Romania's ‘Sun Trains’ will link big cities to the Black Sea

The initiative is meant to boost domestic tourism while offering travellers a cheaper way to reach the seaside in the wake of surging gas prices

This summer, Romanians will enjoy convenient train routes from major cities directly to the country’s resorts on the Black Sea and the Danube delta. From June until September, the aptly named ‘Sun Trains’ (Trenurile Soarelui) equipped with power outlets, air conditioning and lounge cars will roll across the Romanian countryside in what local authorities deem ‘some of the fastest travel options available’.

This policy will help to foster more domestic tourism, while also offering Romanians and visitors a way to get to their holiday destinations cheaply and more sustainably thanks to saving on fossil fuels. To a large extent, the initiative represents a ‘build it and they will come’ attitude towards rail transport, reminiscent of the German summer hit of a 9-euro ticket for public transport.

The Romanian sustainable vacation

The train routes will launch from major Romanian cities like Iasi, Timișoara, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Brasov, Suceava and more. They will provide daily direct connections from the most far-flung parts of the country to Bucharest, where the trains will be redirected towards either Constanta or Mangalia, the two major cities on the Romanian Black Sea coast.

Also, there will be daily round trips to the city of Tulcea, located deep in the Danube delta, going through Mangalia, Constanta and Bucharest.

Apart from sustainability and convenience, Romania’s trains also offer a decent speed. According to the CFR Călători, Romania’s train operator, a trip from the central station in Bucharest to the seaside in Constanta would only take 2 hours and 20 minutes, which is comparable to the time it would take with a car and significantly less than taking a bus.

In addition, train fares will be competitive, at just around 12 euros for a ticket from Bucharest to Constanta. Furthermore, school students are allowed to ride for free, while those in university get a 50% discount if they ride in a second class car.

Longer routes like those from Baia Mare and Cluj-Napoca from North-Western Romania headed for Mangalia in the South-East will come with a lounge car and with a  bar area to put passengers in a relaxed holiday mood.