Surviving THIRTEEN HOURS on this BRUTAL Balkan Train!

Time for another misadventure on the railways in the Balkans! This time, I'll be riding the international train from Bulgaria to Romania, a beautiful scenic route, while enduring some fairly extreme delays on the way.
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Journey Details:
Origin: Sofia Centralna
Destination: București Nord
Company: Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi (BDŽ) and CFR Călători
Train: Various + Bulgarian Eight-Seater Compartment Stock
Accommodation: Second Class Seat (2nd)
Distance: 526 kilometres / 327 miles
Price: 50.94 lv. (£22.50 / €26.00 / $27.40)
Time: 10 hours, arrived 188 minutes late
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[@Jan_haj]

"This is useful if you're transporting a criminal, but I didn't have any of those with me today" 😂

[@XNekomaru]

I have the impression that the very large opening window would void the only utility of this latch.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

That's a good point. I think the windows lock though. 😂😂😂

[@maho_nishizumi_tigertank]

When did he said that? Give me a timestamp

[@SuperalbsTravels]

@@maho_nishizumi_tigertank 06:07

[@valentinpopescu98]

@@XNekomarugood luck opening them. They open only halfway. I’m Romanian, trust me you won’t fit 😂 some of them don’t open at all

[@dragosalexpop]

You see, here in the Balkans we are used to the trains leaving on time but always arriving late. Still, no matter what happens, the trains are always dependable. Meaning if you need to get to point B, even if your train is late, you will always have a connection waiting for you. Speaking of late, to put things into perspective, in Romania alone, last year the total cumulative time was 4.200.000 minutes late. This means that for 1 year, the trains were late a total of 8 years. Does it sound great? Welcome to the Balkans. And about the border crossing, you'd think we'd get into Schengen by now...

[@nikoolay]

only 8 hours? That's quite good actually

[@somevids4187]

@@nikoolay Years. 8 YEARS!

[@nikoolay]

@@somevids4187 I miss wrote xd, but still can't be surprised. It took me 10 hours to cross the country vertically this year and I will never repeat that if possible with a train again.

[@somevids4187]

@@nikoolay :)) I thought you had Japan as reference.

[@krisven01]

​​@@nikoolayне очаквах да те видя тука 🤣 и на теб ли ти го рекомендна

[@SlazyPlayz]

For those that are curious - the reason BDZ doesn't use it's fastest trains for the Sofia to Bucharest line is because the train tracks in Northern Bulgaria are pretty bad, if not the worst in the country. If you want to take a faster train (160kph), you should be able to do that on the Sofia to Burgas through Plovdiv line after the ongoing repairs/upgrades are done by 25th September (according to "Zhelezoputna infrastruktura" - Железопътна Инфраструктура/Railway Infrastructure, yes that is the name of the company). Of you really want to take an international train on better trains, then you can take the night train from Sofia to Istanbul. Edit: I'm assuming that the tracks in Northern Bulgaria are going to be replaced in the next couple of years, since. Nevertheless I still think the scenery there is pretty great so it just might be worth it.

[@mancampovestiminvatam1281]

I was in BG in 2019. Trains between Kardzhali - Dimitrovgrad - Plovdiv - Sofia - Pleven were way better than the one seen in the video. Had the opportunity to travel with this one, too, but I tore apart the ticket after finding out that my - unsupervised - bike should be at the end of the train while my seat one carriage ahead. I've seen many km of rail tracks freshly repaired and some of the ones near Plovdiv were under repair on the day I arrived in that loveable city (it has the same sweet spot in my heart as Brasov, RO, but with a different vibe). It would be excellent to have better tracks and trains between the 2 countries ASAP. I need some cheap and fast transport for my bike back to Kardzhali. PS: do you know a news source which talks frequently about the subject of Bulgarian railways? I can read chirillic and google does the rest.

[@SlazyPlayz]

@@mancampovestiminvatam1281 I think the railway infrastructure company posts its own news, which cover almost anything you'd need, but I'm not sure about BDZ (the railway company). You'd have to see for yourself.

[@mancampovestiminvatam1281]

ok. Thanks.

[@SlazyPlayz]

@@mancampovestiminvatam1281 You're welcome

[@AMPProf]

Dumb so Dumb... Ok Thank you

[@LPPokefan]

Love the wholesome exchange of greetings between the DB Cargo train driver and the passenger at 17:06, you can really see the passenger smiling.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It was great! 😁

[@kirilraychev732]

I'm from Bulgaria and i would love have newer trains, especially for distance but at least the prices are relatively cheap and the views are nice, so it's a nice experience too. I'm guessing some of our train models are sitting in a museums elsewhere in Europe 😃.

[@peterdenov4898]

You can't have those with dated infrastructure like that & highly questionable passengers that quite literally love to take one big smelly dump on the passenger seats. Edit: and the reason why we still use those old locomotives and cabins of questionable quality is because of maintenance reasons. Newer German trains are a shiny irreparable scam that was made to break very easily for the sake of monopolised maintenance service, which is utter BS.

[@XGamerCraftsX]

im from bulgaria too

[@Mastakilla91]

You don't need new trains necessarily for this route. Just refurbish the coaches, restore/clean the stations and rebuild the tracks for 160 km/h.

[@michielsmetsers8102]

I took this route the other way around last summer, even though the carriages where old they where clean and comfy (except the toilets ahaha) and the landscapes you're traveling through are AMAZING. I definitely recommend this route!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It is a beautiful scenic route indeed! 😍

[@radupopescu9977]

I agree, and the fact that windows are opening (with no AC) is a blessed thing, because you can admire the scenery.

[@TrainspotterBY]

Would be cool to see a Trip Report of the railway with the Even worse carriages. Great Video👍

[@playerscobongameplay]

Romanian double decker are bad

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Hopefully one day!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

And thanks :)

[@stanstankov9153]

Actually trains in the US are not different ..they are pretty much the same

[@naruciakk]

I took this train in 2022. but in the other direction (I was going north to south, from Bucharest to Sofia, as a part of the train journey to Istanbul). I was indeed quite brutal (but the train was "just" 1 hour late as far as I remember), but the views near the border are so beautiful.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

That's a good amount of delay! 😂😂😂

[@naruciakk]

@@SuperalbsTravels Well, long-distance trains in the Balkans are something special ;) On Sofia-Istanbul I think we were around 2h later, maybe a bit less, but barely, because the passport control on the border took awhile. But on a sleeper it's much more convenient to have an hour of sleep more or something ;)

[@alanpotter8680]

@@naruciakk I guess the "we get there whenever we get there" attitude applies for most of the Balkans. It sort of shows, don't you think?

[@naruciakk]

@@alanpotter8680 Yeah, it's quite visible

[@bjoernaltmann]

I remember the trip back from Berlin to the West in 1989. The train was completely full with people standing along the corridor and I had to sit on a piece of newspaper on the floor in the corridor. At least it wasn’t hot, but it was a long ride and a piece of newspaper only provides a little bit of cushioning.

[@marcinkwiatkowski9926]

Reminds of what it looked like going on a train from my town to the city where I went to university. In pre-EU Poland. When I take it now every now and then it's all airconed and comfy. Man the youngsters these days don't know the "joy" of train travel.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Wow, that sounds like an experience!

[@andreicrupa9212]

The reason for the long time and distance by train between Bucharest and Giurgiu is that a bridge from the former, more direct railroad (built as early as 1869) fell down back in 2005. The line stayed abandoned for almost 15 years and now the line and the bridge are rebuilt and upgraded, so hopefully in the next years the route will live up to modern standards.

[@Alexpeltecu]

At least the direct Bucharest-Giurgiu line is being built and should be ready this year, to cut this detour through Videle. It should take ~45 min between Giurgiu and Bucharest

[@transportromania]

Actually, it shall not take 45 minutes, but about one hour and a half. The mistake that many are makins is caluclating the distance between the cities of Giurgiu and Bucureşti, not between stations of Giurgiu Nord and Bucureşti Nord Station. The direct line goes to Bucureşti Progresu, which was and will be a commuter station, not an international trains terminal. So the trains will have to go around Bucharest, using the "Belt line" for about 30 km. At the tests made last year, this took nearly 45 minutes... so if you have 45 min Giurgiu - Jilava and 45 minutes Jilava - Bucureşti Nord, you'll get the hour and a half. The total distance Giurgiu - Bucureşti Nord is 85 km, compared to the 115 km of the current detour.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Great news! :)

[@Mindphaser1]

@@SuperalbsTravels An old bridge at Gradistea on the direct route collapsed in 2005 and after a long, long delay they started building the new bridge a few years ago. It should be ready in 2024.

[@CalinFR]

@@transportromania de parcă mai contează

[@notactuallymyrealname]

The train journey through the Iskar Gorge is one of my favorite places in the world -- so glad to see it today in your video! I spent a couple of years in Bulgaria in my 20s and, even though my language skills were very good, ticket sellers at Sofia Tsentralna were consistently the rudest group of people I interacted with, and I'm very impressed at your ability to get tickets and get on the right train without (I assume) speaking Bulgarian. As much as I love a train journey, I often recommend bus trips in BG for anyone who doesn't speak the language.

[@onlycoolnameleft]

Don't worry, they are rude to us native speakers too.

[@paulhorn2665]

When I bought a ticket in sofia, the nice lady at the counter, spoke perfect english.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It was an amazing view!

[@rossengeorgiew9589]

​@@onlycoolnameleftза някои неща само тубата с бензина ще помогне... 😂😂

[@jassenjj]

BDZ inhabits a parallel universe far away both in space and time. What I actually see in this video is a great improvement over the old Bulgarian-made carriages 10-15 years ago when was the last time I used a train.

[@ris2203]

Balkan rail system never ceases to disappoint me. I wanted to take a train to Sarajevo and I found out there's not even a single connection from Zagreb... Just 40 years ago you had direct lines over the whole of yugoslavia, but today It's really hard to get anywhere by train.

[@Pollicina_db]

Its because most people from Croatia don’t go to Sarahevo on a daily or even yearly bases. Why have a line between two cities if there aren’t any travelers? In any case you can take a car to there.

[@mariosphere]

​@@Pollicina_db most people from Switzerland don’t go to Paris on a daily or even yearly bases. But we have more than 10 daily direct trains. Why wouldn't that work between Croatia and Sarajevo or other places in Bosnia?

[@PhilipDK5800]

Sadly, ex-Yugoslavia has become a black hole in term of railways. The Sarajevo-Belgrade line has been closed, and the Belgrade-Sofia line now terminates in Nís with the re-opening of the line postponed indefinitely. The line from Mostar to Plocé only operates a few days a week. And the connections between countries in general are in general just awful. My parents still talk warmly about their travels by train all around Yugoslavia in the 1980's, how trains departed often and reliable reaching all corners of Yugoslavia as well as beyond.

[@plonss]

Irresponsible policies are the reason, there is currently no train connection whatsoever between Bosnia and the outside world (except in Summer to the Dalmatian coast of Croatia ?)

[@plonss]

@@PhilipDK5800 The only small ray of light has been the reestablishment recently of a railway connection between Hungary and Serbia (Szeged- Subotica)

[@PhaseControlDNB]

10:31 "Levski station, protect your luggage" as we like to say in Bulgaria :D Gorna Oryahovitsa is also a train station where you have to be on your guard, especially during night trips.

[@Zombot012]

I've taken the train from Sofia to Silistra (near the Romanian border) once in the winter. I actually caught it in Ruse in about 5 in the morning after our bus just declined going through the slippery road ahead. Then it departed in 3 hours after being forbidden to do so but the driver wanted to just get there. After 8 hours (for a trip that normally takes 2 hours from Ruse to Silistra) we arrived in the freezing cold. But the views from the window were absolutely amazing. Hope you enjoyed them, too!

[@Gsoda35]

the upside with slower trains is the great opportunity to watch the world passing by. not too shabby.

[@Mindphaser1]

Nice video. The reason the route between Giurgiu and Bucharest is so long (bypass at Videle) is because a key bridge (Gradistea) on the direct route collapsed in 2005. It took them many years to even start building a new one. The good news is that it will be ready in 2024, so this international route will be faster.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks for sharing the good news!

[@plonss]

Moreover the entire line to Central Romania (Cluj) is being modernized.

[@yogiaol]

18 years Romania do nothing to repair this direct track. Very poor management.

[@thecommentingt34]

​@@yogiaolOur government doesn't give a fuck about anything,half of the country hates the government and the other half love them,I am on the first side,I would do ANYTHING to bring them down.

[@yogiaol]

@@thecommentingt34 More than half of Bulgarians hate the Bulgarian government. Apparently, at these latitudes, everywhere is the same.

[@shadowjoker830]

To be honest I love the old-school trains, for the longest time I didn't own a car and used to travel by these trains all the time, usually Sofia-Varna(about 9 hours) the compartment section ones are just so classy, even being so old and not having air conditioning, there is something special about riding that machine, I can't really describe it newer trains just don't give me that special feeling I get after spending a 9 hour night time ride in one of these. Man, so full of memories!

[@risivenkian]

Your videos are so well made, informative and relaxing! Thank you for taking us on these trips with you 😊

[@mariusiosca6514]

AC In central+ Western Europe means - Air conditioning! In Romania(and Bulgaria) it means Air Conditioned! -by opening the window. That's a lesson I ve learned

[@lychezr]

im a bulgarian myself and this "poor condition" is the best we can get with this country budget, but its also capable to hold on for more than half a century

[@MissAelendil]

bruh its bad, why lie to yourself :D

[@roadmaster935]

I did an Interrail trip through Romania in January this year. The condition of the railway infrastructure and rolling stock was really shocking. We were only travelling on CFR trains which already gave us chills on some trains (especially the Oradea - Halmeu Train), but seeing the rolling stock of some private companies, especially Regio Calatori was shocking. Also the speed of rail travel in the rural areas was insanely low. On the other hand, we were almost always on time... most likely due to the absence of any trains on the next 50kms of rail.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Lucky! I was often late in Romania! Also, some of the private companies have some beautiful modern and clean trains. 😁

[@emypetcu]

you should take Timisoara-Iasi from Romania ... it's nicknamed the Hunger Train ... it takes 16 hours for less than 800km .. usually takes around 18-20hours

[@dddrrmm]

Very nice journey vlog. Thank you for ponouncing Bulgarian names so well.

[@mancampovestiminvatam1281]

Bucuresti is pronounced Bookooresht. When I was in Bulgaria, in 2019, the Sofia train station was incredibly clean. Just visit the toilets in Sofia and Bucharest to see the huge difference. I traveled with 3 trains in BG, from Kardzhali to Plovdiv, Sofia and Pleven. Both countries use the same types of trains, but in different condition. All I can say, they are at least 2 levels above Romanian services (I'm from RO): all trains were clean with no pee smell wandering through the carriages and train stations did not remind me of medieval age diseases, nor bicycle theft while using the toilet. Regarding the train mentioned here, I tore apart the ticket when I found out that my bike should be in the last cart (absolutely no security measures) and I should be one cart ahead. So, I decided to pedal (from Pleven) to Nikopole, take the ferry and, from Turnu Magurele, pedal to Rosiori de Vede where I got a different type of train to Bucharest. I really do hope that EU green plans will push these countries to create proper infrastructure, worth of 21st century.

[@paulhorn2665]

In 2013 the Sofia Station was a sh++hole. Must have been modernised.

[@mancampovestiminvatam1281]

yep

[@blogger1851]

Everybody knows that the Carpathian country is better than the Balkan one. Romania doesn’t have train like that. They are both clean. But Romania is much more modern

[@mancampovestiminvatam1281]

Most probably you saw the "modern part" on riutes between bigger cities. Try a train ride from Brasov to Bretcu. It's 10 minutes late after the first 30 km. And it's a wreck with no air con, rusty and noisy. You also will travel way below 60 km/s. On other routes you might be asked for bribe from the control guy in case you board without ticket and want to buy from them.

[@CalinFR]

Tot commentul tău lauzi BDZ și gările bulgare și te piși pe CFR, doar ca la final să spui că ai rupt biletu că te obligau să-ți ții bicicleta în capătul trenului. Păi nu ziceai că la bulgari trenurile sunt pita lu dumnezău? De ce ți-era frică?

[@Danse_Macabre_125]

If it's shite and it's Balkan I'm here for it. A review of the "old things" would be fun

[@SuperalbsTravels]

😂😂😂😂

[@trainsandmodelshungary]

Loooooved the trip report! N I really love older,bit more classic trains, so this video is an absolute gem for me. Thanks! :)

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Yeah, I do too! 😁

[@kristianhristakiev9364]

Really good video! I like the part where you mention some quick facts about the places you are pasing through. I'm from Bulgaria but I have never travelled by train in the Northern part of the country. If you like to see our most "modern" train you should take the "Chaika" (Чайка, meaning seagull) from Sofia to Burgas(or Burgas to Sofia). It has air-conditioning and the carriges are new(for our standart), also all of the seats are in one place (there isn't seperation with doors and stuff)

[@jonasdatlas4668]

I took this train a few months ago, and it was a fascinating experience (including the confusion in buying an Interrail reservation for it, since both the ticket office and, occasionally, the Interrail app, would list it as three different trains with breaks in Gorna and Ruse). We, too, caught a 2h delay (in part, supposedly, due to some incident just before the border), and the heat *was* quite grueling. Wish I'd brought enough water to drink, in retrospect. Would still do it again tho.

[@gazsoimi]

We have these carriages at the hungarian máv, in renowated state. The doors made automatic, and at one end the toillet got ripped out, and 3 bicycle hanger were implemented. They use it as IR carriages inside the country. The 8 person ones were the 2nd class, the 6 were 1st class. But for 10 years now we only have 2nd class, so they remade them to 8 seater aswell. The country is small, the longest route is around 3 hours. It is noisy but much better than an a full IC+ carriage with undersized AC, and fixed windows

[@rbaleksandar]

When you see a locomotive from half a century ago at the front of the train that can reach speed up to 130km/h and the 530km take ten hours, you know it will be a fun ride for sure. :D Thank you for the lovely memory trip. Hope your next journey is better! PS: When I was a child I use to climb on top of the luggage racks. Fun times!

[@AbramDeGuzman]

I used the similar one when travelling from Budapest to Bratislava and Rijeka to Ljubljana Slovenia. It was so busy and people had to stand there on a very slow train.

[@pcwifi9544]

Škoda loco, yes 🙃 I know those wagons intimately. we drove in such before and after the revolution in the Czech Republic and for quite a long time. they were removed from the main tracks relatively quickly, you could ride them on minor tracks a few years ago, I suspect that they may still be exotic somewhere today. Well, at least we have the tracks in the Czech Republic in much better condition than the mentioned countries where they are guided by the motto, what works, don't worry about it.

[@pavelperina7629]

Well, worst train/track I experienced was Beograd-Subotica roughly 15 years ago. 150km in 7 hours on a single track railway with wooden ties in 35C summer heat so train slowed down below 30kmh many times due to risk of derailment, sometimes stopped on minor stations to meet train in opposing direction, sometimes increased speed to 50kmh. Night before we travelled by similar overcrowded train from Bielo Pole (Montenegro border) but night train was faster despite going through mountains with lot of curves, tunnels and bridges. Speaking about tracks, some are still in bad conditions. Old train cars around Brno were replaced in last 10 years, last of them this summer (electric unit 560 -> 242 loco with Bdmtee cars -> Moravia 550 unit) so it no longer looks like a museum of trains from 70s here.

[@geofer023]

Amazing presentation and great ride part❤️❤️ Full waching and I enjoy it.

[@shea5702]

I love your commentary, laughed a lot. I'm thinking of riding the trains in the Balkans.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It's a good experience! Really authentic!

[@drdewott9154]

Its so interesting seeing all that second hand equipment in Bulgaria. One of the things I spotted at 4:58 is an old DSB EA class locomotive. They were the very first mainline electric locomotives in Denmark, and nearly all of them have been sold to Bulgarian operators, with the last DSB owned one leaving the country last year. Also I find it really funky seeing an Ex-british locomotive repainted in the old red and black DSB colours for the operator Bulmarket, one of the largest EA class operators. I assume they simply just did it because they didn't bother repainting their EA locomotives

[@SuperalbsTravels]

I love seeing export locos across the world! 😁

[@rossengeorgiew9589]

They are being operated from private cargo company as far as I know

[@RovexHD]

20 years in the European Union and an international line hasn’t been redone.

[@janusasorousrex2118]

You only get back what you contribute

[@marcinkwiatkowski9926]

16 years, maybe that'll pull something amazing in the coming 4.

[@alexj9603]

Even in the "old" EU countries, the railway infrastructure companies care more about their respective domestic networks than about the international connections. Almost everywhere the tracks between the last domestic hub and the border are in poorer condition than the "backbone" lines. Nowadays there are a few exceptions (usually co-financed by the EU), but there is still a long way to go. I assume the new line between Bucharest and Giurgiu, which is currently under construction as mentioned in some other comments, is one of these projects.

[@RovexHD]

@@alexj9603 There’s also Budapest-Belgrade connecting with Thessaloniki Greece under renovation by the Chinese.

[@euglev3548]

In many Central Europe countries , electrification of main routes was done decades ago . UK is very far behind but generally has better condition of infrastructure overall .

[@tagvideor]

Amazing video as always 😁

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thank you! 😁

[@Duececoupe]

Secondhand British locomotives? They really must be desperate then! 😉😆😂 Beautiful scenery! You just popped up in my feed, so watched, liked and subscribed....this is the third video that I'm watching. 👍🏻👌🏼👏🏻

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks, glad you like my content! 😁

[@Duececoupe]

@SuperalbsTravels My pleasure! I very much enjoy your content, I'm a bit of a rail fan so I like those old stylish locomotives, hopefully they'll get refurbished for better reliability and the carriages as well of course!

[@JohannesNikitin91]

I travelled there many times with DDR-trains, Czechoslovakian trains and also seen that they have some Soviet diesel-trains in use. Those Soviets are special because they are made especially for Bulgarian rails (Standard track gauge). They are narrower than elektrichka-trains in Post-Soviet countries. Those trains you can still see in Bulgarian or in Serbian rails and sometimes only somewhere peripheria.

[@howardcobb4656]

That was a brutal train ride - glad you made it instead of me. Enjoyed watching it - I’ve got a morbid since of humor.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Hahaha, I am glad you enjoyed my suffering! 😂😂😂

[@KaIliev19]

As a person from Varna I feel very proud of the mentioning of my city and also its pretty funny to hear you mispronounce a lot of stuff like Gorna Oryahovica (Горна Оряховица)or Bulgarski durzhavni dzeleznici (Български Държавни Железници). Pretty good video I am glad, that you took BDZ's problems with no problem like ,,Meh it's a part of the journey".

[@temmuzguner4875]

I took this train a couple monts ago. Had the exact same experience. At least I met some people on the carriage that were friendly, we got beer from the shop and absolutely pissed along the way.

[@CZpersi]

Try the Munich-Prague line operated jointly by Alexa and Czech Railways. It has many interesting ups and downs, good things and bad things and it gets very scenic especially the last hour before arrival to Prague.

[@germanchickent]

He has never seen an ICE with an defect air conditioning

[@yogiaol]

Yes I was in ICE from Wien to Hamburg 10 hours in wagen with no air conditioning. And impossible to open the windows...

[@EElgar1857]

I admire your courage!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks! 😂

[@nickk.9914]

Had this same train one week ago! What an amazing trip!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Awesome! Hope you enjoyed!

[@xx752xx]

You have to try Sofia to Burgas if you have luck and get to the new trains they are traveling at max speed of at least 150 km/h and also Burgas have one of the best transit systems in Bulgaria!

[@georgigeorgiev2381]

The tracks between Mezdra and Gorna Oryahovica are generally OK and the train runs at 110-130 km/h between different sections. Also some trains to Gorna Oryahovica and Varna run with Smartrons and do have renovated cars with clean and more modern toilets and sometimes working A/C. The Iskar gorge is one of my favorite parts when traveling with train and the Balkan crossing from Gorna Oryahovica to Dabovo (South Bulgaria) on main line no 4 being the other one. I am from Svishtov so would be curious to see a video from Levski to Svishtov Levski to Lovech/Troyan with the older cars 😅. Anyway great video, thumbs up 👍.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thank you very much! :)

[@yogiaol]

Yes some of the trains are very comfortable with air condition and very clean.

[@georgigeorgiev2381]

There are still a lot of problems to be solved and lack of government support but it is not that bad as the world sees East European railways. Also railway transport is the cheapest way of traveling in Bulgaria meaning that there is not a lot of revenue.

[@iCE2sKY]

ha ha you are a hero!!! and video is great!!

[@robertfletcher3421]

Whew! I am glad that journey came to an end. I am sitting in my chair watching the video, hanging on like grim death.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Me too! 😂😂😂

[@jappedut9009]

Even older carriages ❓️yes please ‼️

[@SuperalbsTravels]

I'll see what I can do... 😁

[@BengtHansves]

This is true Balkans ! ;-)

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Exactly! 😍

[@haj8579]

I am impressed by how you describe a terrible journey, with a very calm tone.

[@rezaalan3991]

What a great trip and great experience. And yeah, another hit pronunciation of every location along the lines. That's waiting on border crossing more than an hour without technical stop like gauge changing is crazy since this train is not full.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks! It was pretty intense... :)

[@mansonnanson8294]

Corrupt official? In Romania? You don't say! Well , colour me surprised.....

[@XNekomaru]

Oh well, i'll have to take this exacact train next week, but at least it's a through train and not one of those Desiro units they put off-season from Ruse to Bucuresti. I tried one of those a few months ago and it was even worse, outside of the broken windows and the broken single available toilet, they even had to stop in stations to refill the cooling circuits of the engines with water from wells, going back and forth with plastic beer bottles. I was hoping for better this time with the locomotive-hauled train but it's looking like it will also be a hell of a ride.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Have fun then! 😅

[@waters1801]

lovely video, thank you

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😁

[@NerdyThrowbackTech]

Good work. You put a lot of effort in the video.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks a lot! 😁

[@andywillis2650]

Definitely wouldn't take that trip, fair play to you ! With a lack of basic facilities on the train, plus 33 degrees heat - no thanks. Well done to you :)

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the video from the comfort of home! 😂😂😂

[@andywillis2650]

@@SuperalbsTravels definitely :) :)

[@yogiaol]

It is not fairplay, it was manipulative! The tracks in Bulgaria are renovated and faster.

[@user-ps4bg7wq6i]

Some people just wouldn't survive on the Balkans, even if it's peaceful as it's been since the Kosovo war. But, nah, natural selection. We're chosen to live in often extreme conditions, with our human rights often just simply denied, and 'ruled' by impressive dull, corrupt leaders. It's die or get used to it and somehow keep on living. No wonder C19 almost didn't reflect on us. We're like very, super cool cockroaches. (Come on, I may be joking like this, but I'm proud of being a Balkan, and I'm happy to live here. I love our neighbors, they're all great countries!) Greetings to all Balkan brothers and sisters! Живи и здрави! Peace ☮️

[@thejourneyplanner9037]

Not for a million dollars !! Last Sunday my train from Zagreb to Salzburg was cancelled and I had to scramble my way back through Vienna. Once you go East of Austria, you are in a completely different world.

[@CreatorPolar]

I mean the railway networks of Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Czechia are still pretty on par with the rest of Europe. I’d say the craziness border is east of Poland/slovakia and south of Hungary

[@rjs_698]

​@@CreatorPolar- The Polish and Czech trains I've been on had excellent quality restaurant cars so, in one way at least, they are superior to a lot of their Western European counterparts.

[@marcinkwiatkowski9926]

​@@CreatorPolar well if you take a look at the map you'll notice that Czechia isn't exactly to the east of Austria, neither is Poland really.

[@CreatorPolar]

@@marcinkwiatkowski9926 Poland is definitely east of Austria tf you smoking

[@RovexHD]

@@rjs_698 Regio Jet offer catering service at incredibly affordable prices. I took the train Vienna-Prague the other day. Don’t know how they make a profit.

[@RadoslavSharapanov]

Great job on the names pronunciation. Greetings from Bulgaria!

[@edward_4073]

It was interesting to see you do a route I've actually done. If i remember correctly, we were waiting a while (maybe an hour or 2) for the turkish part of the train to arrive, however, I don't remember the border crossing taking that long, though it still took maybe 1/2 hour to an hour on each side. I remember how unexpectedly beautiful both Bulgaria and Romania were!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

I really love the beauty of the two countries too! :)

[@mihaieftimie]

@@SuperalbsTravels Well, if you will come again to Romania, try IR 1835 from Bucharest to Deva through Petroșani (from Tîrgu Jiu to Petroșani there are some 40 km covered in tunnels and snowsheds interrupted by viaducts), or IC 531 from Bucharest to Cluj with breath-taking sceneries and tunnels between Brașov and Sighișoara and between Câmpia Turzii and Cluj.

[@Gert-DK]

The reason for long passport check, is something you will feel the rest of your life. They have to double and triple check that you ain't James Bond. 🙂

[@SuperalbsTravels]

😂😂😂

[@thomas-xj1hs]

Thanks. Your pronounciation of each of these names in original language is a main feature. Do u speak a number of Slav based languages?

[@SuperalbsTravels]

I don't speak them, but I have some knowledge of pronunciations.

[@smallworld-4445]

I took it in October 23. "just" 70 min late, of which 50 came at the border. Still, I enjoyed it despite the old material. The first hours through the gorge are unforgettable. I am not saying I would do it again, but I am so glad I did it once

[@therealdamage1506]

Great video as always. I would love to see a video on one or both of the branches out of Levski!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thanks! I'll have to look into it!

[@ki5739]

@@SuperalbsTravels Careful, you might get disappointed and end up on an air-conditioned Siemens Desiro DMU. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqu8g5SiZrpkY6csi=MIm-zbiA4Iy2Eg1a :D

[@Slaydrno]

Danke!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Thank you so much for the support! 🥰

[@playerscobongameplay]

Try the new intercity night coaches that italy uses

[@SuperalbsTravels]

It's difficult to do that, because they have not yet been built.

[@playerscobongameplay]

@@SuperalbsTravels they recently got delivered

[@sobu_hasy]

17:55 nice contrast between the more modern Romanian railcars and the Bulgarian railcar you rode. This shows clearly the state of Bulgarian railways.

[@michelg2257]

I went from Bucharest to Ruse and from Ruse (with a little detour ) via Ivanovo and Gorna Orjahovica to Sofia in June. The Section between Ivanovo and Gorna was on a train what normally was taken out of service in western Europe 30+ years ago. During the passport checks in Ruse the Orient express was waiting there also. Overall it was nice experience, i gues you have to accept you are in an other side of Europe.

[@bitspieces1107]

The amount of disfiguring graffiti on the rolling stock is shocking! I just cannot comprehend what’s in the minds of the idiots who commit this vandalism

[@williamduncan7401]

That's part of the Balkan culture, or actually the complete lack thereof. That's simply how the Balkans do.

[@luridthingsCO]

​@@williamduncan7401 well I guess the NYC subways are Balkan now

[@PneumatinisPlaktukas15]

Nice to see beautifully designed old locomotives still travelling the tracks. That's what I've always liked about Eastern Europe. They don't waste good, reliable equipment, just because of its age.

[@transportromania]

16:40 The tracks you used are not "nearly twice the distance"... this mistake is often made (generally for political reasons) because there are many calculating the distance between the cities of Giurgiu and Bucureşti, not between stations of Giurgiu Nord and Bucureşti Nord Station. The direct line goes to Bucureşti Progresu, located in the South of the city (before you ask, there is also a station called Bucharest South, but that's located in the East of the city... and called South in order to not be confused with Bucharest East) which was and will be a commuter station, not an international trains terminal. So the trains will have to go around Bucharest, using the "Belt line" for about 30 km. At the tests made last year, this took nearly 45 minutes... so if you have 45 min Giurgiu - Jilava and 45 minutes Jilava - Bucureşti Nord, you'll get the hour and a half. The total distance Giurgiu - Bucureşti Nord is 85 km, compared to the 115 km of the current detour, which is not exactly "twice the distance". So, best case scenario, the journey will be shorter with 30 km and 30 minutes. The real deal will be if Bulgaria and Romania will ever get to Schengen, which will cut the travel time with at least 2 hours.

[@yogiaol]

In fact in Bulgaria run this train mostly with 130 km/h. Much faster than in south Romania.

[@FVerz]

I love seeing my country on a video like this i was actually close to 2 of the same station in i think the same week

[@iva6219]

Good times on the BDZ :)

[@JeromeAv1206]

I would never ride a sleeper train in a hot and dangerous country

[@RovexHD]

Bulgaria is safe

[@IJN_Yamato___]

i am bulgarian and i dont balieve in you espicially as i know what happend ( from the news ) like attacks, robberies kills and etc on trains but it is safe@@RovexHD

[@williamduncan7401]

​​@@RovexHDjust make sure you're watching your luggage at all times. On sleeper trains, put the ladder in front of the door so that when someone unlocks the "lock" from outside hopefully they run into the ladder to wake you up

[@StackND]

you call that brutal?☠

[@paulplus3830]

That took me back. I remember those train cars. Maybe I rode on exactly one of those as a child. :)

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Awesome! Love the memories. :)

[@NoBSTravelChannel]

Me and the girlfriend did the Turkey to Sofia train last month, and I swear to god that thing went so fast around corners I thought we'd replicate what it's like to be clothes in a washing machine! Fun though. I want to do it to Romania next. Awesome video as always mate!

[@mowtow90]

That is because it went true the renovated lines. EU is puring money into the Bulgarian Rail infrastructure - but only South Bulgaria , nobody cares about the north. 70% of the line Sofia-Turkey is rated for 200km while the rest (the Sofia mountain pass is renovated at the moment with speed restrictions). Also on the south main lines are where you can get the newer trains (brand new locos and renovated carages).

[@NoBSTravelChannel]

@@mowtow90 If it's been renovated then it's not been done too well. Maybe it was the new carriage suspension but those cornering G-forces were way too harsh!

[@camp0017]

I remember travelling in a 8-seater compartment like this one on Polish trains in late 1980s and early 1990s. They were cramped indeed, but as a student I had to make do and often took a night train from my home city to another one where I studied - an 8 hour ride. In the morning I had to be fresh enough to go to the lectures. Luckily I didn't have to do this too often, just after holiday breaks, otherwise I would go crazy!

[@camp0017]

And, incidentally, I was on holiday in Bulgaria twice in mid and late 1970s. A three-day-long journey from Katowice to Varna, which I quite enjoyed - perhaps due to the fact I was just a small kid then and life was pretty hard in all respects. So a three day train journey was quite an adventure!

[@osasunaitor]

I spent a year as a foreign student in Poland in 2015/16 and those 8-seat compartments were still in use in the cheapest intercity trains (TLK). I crossed the whole Poland from Gdańsk to Kraków and back in these coaches, it was an intense night trip, nearly 12 h in each direction haha. Luckily I was sharing the compartment with other fellow students so it ended up being quite fun for a one-time adventure, still wouldn't recommend it to most people.

[@dimitar.bogdanov]

I just wanted to note how well you're pronouncing complex Bulgarian words such as zheleznitsi. This video clearly took a lot of effort!

[@Chicko_Perez]

tiho we simp

[@Nadia1989]

Makes me remember my train trips of my childhood... No AC, but the comfiest (and most vandalized) seats I've ever sat on! Nowadays the seats are hard as a rock, but at least there's AC.

[@SuperalbsTravels]

True, that seems to be the trend these days!

[@janmarinus1967]

When i was on interrail this kind of trains was standard 😂😂😂😂 Nostalgia 😊

[@xan4o]

I will never forget these wagons. I used to travel by train while I was student many years ago. Sad to notice that nothing changed. I guess even the smell is same as it was 😂😂 Funny though my calculations is that I had travelled a distance at least one full circle around the globe with these type of trains.

[@drksoft3882]

BIG LIKE I LOVED BRO GGGGGGGGGG ;)

[@lz1clr806]

super video .................

[@LennartNeukamm]

So cool, I took a similar train from Bukarest to Istanbul a few weeks ago and loved it :D It is the train visible at 13:42, the last couch goes to Istanbul

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Great! I'd love to do that route actually. :)

[@snakegodtod164]

i love in bucharest very close to the train station and i spoted my aparment in this video

[@nomistraveller780]

Some weeks ago, i was traveling from Vilnius to Warszawa. At Suwałki our locomotive breaked down - we had to wait over 2 hours whitout AC and with about 35 degrees outside. The train was crowded because of some celebration day! Nevertheless we arrived 183 minutes late in Wwa! Haha! Was fun 😂

[@osasunaitor]

Damn... It's sad to see that the new Vilnius-Warsaw mixed service is not always working so well

[@nomistraveller780]

@@osasunaitor but overall it was fun. Better with delayed trains than on a fuckin flixbus :)

[@Suctess]

With flixtrain, a budget railway service provider i had a trip from Berlin to Stuttgart which was planned for 6 hours but took almost 8 hours due to technical problems and delays on the track. Outside it was ~35 °C and there was no AC in the train. Also you could not open the windows and they did not sell any drinks onboard. Also toilets did not work properly. My clothes where soaked. Luckily i had enough water with me. Furthermore the police had to raid the train at one point because some guests refused to wear their masks as they could not breath properly.

[@risivenkian]

Sounds terrifying! 😳 must've been quite the adventure...! 🥵

[@hristovv169]

11:14 not every toilet is like that, there are new sleep wagons whoch are really good and the toilets are nice

[@atanasmatev9600]

I have spent significant amount of time traverling with these trains on daily basis (commuting from home to school) and I can tell you that it it not that bad. I know it is not like trains in other countries but for the price you pay, it is decent.

[@HSTHoward]

Some nice Class 86/87/92s featuring there!

[@SuperalbsTravels]

Had to include those clips! 😁

[@pjltopfca]

I did 26 hours once on a train from Krakow to Bucharest. No food or hot drinks whatsoever and no heating once we crossed into Romania (it was the end of December). Not to be repeated in a hurry.

[@theafinaman7260]

We go through this everytime we use a train 😢

[@ts9749]

I took the Sofia - Burgas “fast” train multiple times this summer, and they are starting to retrofit some of the old wagons with A/C units, but it works only half the time and even then, people still open windows. The Sofia - Plovdiv “fast” train line is much better overall, though.

[@nikolayspasov2323]

5:24 NOTE: those are actually the 1st class compartments. As far as I know, we do not distinguish between long and short distance compartments. 6:09 Additional note: the doors can only be locked from the INSIDE, not the outside.

[@JohnLeeming23]

Carriages like this were more or less normal in both east and west Europe up to the 1980s and even the 1990s in some cases - individual compartments with three or four passengers per side and no air conditioning, though the toilets were not so bad - even on East German stock. Remember that it was also the case in the UK, where some suburban trains had six passengers on each side of the compartment in the narrower British loading gauge, and no corridor! The spacing was much the same as it is the current British 2+3 with a gangway - another seating place instead of the gangway.

[@entity22]

Here in Romania the issue is indeed especially with the tracks, that have yet to be upgraded for faster speeds and actually, in many cases, have gotten to a point where the speeds are lower than they were 30 years ago, I guess cause they're old and used. They could buy any trains, it's pointless til they update the tracks and the reason why nothing is getting done is ,as always, corruption(I am going to have a wild guess that this is why most of the rail system in the Balkans is this way). Fun fact, when it's super hot(and lately summers have been scorching hot, almost every day there were 35C or more for the entirety of July and August in southern Romania, you were lucky to have 33 not 40), the trains are even slower cause the tracks are affected and then the delays are epic, some trains can have double the delays you had. Some trains do have A/C but at high temperatures it fails to make much of a difference so there's also that. But hey, it's an experience. I guess the train was mostly empty cause everyone knows it's faster by car and, at least in summertime, there's a lot of coach services for tourists going, for example, from Romania to the Bulgarian seaside