The backbone of Romania’s passenger rail network should be considered to be its impressive network of sleeper trains. The country isn’t known for its fast railway line speeds and therefore optimises its long distance travel options through the provision of an extensive network of overnight trains, almost all operated by state-owned company, CFR Călători.
I’ve taken a few overnight trips internationally to and from cities in Romania, including the time effective and scenic Dacia Express from Vienna to Bucharest and, the wonderfully retro, with excellent restaurant carriage on the Hungarian Corona InterCity from Budapest to Braşov – but how do its domestic services compare?
The majority of the domestic services are operated by former German-built carriages from 1965, that are the oldest sleepers in operation in Europe! What are they like to travel on sixty years later? Well, read on to find out as I take a trip from the Romanian capital, Bucharest, to the capital of the Transylvania region, Cluj Napoca.
I booked the InterRegio Night (IRN) number 1641, departing Bucureşti Gara de Nord (Bucharest North station) at 21:03 on a warm June evening in 2024 and arrived at Cluj Napoca at 07:06, the following morning. Here’s the route map showing the route through the Carpathian mountains, however, we wouldn’t see any of that with this particular trip being in darkness.
Departure from Bucuresti Gara de Nord
Bucharest’s main station, București Gara de Nord, dates back to 1872 and has a wonderful facade and retro interior. Facilities wise, there are shops including eateries and coffee shops, left luggage lockers and a staffed ticket office, with a dedicated international window. Despite having electronic departure boards, the station has retained a board with a full list of departures.
Onboard the Bucharest to Cluj Napoca sleeper train
Glancing up at one of the electronic departure boards, the white on blue text confirmed that our IRN 1641 train would depart from Platform 9 this evening, with Satu Mare advertised on the departure boards as the ‘final’ destination. This isn’t technically accurate though as the IRN 1641 is a far reaching train that serves a multitude of destinations, highlighting the need to come back to Romania again to discover these unknown places.
As is commonplace for sleeper trains across Europe, carriages split en-route and join others through the night to connect as many places as possible efficiently. This one train served an impressive five destinations, the four further ones being Baia Mare, Sighetu Marmaţiei, Bistriţa and Cluj Napoca and stopping at others en-route. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to worry about the logistics of de-coupling and coupling carriages from the comfort of my compartment.
Having walked the length of the twelve carriage train from rear to the front, there was my carriage – number 1 – right behind the ‘Class 47’ locomotive in its striking red livery.
The portion serving Cluj Napoca on the IRN 1641 offered a choice of one sleeping car, two couchette carriages and a seated carriage. I was booked in its one sleeper carriage.
Sleeping Car
The ex-German sleeping car, built in 1965, was branded in CFR’s latest dark blue and grey livery with no hint of it being a vintage gem – aside from the side opening door. Boarding was a certainly a ‘wow’ moment!
Immediately apparent from the first view of the interior was the real wood mahogany panelling in the corridor and gold trim around the doors. I fell in love with this carriage straightaway – clearly built to a high standard of its time and built to last.
The corridor even featured an armchair with its own lamp and table at one end. I didn’t see this being used at all on the journey and I wonder what its original purpose was – whether it’s somewhere for the staff to keep an eye on the passengers or simply a comfortable place to wait for the toilet – do let me know if you know!
I had exclusive occupancy of one of the eleven compartments, which was a real treat. The compartment didn’t disappoint either on the wood front, featuring two beds in bunks in wood casing and wood panelling on the walls. There were multiple lighting options by each bed and in the mirror as well as the ceiling light, and plenty of storage options available on racks. There was also a sink that was elegantly hidden away underneath a, you guessed it, wooden lid with a gold trim.
Compartments can either be booked for solo occupancy or twin occupancy, where if you book only one passenger in the latter category you’ll likely need to share with another traveller of the same gender.
The beds, complete with clean bedding, were surprisingly wide for a sleeper train and comfortable.
The compartment also featured one European charging plug and plenty of options for luggage storage. A wooden step folded down by the sink to give access to these and the upper bunk. There was also a notice about a passenger’s journal where you can leave comments about the service quality – which I was tempted to ask for to have a read but then remembered I can’t speak Romanian.
There is a blackout blind to block out the light but it had seen better days. It decided every so often to retract itself back up again. I did find a creative solution to the problem utilising a bottle of water and a provided coat hanger.
There were two toilets located at either end of the carriage that were reasonably clean. One of them even had a shower. But, as is the case with all the Romanian trains with showers that I’ve experienced, don’t get excited. You’re lucky if there is a trickle of water at all and at that it’s likely to be a cold one. This one was no different.
There was no air conditioning in this sleeping car, unlike on the Dacia Express, which made for a warm night. This was at least initially, after the train had been sat in the sun all day. Once the train gathered up some speed, the compartment did eventually cool down with the window open.
Couchette Car
The IRN 1641 train also offers a cheaper lie-flat option in the couchette carriage. As this was busy, I wasn’t able to get an interior picture this time, although here is a corridor image of the couchette accommodation on the Dacia Express. The couchette car provides compartments of four and six berths that are shared with other passengers. There aren’t any gender specific compartments unlike many couchette accommodations across Europe.
Contrary to the sleeping carriage, the couchette carriage did have air conditioning.
Second Class Seated Carriage
There was also a seated carriage available on the IRN 1641. I was unable to get a photograph of the interior as this was locked off from the couchette and sleeping car accommodations for security purposes.
Onboard catering, or not
There is unfortunately no catering provided onboard the IRN 1641 sleeper train. I had got my hopes up initially with the seated carriage advertising a cup of tea symbol by the exterior door. This was indeed a bistro carriage with Second Class seating, but the bistro was closed. There is also no breakfast provided on domestic sleeper services, so I did need to bring my own provisions!
Scenery
Although I had missed out on the scenery of going through the Carpathian mountains through the night that I experienced on the Dacia Express, there were some scenic parts to waking up in the Transylvania region.
A key benefit of travelling in such a retro sleeping car is the ‘fenster auf’, or open window. Leaning out is not recommended of course, for safety reasons, but at least standing close to it can provide an exhilarating experience and help to wake you up.
Arrival in Cluj Napoca
Facilities wise, Cluj Napoca station offers the essentials. There is a booking office, left luggage lockers, toilets, a café and waiting areas. There is also a Carrefour supermarket close to the station.
Booking and Fares
Tickets for sleeper trains in Romania can be purchased from the CFR Călători website. Don’t forget to type in your station in Romanian, so it’ll be București Nord rather than Bucharest North.
| Journey Leg | Sleeping Car | Couchette Car | Second Class Seated Car |
| Bucuresti Nord to Cluj Napoca | Solo occupancy for 403 lei / €81,00 Twin occupancy per person for 293 lei / €59,00 | Bed in a 6 berth couchette for 188 lei / €38,00 Bed in a 4 berth couchette for 167 lei / €34,00 | Seat for 181 lei / €22,00 |
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Conclusion
The domestic sleeping carriage on many of Romania’s domestic overnight train services may be somewhat elderly now, but it did offer a charm that you won’t find on newer sleeper trains. I particularly liked the wood panelling and how well-built the carriage felt. The services aren’t much to write home about on Romanian sleeper trains, with the absence of catering and working facilities such as the shower, but the comfort made up for it and breathing in fresh Transylvanian air in the morning through the ‘fenster auf’. This is a travel experience worth seeking out.
This travel report was first published in February 2025.
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