I wanted to know, if there is way to travel from Bucharest to Amsterdam by
train. If yes what is the route, the cost and time taken? - thanks &
regards, Asif, via email
Times Online rail expert Alan Heywood responds: This journey isn't as
difficult as you might imagine and, although there are no through trains,
none of the changes of train you make involve crossing the city from one
station to another. This is a great help, especially if travelling with a
family and lots of luggage, as anybody who has done the Northern Line from
Waterloo to Euston in the rush hour will testify.
The first decision for you to make is what kind of overnight train
accommodation you need between Bucharest and Budapest. The usual choice
applies on this route - seats (i.e sitting up all night - OK for the budget
concious and you may be able to stretch out if the train isn't full),
couchettes and full sleepers.
Couchettes are compartments for four or six people where the daytime seats
turn into overnight bunks. A blanket and pillow are provided but undressing
for bed consists of taking off your shoes! Couchettes are very popular on
those trains which cater for groups and especially ski packages and they
are, of course, ideal when you know the other passengers. You will have
guessed by now that the downside is that, if you are travelling alone, you
are amongst strangers. Please keep your wallet and passport very safe.
Top of the range is a full sleeper. Here you have some privacy and a solid
wall separates your compartment from the corridor. On this particular route
the "facilities" don't stretch beyond a wash handbasin - the W.C.
is down at the end of the coach - but at least you have some security.
We have costed this journey using a full sleeper and we have assumed that
there are two of you sharing a "double". The price of a one-way
journey on this basis is £326.63 per person.
Now for the times. You would leave Bucharest at 1840 in the evening and your
overnight journey takes you to Budapest. Here you change for a train to
Vienna leaving at 0710. Three hours later you are in the Austrian capital
and, twenty minutes after that, you are off again. There's time to relax now
as your German Inter City Express (ICE) follows the Danube across the border
via Linz and Passau, then heads for Hannover. This is your final change and
your last Inter City train will have you in Amsterdam at 2301.
Your total journey time is 29 hours and you are on the move for almost all of
them. Every train has a full restaurant car or a bistro so feeding is not a
problem.
Have I any doubts about this recommendation? Well, yes, I have as a matter of
fact. The connections are tight and, whilst the Deutsche Bahn timetable
computer at www.bahn.de will give you
exactly the same recommendation, I have a few misgivings. The problem with
computers in this kind of situation is that they take no account of luggage
or other mobility problems. If any of your trains are late and a connection
is missed, that 2301 arrival in Amsterdam is sometime next morning!
So what would I do? If travelling by myself with just a small overnight bag,
I'd take the risk. If I got stuck somewhere, I'd make the best of it with
the consolation that at least I hadn't made sombody else's life a misery!
If, on the other hand, I had family with me and were travelling for leisure,
I'd break my journey for 24 hours in Vienna. So now, if I missed my
connection in Budapest, I'd simply catch a later train to Vienna (they are
fairly frequent) and still arrive in time for half a day's sightseeing. Next
morning, the Hannover train leaves at 1030 so you have time for a leisurely
breakfast.
The cost of the rail ticket is the same for both options but you would need to
budget for accommodation in Vienna - lots of choice at reasonable prices if
you book on line with chains such as Ibis - www.ibishotels.com
Whichever option you take, you'll find the trains clean and comfortable. The
German ICE in particular is a superb train - best of the high speed breed,
in my opinion.
And now I'll go into hiding before the French TGV supporters' club catches up
with me!
Alan Heywood is a director at rail specialists, Ffestiniog
Travel
Got a question for Alan, or any of our other travel experts? Email us at yoursay@timesonline.co.uk
When comparing TGV and ICE one should have the honesty to mention a safety feature that only Alstom trainsets (TGV, Thalys, Eurostar) have. Each bogey (4-wheel truck) is shared by two carriages, which renders the train rigid in case of a derailment. Since it exists, the TGV has derailed three times at high speed. The carriages remained upright and in line. Casualties: zero.
When the ICE derailed, the train was completely disarticulated. 95 passengers died and more were maimed for life.
It's true that service aboard the ICE is better but, given the choice, I'd rather have less service and more certainty to remain alive.
André Peretti, Bastia, Corsica