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 a ticket, and what do the official delay figures show? Advance-purchase discounts are available online, at CFR ticket offices and agencies that issue electronically, and at CFR ticket machines. The final price depends on the train, purchase date and applicable offer; buying on board can cost more. Across six routes, observed journeys run from 2h01 to 8h54, with fares of RON 64.45–151.38. CFR SA reports 67.84% of passenger trains ran regularly in 2025. Romanian domestic passenger services are exempt from EU Article 19 compensation until 2 December 2029.
Times and fares snapshot the 25.09.2026 services, queried 18.09.2026: every figure carries its date, re-check before travel.
This timetable is a dated snapshot, not live information. IC/IR/IRN reservations are included in the fare; buying on board can cost more. Official reports publish different delay and regularity indicators. Check whether EU compensation rules apply to your service.
Find a train by time and budget
Set a journey time and budget to filter five routes from Bucharest. Before using the calculator below, choose a journey type; Romanian domestic passenger trains are exempt from Article 19 until 2 December 2029. Route times and fares are 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 ways to buy a ticket
Eligible tickets for CFR Regio, InterRegio and InterCity trains, in first or second class, receive a 5% advance-purchase discount when bought 6–10 days ahead and 10% from 11 days ahead, within the permitted advance-sale period. The purchase day is not counted.
The discount applies to the full or child transport fare for each train. Seat reservations and sleeper or couchette supplements are paid in full. It cannot be combined with other commercial offers, such as a return ticket, or statutory concessions. CFR advance-purchase conditions, checked on 18 October 2026.
Buy 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
Ticket offices, agencies or machines
Station ticket offices, CFR travel agencies, authorized agents, and station vending machines. Advance-purchase discounts are also available at CFR offices and agencies issuing electronically through xSell, and at CFR machines. Manual-issue points are excluded. 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
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. Examples of situations charged 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 and compensation
CFR SA and CFR Călători publish different indicators about delays. EU rules set compensation for services within their scope; Romania exempts domestic passenger rail from Article 19 until 2 December 2029.
What official reports show
Official reports publish indicators on regularity and delays. CFR SA reports that 67.84% of passenger trains ran regularly in 2025, with 6,330,500 cumulative delay minutes; the figures cover passenger operators using CFR SA infrastructure. Separately, CFR Călători says 47.43% of the services it analysed in 2024 had an arrival delay. The indicators use different definitions and do not predict the delay of a particular train.
Sources: CFR SA 2025 report; CFR Călători 2023–24 quality report
Compensation: where it applies
EU Regulation 2021/782, Art. 19, provides 25% compensation for a 60–119 minute delay at the final destination and 50% from 120 minutes, only for services covered by that article. Art. 7 of Romanian Government Decision 527/2023 exempts domestic passenger rail services in Romania until 2 December 2029; Arts. 5–6 add exemptions for certain regional, urban, and suburban services. Those percentages therefore do not create an automatic compensation right for domestic trains in Romania. For an international journey, check the route, ticket, and operator. Refund, rerouting, and complaint rights are separate and need their own check.
Sources: GD 527/2023, Arts. 5–7; EU Regulation 2021/782, Art. 19
Timetables can change
Timetables change seasonally, fares are query-time prices (sometimes with advance-purchase discounts), and works can alter routes. Each figure here carries two dates (service 25.09.2026, query 18.09.2026). Re-check in the week you travel and allow at least 30 minutes for a connection; CFR's search starts at a 15-minute minimum transfer.
Source: CFR timetable and fare query
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)
Other rail and transfer guides
How the timetable and rules were checked
- Timetables: the official bilete.cfrcalatori.ro query on 18.09.2026 for services of 25.09.2026, departures after 06:00, ordered by duration. Every figure carries its service and query date. Fares are query-time adult 2nd-class prices.
- Buying, sleeper, and bike rules come from CFR pages checked 18.09.2026. EU Regulation 2021/782 Article 19 compensation bands apply only to services within that article’s scope. Romanian Government Decision 527/2023, Art. 7, exempts domestic passenger services until 2 Dec 2029; Arts. 5–6 add exemptions for certain regional, urban, and suburban services.
- CFR SA’s 2025 activity report says 67.84% of passenger trains on its infrastructure ran regularly and records 6,330,500 cumulative delay minutes. CFR Călători’s 2024 quality report says 47.43% of the services it analysed had an arrival delay. These indicators have different definitions and do not predict an individual train’s delay. CFR SA 2025 report, pp. 56–57 · CFR Călători 2023–24 quality report, p. 5 · CFR Călători reports.
- Private operators are named only (sites opened 18.09.2026), no timetables. Heritage rail lives at the site’s Mocănițe guide.
- CFR advance-purchase discount rules, including eligible channels and exclusions, were checked separately on 18 October 2026. The timetable and six route fares remain the dated September queries.
Sources
Official CFR timetable and fare queries, delay and service-quality reports, CFR passenger-rights pages, Government Decision 527/2023, and EU Regulation 2021/782. Full list in “Method & sources”.