this dokument Is fact to Bulgaria was in the socialistic block part. This Bospor expres was hauled by locomotive Škoda from the Czechia, Pilsen, and was completed from the Y-type Fast train cars Gorlitz from the DDR/easr Germany.
In Austria we also have catenary poles made from concrete!
merci un vrai plaisir
so good that i found your channel
2:52 sorry, but these purchases were not made by CFR, thry were made by some private train companies. There are a lot of them in Romania, and they are mainly based on second-hand trains
The ex 72500 DMU is owned by a private operator, as do all second hand stock you will see in Romania, CFR operates 99% only with loco + cars consits.
Beautiful train beautiful journey 💯👍🌹
It was a nice experience watching your video. A very objective and nice description. I can tell you are pasionate about trains and not doing this just for youtube. A true Sheldon Cooper if you know what I mean. :) Safe travels friend!
I just did the same trip a few days ago, was a comfortable ride. One correction, the tickets can be booked online - I did so on the website of the Romanian Railways. It was not possible to only book a reservation (to use with an interrail ticket). I needed to catch the connection so to be certain bought a ticket online, and in Bucharest station it was easy to book a reservation and I cancelled the ticket purchased online (this can only be done online, there is a small fee). The border controls take some time - and some of the stops along the way - reconfiguring the train - are a bit long, but good to stretch your legs a bit. With the interrail app you have a decent idea about the timeline of the trip, but it would be nice if the operators would announce the timeline at different stops - I got some cold drinks in Bulgaria and at the Turkish border. Comfort was ok, I ended up alone in a 4-person couchette and the car was about 50per cent full. The toilet on our car (at least on the end I used was a classic porcelain toilet bowl, it was clean. Air conditioning did not work until the last station in Romania. Opening the window helped a bit but a lot of dust entered the car. The trip through Bulgaria was stunning and very relaxing. The border crossing with Turkey took some time - and in the middle of the night - but all said, it was efficient - just for you own comfort try to travel as light as possible.. At the arrival station in Istanbul there are only a few ticket machines to get the Istanbul card for public transport. The train ride from the station to the city center took about 30 minutes. I agree a very nice experience, comfortable, 'old school' rail travel. Some tips: take enough food and drink (it can be hot on the train). there are loads of sandwich shops and small supermarkets in or near Bucharest station, travel as light as you can and enjoy the ride. Look forward to take the train from Istanbul to Sofia soon...
I remember I was the only person in the two carriage train from the border to Oradea (Ro). This year I will visit Greece, Bulgaria and Bucuresti for the first time
Excellent video as always... Thank you.
2:39 bigass digital display, 2:50 not a CFR train. Nice video anyway! Thanks for sharing!
nice video mister 🤩🤩🤩
Good job 👍👏
As always great work, thank you very much
Good Rail Video
Interesting that Romanian uses Gara for station, like the French use Gare, while Spanish and Italian use the Estacion/Stazione variation.
Interestingly, Turkish uses both :)
@@irregular_force2602 We use both as well in Romania. We say „gara” or „stație” depending on the context.
In Bulgarian is also Gara. The only slavic language using Gara. All other slavic languages using Stancija.
Romania uses Gară , not gara.
Gara means the train station , not train station
Fantastic 🌹
9:07 that's an ex-DSB EA locomotive. I believe Denmark sold most of them to Bulgaria. Still looks great, especially in the DB livery.
No, these are owned by DB Cargo Bulgaria as written on the loco.
@@ki5739 Yes. They are owned by DB Cargo, but they were bought from DSB a few years ago. They were the first electric locomotives in Denmark and entered service in 1986.
@@NerdX151 I meant that they had not been sent directly from Denmark to Bulgaria but to DB first, which use them for their cargo services in Bulgaria.
Didn't DSB have electric trains before 1986?
@@ki5739 Nope. Only electric DMU's for the S-Train network. Our politicians opted for diesel as it was cheaper at the time.
Hi Thibault, thanks for your content. Very interesting for those of us embarking on new journeys. We've done many night trains in Europe but plan to take the train through South-East Europe to Turkey - the Dacia, followed by the Bosphorus. I can see sleeper cars on the Dacia but not the Bosphorus. There is reference to three-person sleeper cars on the Interrail site but I don't really trust it for its accuracy or regular updating. I can find no info elsewhere save for couchettes, though they do look closer to sleeping cars re bedding etc. so that in itself is not a deal breaker. The issue is more privacy. Do you or any of those commenting know whether it is feasible, in the absence of a three bed sleeper compartment, to purchase a four bed couchette and pay for the extra bed in order to give more privacy and alleviate worry for my wife and young daughter? We usually book three-bed sleepers on the OBB night jet and Trenitalia Inter Notte services. P.S Any knowledge about sleepers on the Chopin service - can't see any scheduled serve or know how to book the train from Krakow to Budapest. Kind regards, Mark
Awesome video. I've been on the Sofia-Istanbul sleeper and indeed it was a great experience apart from the Turkish border control. It's a lot busier than Bucharest-Istanbul seems to be - I wanted to book a ticket in early may and they were sold out for a few weeks ahead and they run more carriages from Sofia.
15:42 indeed. man i miss being a kid and going to the grandparents by train in Romania :(
12:39 In fact in Bulgaria it is Stara Planina or Old Mountain.
02:57 that is not CFR , it's Regio Calatori, a private railway company.
the same thing happened to me - in summer 2017 aboard the CFR sleeping car Bucharest - Istanbul Halkalo
magnifique voyage de train
Fantastic railway.
Great to see ur vodeo
Love and respect from Pakistan railway 🌹
This summer me also traveling wiht the BDZ night tran from the see to do Sofia ,was very nice.
Great video. Thanks for posting. Last year, I travelled in the daily overnight train from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Istanbul. I felt I was an extra in the James Bond movie "From Russia with Love." Not much had changed since the 1960s, but it was for me a wonderful and nostalgic experience. There is much to be said about these journeys. They have character, and so much more interesting than the clinical and soulless rail travel found alost everywhere today. One thing to point out if you are arriving in Halkali station from outside Turkiye. Take with you some Turkish cash, especially 50 lira notes. There are no cash dispensing machines in the station or within a kilometre walk! The ticket machines do not accept credit cards - only 50 lira notes. If you arrive cashless, then you can't buy a ticket to get on to the metro system. I was lucky - there was a bread stall in the street outside the station, who changed my cash for me - I think he must do a good trade with frustrated tourists. The bread "simit" is always fresh and tasty, so if you are stuck, you can try that.
this has changed. You can now use your Mastercard debit or credit cards on all Istanbul buses, metro, trains and ferries. ❤
@@fatihgunay4616 Yes things have improved a lot since my visit last year. It is refreshing to see such investment in public transit of all types in Turkiye.
Nice video. Best wishes from: Sanjit Dutta. India, West Bengal, Howrah.
Superrrrrr 👍👍👍😌😌😌
Good job man! Like your materials. Keep going regards
Thank you for your videos. Here's a small correction/addition: I do not know about June 2022, but I took the train in 2023 and I booked it online. You are just asked to pick up the tickets in person in the international tickets office.
great trip, great video
I traveled the Sofia-Istanbul direct one back in 2010 to the old main station in istanbul. The border control in turkey wasn’t that complicated back then as far as I remember. Also there were several cars not just the one today.
Did Interrail from Munich to Istanbul via Zagreb & Sofia and back via Greece and the ferry to italy. fun times
good old times
Balkan trains are always an adventure right?
Greetings From Novi Sad Serbia 🇷🇸!
Exactly, that's why Balkan rides are amongst my most memorable!
big like bro ;)
I live in Istanbul. I would like to travel by this train.
Stylééé !
Awesome train report. Oh it's like a ghost train 😮😮😮! If someone comes knocking on your door, it's scary man! Subbed you 😊😊😊
14:07 what if you do a number 2 on those, is there a way to flush them, I'm still surprised that they exist in European train routes
Born in 1983 I still had the experience in post soviet countries with open window (it would open straight down, and you can easily even put you upper body out of the window) it was the best. I think this is the real railroad experience by smelling, hearing, feeling the railroad around you. Too bad modern world is a bunch of whiners and safety freak money hungry consumers with that it's nearly impossible unless going to Eastern Europe or post soviet countries. Plus the post soviet is 1520mm which make them much larger, and soviet Skoda's like CHs7, CHs8, CHs4 were the pices of art.
Used two days ago from Sofia to Istanbul. Great experience the only drawback is the passport and baggage check in the middle of the night at the Turkish border :(
Excllent Video at the Border Station Ruse you saw a Bulgarian DR Baureihe 110-112 DB Baureihe 202-204 298 V100 Ost Fabriqué en République Démocratique Allemand. Another Bulgarian locomotives that is from the former German Democratic Republic which you spelt as République Démocratique Allemande, is BDZ Class 52 known in Germany as the DB Baureihe 345-347 V60 Ost Goldbroiler. Turkish style toilet seems to be the same as a Japanese style toilet. The Turkish couchette carriage should have been ordered by SNCF for their Corail sleeper
Turkey produce sleeper cars. Some 10 years ago BDZ bought such sleepers for its night trains in Bulgaria. The feedback from travelers is usually very positive.
turkish coaches have a western toilet on one end and an oriental one on the other end.
As summer comes, if you want you should do a trip in Romania with cross-country seasonal overnight trains that go from Satu Mare (North-West) to Mangalia (South East)
Thank you very much for the video I visit at2020
6:45 - I had travelled from Dresden to Warsaw being the only passenger onboard a whole route, so I felt you
Nice accommodations. Pleasant and clean toilet. I would miss a dining car for a journey that long. Thanks Thibault 😀💚