Romanian trains · v1 · EN / ZH / RO · snapshot, not live
Trains in Romania: CFR Tickets, Six Trunk Routes, and the Truth About Delays
Where do you buy the ticket, and how late will the train be? Online is cheapest and easiest, the station office is the standard fare, on board costs most; six trunk routes from 2h01 to 8h54, fares RON 64.45–151.38; CFR publishes no punctuality rate, but compensation is in the EU regulation: 25% past 60 minutes, 50% past 120.
Times and fares snapshot the 25.09.2026 services, queried 18.09.2026: every figure carries its date, re-check before travel.
Three sentences to keep: this is no real-time timetable, it is a dated snapshot; on IC/IR/IRN the reservation is included in the fare, buying on board costs more; there is no 'average X minutes' — only the compensation rule, and the line is at 60 minutes.
Find a train: time + budget; compensation: minutes + price
Above, pick time and budget to filter the five trunk routes out of Bucharest; below, enter delay minutes and fare to compute EU-regulation compensation. The time-and-fare cards sit in the next section.
Six trunk routes: time snapshots + 2nd-class fare
Services of 25.09.2026 (Friday), queried 18.09.2026 on the CFR site, departures after 06:00, ordered by duration. Adult 2nd-class fares at query-time prices (with anticipation discounts). Direct counts are the day's snapshot: each timetable change resets them.
Bucharest North–Brașov — 2h15 · 166km · 81.08 lei
IC 531 12:21→14:36 · stops: Ploiești Vest · 20 directs that day
Gateway to the mountains: Sinaia, Bușteni, Predeal are on this line (stops on slower trains). Fastest 2h15, about 20 directs a day — the densest of the six routes here.
Source: CFR timetables + fares · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Bucharest North–Constanța — 2h01 · 225km · 100.08 lei
IC 538 09:19→11:20 · mostly non-stop · 15 directs that day
To the Black Sea. Fastest 2h01, about 15 directs a day. Summer runs differ: timetables change seasonally, re-check before travel.
Source: CFR timetables + fares · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Bucharest North–Sibiu — 5h30 · 315km · 105.30 lei
IRN 472 18:24→23:54 · via Brașov · 3 directs that day
Only 3 directs a day, fastest 5h30 (IRN 472, with sleeper/couchette cars). Otherwise change at Brașov: check it is one ticket.
Source: CFR timetables + fares · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Bucharest North–Sighișoara — 6h10 · 294km · 96.75 lei
IRN 346 16:00→22:10 · via Brașov · 4 directs that day
The medieval citadel. Fastest 6h10, 4 directs a day. Night train IRN 1641 arrives at 03:51: take it only if you sleep by the station.
Source: CFR timetables + fares · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Bucharest North–Cluj Napoca — 8h54 · 497km · 151.38 lei
IC 531 12:21→21:15 · via Brașov–Sighișoara · 4 directs that day
The longest trunk: fastest 8h54 (IC 531), night train 9h50 (IRN 1641, departs 21:20). Beware IR 1835: direct but via the southern route, 14h36 — read the duration, not just 'direct'.
Source: CFR timetables + fares · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Brașov–Sibiu — 2h48 · 149km · 64.45 lei
IRN 472 21:06→23:54 · IR about 2h50; slow R 3h37–4h06 · 6 directs that day
Between the two Transylvanian cities: 6 directs a day. IR about 2h50; slow R from 3h37, on some the seat reservation is optional.
Source: CFR timetables + fares · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Three buying rungs: online → station → on board
Each rung costs more than the last (two exceptions). Every rung carries its 'what can go wrong', from the CFR pages.
Rung 1: online
On bilete.cfrcalatori.ro or the 'CFR Călători bilete online' app: search the timetable, then buy; on IC/IR/IRN the seat reservation is mandatory and automatically included in the fare. What can go wrong: sold out on busy days, failed payment, the pickup code landing in spam. Sleeper/couchette tickets work online too, max. 30 days ahead.
Source: CFR buying page + on-board fare
Rung 2: station office / agencies / machines
Station ticket offices, CFR travel agencies, authorized agents, and station vending machines. This is the reference for the standard fare (tarif de casă). Sleeper/couchette tickets sell at offices until 5 minutes before departure (formation or en-route stations, subject to availability). What can go wrong: queues, short office hours at small stations, machines taking only card or only cash.
Source: CFR buying page + on-board fare
Rung 3: on board, from the train staff
You can board without a ticket, but you buy from the train staff at the on-board fare (tarif de taxare în tren), higher than the office fare. Two exceptions at office fare: boarding at halts with no sales point, or outside ticket-office hours — provided you ask for the ticket immediately after boarding, otherwise the on-board fare still applies. Note: transport fares do not include the seat-reservation ticket. A ticket invalid for that date and train is treated the same way on board.
Source: CFR buying page + on-board fare
Night trains and sleepers: IRN 1641, all fares
The Bucharest–Cluj night train with all five berths priced for real; the sleeper rules line by line from the CFR page.
Night trains: IRN 1641 and sleeper/couchette rules
IRN 1641: departs 21:20, arrives 07:10 (+1), 9h50.
IRN 1641 (Bucharest North 21:20 — Cluj 07:10 +1, 9h50, 497 km, via Brașov–Sighișoara): adult seat RON 131.90, 6-berth couchette 192.90, 4-berth 216.40, 2-berth sleeper 337.60, single 460.60 (25.09.2026 service, queried 18.09.2026). Sleeper cabin: 2 berths + washbasin, each traveler gets a disposable kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel, linen + 0.5 l water); couchette: 4 or 6 berths, linen each. A single sleeper berth is sold only with stated gender (M/F). Sleepers are priced as 'hotel units on wheels'. The 5-minute rule: after the cutoff you buy only from the car attendant (subject to availability, at office fare); at the door you show the ticket proving fare + reservation paid. Sleeper routes (return): Oradea, Satu Mare, Cluj, Vatra Dornei–Suceava, Arad, Timișoara — all to Bucharest North. Couchettes additionally cover Baia Mare–Bucharest, Timișoara–Iași, Cluj–Iași (IR 1763/1765).
| Berth | Adult fare (lei) |
|---|---|
| Seat | 131.90 |
| Couchette 6 | 192.90 |
| Couchette 4 | 216.40 |
| Sleeper 2 | 337.60 |
| Sleeper single | 460.60 |
Source: CFR fares + sleepers · 2026-09-25/2026-09-18
Seats and bikes
How reservations are charged and how bikes are tariffed: figures from the CFR tables.
Seats: 1st / 2nd class and reservations
On IC/IR/IRN seats come with mandatory reservation, automatically included in the fare. On some R trains it is optional. The timetable's 'Servicii' symbols show what the consist has: bikes, restaurant/bar only on some trains — check the symbols before buying.
Source: CFR timetable
Bikes: folding bikes free, non-folding only in cars with bike space
Official rules (2026-09-18): non-folding bikes only in cars built with bike space, one per person, subject to availability; find them by the bike icon under 'Servicii' in the timetable or ask the ticket office. On reservation trains, seats are allocated next to the bike storage. Non-folding fares by distance (from 14.12.2025, incl. 21% VAT): 61–120 km RON 11.50, 121–250 km RON 17.50, 251–500 km RON 23.50. Folding bikes ride free as hand luggage in 1st and 2nd class; skis as hand luggage in 2nd class, space permitting.
| Distance | Per bike (lei) |
|---|---|
| 1–60 km | 8.00 |
| 61–120 km | 11.50 |
| 121–250 km | 17.50 |
| 251–500 km | 23.50 |
| >500 km | 29.00 |
This page's six routes under this table: Brașov 17.50, Constanța 17.50, Sibiu 23.50, Sighișoara 23.50, Cluj 23.50, Brașov–Sibiu 17.50 lei/bike.
Source: CFR bike page (fares since 14.12.2025)
Delays: documented only
We searched the CFR site end to end: there is no punctuality rate to write — and that is the finding. Below are only three things: the no-data statement, the compensation regulation, the volatility-flag rule.
CFR publishes no punctuality rate
CFR publishes no punctuality rate. Searching 'punctualitate' on cfrcalatori.ro (2026-09-18) returns only complaint forms, no statistics; same for quality reports. This page invents no 'average delay of X minutes'. Only three things belong in your plan: the timetable is a snapshot (current tariffs valid from 14.12.2025; each timetable change resets them), engineering-work notices live in CFR press releases (e.g. the Ghimeș–Lunca de Mijloc works notice of 11.09.2026), and delay compensation follows the EU regulation (below).
Source: CFR site search (no statistics)
Compensation
Delay compensation (EU Regulation 2021/782, Art. 19, delay at final destination): 60–119 minutes = 25% of the ticket price, 120 minutes or more = 50%. Paid within 1 month of the claim; may be vouchers, but must be money at the passenger's request. No payment for: extraordinary circumstances independent of rail operation (extreme weather, major natural disasters, major public-health crises, if the undertaking did its due diligence), the passenger's fault, third-party conduct. Where to claim: the CFR online form (with e-mail confirmation), stations/agencies, post (SNTFC CFR Călători, Compartiment Relații cu Clienții, B-dul Dinicu Golescu 38, 010873 București), e-mail petitii@cfrcalatori.ro; the EU common form is accepted in Romanian and English. Supervisor: ASFR (Calea Griviței 393, Bucharest; passengersrights@sigurantaferoviara.ro).
Source: CFR compensation + EU Regulation 2021/782
Volatility flag
The volatility-flag rule: timetables change seasonally (current tariffs from 14.12.2025), fares are those at query time (with anticipation discounts), works notices land any time. So every figure here carries two dates (service 25.09.2026, query 18.09.2026). Put the same insurance in your plan: re-check the timetable in departure week and allow at least 30 minutes for connections — the search page starts at a 15-minute minimum transfer, 30 is for the delay.
Source: CFR site search (no statistics)
Other operators and site neighbors
Beyond CFR, private operators run some sections: named only, no timetables (theirs live on their own sites). Site neighbors are data and history, not buying guides.
Private operators (sites opened 18.09.2026, named only)
Source: company sites (opened 2026-09-18)
Site neighbors
Heritage rail lives at mocanita(the narrow-gauge steam mocănița, not written here); timetable research at o-zi-pe-sine(sister site) and gtfs-feroviar; the airport train in the Bucharest layover guide escala-bucuresti.
Method box
- Timetables: the official bilete.cfrcalatori.ro query (18.09.2026), services of 25.09.2026, departures after 06:00 ordered by duration; every figure carries service date + query date. Adult 2nd-class fares at query-time prices.
- Rules: the three rungs, on-board fares, the sleeper 5-minute rule, bike tariffs, compensation bands — all paraphrased from cfrcalatori.ro pages (fetched 18.09.2026); the 25%/50% rates and 1-month payment verified in EU Regulation 2021/782, Art. 19, on EUR-Lex.
- Delays: documented only. 'Punctualitate' and quality-report searches return no statistics (complaint forms only), so the page has no punctuality rate and no 'average delay'.
- Private operators are named only (sites opened 18.09.2026), no timetables. Heritage rail lives at the site's mocanita; not written here.
Sources note
(timetables) · (fares) · (buying) · (on-board fare) · (sleepers) · (bikes) · (compensation) · (EU Regulation 2021/782) · (searches without statistics). Full list on the method page.