Romania ( ro, România, bg, Румъния, Rumŭniya) is an international
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
running daily from
Bucharest,
Romania to
Sofia,
Bulgaria. During summer months, the train operates together with the
Bosphorus Express from Bucharest to
Gorna Oryahovica, where the latter heads southeast toward
Istanbul,
Turkey.
''Romania'' is operated by two national railway operators:
Căile Ferate Române and the
Bulgarian State Railways.
Route description
The route of the Romania begins at
North station in Bucharest. The joint Romania/Bosphorus Express departs the station at 12:45
EET and heads west along
Route 900 until
Videle, where it branches south and heads toward
Giurgiu
Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...
.
At
Giurgiu North station, border police board the train and conduct a passport and customs control. Afterwards, the train crosses the
Danube river via the
Danube Bridge and enters
Ruse,
Bulgaria. After an hour break at
Central station in Ruse, the Romania heads southwest toward
Gorna Oryahovica. The train travels across mostly flat farmland with some rolling hills; but is forced to run at relatively slow speeds due to the winding route of the railway. Scheduled arrival at Gorna Oryahovica is at 18:28, where the Bosphorus Express is decoupled.
The Romania then continues west along flat farmland, north of the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
, arriving at
Pleven
Pleven ( bg, Плèвен ) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest ...
at 19:38. The route then turns southwest and after
Cherven Bryag, enters the western Balkan Mountains. The Romania traverses the winding route through the mountains, stopping at
Mezdra and
Svoge
Svoge ( bg, Своге, ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the gorge of the Iskar River, at the place where the mountains Mala planina, Golema planina and Ponor meet, 40 km north of the capital Sofia. Svoge is ...
until exiting the mountain range near
Novi Iskar
Novi Iskar ( bg, Нови Искър ) is a town in Western Bulgaria, located in Sofia City Province, which is a part of the Municipality of Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria).
It is often regarded as a northern suburb of Bulgarian capital Sofia and ...
, just north of
Sofia. After a quick stop at
Sofia North station, the Romania arrives at
Sofia Central Station at 22:25.
Track owners
The Romania runs on track owned by
Căile Ferate Române (CFR) and the
National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC).
*CFR
Route 900, Bucharest to Videle
*CFR
Route 902, Videle to Giurgiu
*CFR/NRIC
Danube Bridge, Giurgiu to Ruse
*NRIC
Ruse-Stara Zagora railway, Ruse to Gorna Oryahovica
*NRIC
Sofia-Varna railway, Gorna Oryahovica to Sofia
References
{{reflist
External links
CFR official websiteBDZ official website
Passenger rail transport in Romania
Passenger rail transport in Bulgaria
International named passenger trains