5:10 I'm involved in the arduous task of maintaining the electronics of these ever-breaking train sets. I'd say that you had the misfortune of being in a train that had its displays broken. Most of the train sets have them in good working order, as the old control system is slowly getting replaced with a new locally-made one. The seat reservation displays should display the route the seat is currently reserved for, and the in-carriage and external displays show the train number and complete route. Some DSB workers were even amazed we got them to actually work, as I've been informed they've had plenty of issues with them in Denmark.
Meanwhile Japan uses a simpler seat reservation display onboard its E353 rolling stock that shows a red light if the seat is vacant, blue if it is already reserved or flashing yellow if its booked from the next station onwards
Incredible indeed, the country considering itself the richest and most competitive in the world - USA - has a third-world passenger rail system... Great job, Romania!
As a Romanian train enthusiast and one that travelled all the Romanian Rail lines in 2 years, I've never managed to travel with this train but I am considering it in the future. Thank you for your great video, BIG LIKE! Cheers and greetings from Romania. 😎👍 Patrick
from strictly a customer perspective i was really happy with the service, comfortable, reliable, toilets were clean (that's a problem on romanian trains), overall a great experience and for a great price
I think this train is just fine from passenger's prospective. Clean interior, good toilets, not noisy inside. Much better than ancient Malaxa used on diesel lines in Romania
“Biggest fiasco that’s happened to the Danish Railway.” Mate, as a fellow Dane, the railway company IS a fiasco. They practically run the railway on the bare minimum, and when something goes wrong, it cascades through the entire day until night. They have no ability to try and fix delays or similar, crisis management is just… non existent. I once had to wait over half an hour for a train that wasn’t large enough for all the waiting people when there were literally four at the station that were bigger and didn’t move anywhere, two of which were already on, so it really shouldn’t have been hard at all to switch it around. They’re not very popular these days.
The funny thing is, i recall only one article telling people about how troublesome these trains were in Denmark in the Romanian mass media but hey, one mans trash is another mans treasure. Over here in Romania it doesnt matter if it was bad, we're fine with it cause its not what we currently have. Reminds me of people still buying used clapped out cars from Germany and finding excuses to say they're better despite being plagued with issues Still, personally, the interior looks better than the Desiros we have here, which are terrible in every way. They want to bring the IC4s here too.
@Andy Ash if you read about its issues it had in Denmark you'll see what i mean (in general AnsaldoBreda products are trash regardless), but hey, its from the West, it means it must be good... right? Its about technical defects not comfort. I already said its superior to the Desiro in that regard.
@Andy Ash Thats what most people say when they buy really cheap Audis and BMWs from Germany with rolled back mileage... it doesnt matter till it breaks. Luckily none of these things broke down yet from what ive heard but in the near future they might... must be real convenient for a train to break down while it gets you from A to B.
@Andy Ash Daca ai masina cu adevarat ar cam trebui sa-ti pese..asta daca nu vrei sa faci de 2-3 ori mai mult cu tigaile conduse de batranici prin strainatate, facand referire la ce zicea cfrtrainspotter...
Excellent video - many tanks for this video. Was good to see a bit of Bucharest in addition to the old Danish trains. Really great effort you went all the way to Romania to make the video. I should check the rest of your feed, but I hope you had some good train trips on the way.
Travelling by train in Romania 🇷🇴 is definitely an adventurous ❤ and enjoyable 😀 experience that offers you the chance to know better the country and its inhabitants … 🙂🙂🙂🙏 I just had also a such experience from Bucharest to Suceava. Just posted ❤🙂🙂🙏🙏
I am from Romania and I can say that trains such like this one are for romanians like a ray of hope that railway transport can be again a cheap comfortable and civilised experience. In communist era, railways were the best and cheapest transport system, despite being in old trains often crowded and not very comfortable... Everyone could afford it and went everywhere with regular services. After the fall of communism, decades of corruption and neglect , together with bad propaganda made exactly by the corrupt politicians deliberately, made railway transport almost completely dissapear.... Rails almost never maintained for decades, with many accidents and unbearable speed limits, old uncomfortable wagons almost not maintained at all , irregular services that made some towns without trains or with only 1-2 trains per week, bad conditions and often for unacceptable and expensive prices... So as bad propaganda was tweeting, it was "a must" to sell all this useless railway system that nobody needs anymore" to a " Strategic foreign investor".... Basically the corrupted sold most railway transport to fraudulent international actors at scrap price.... And those, instead of investing to develop it, sold all wagons and infrastructure for scrap at huge profit, destroying national infrastructure in the process.... The rise of private transport companies such like this, that bought trains at their own expense and rented the state owned network to operate them, all of a sudden showed that it is possible to have decent railway transport, in decent conditions, at regular service and cheap prices, almost "impossible" for the romanian state of mind.... And the rent they pay is a source of income for the still surviving national railways company too... Little by little, train transport is being ressurected in Romania by such trains, hope is not lost .... .....Btw , unlike some nations that get offended when badly pronouncing in their language, us the romanians in fact consider it funny when foreigners mis-spel our words 😁... And often we are proud that they even give it a try to pronounce them at all.... As a proof of respect they show us 😅🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thank you! ✌️😁
@@Simon-Andersen very misleading comment. Many railway lines have been maintained. Private train companies are a source of corruption, CFR had not been sold to anyone. They receive huge state subsidies to compete with the state railways company ( CFR). That's why they buy this cheap stuff. They use state subsidies and pocket the difference claiming they are investing the difference in ,"modernization". But hey, complaining is a big Romanian past time, so what do I know?😂 Did I mention that private trail companies buy the best CFR locomotives for penny on the dollar and that's why a lot of CFR trains are not on time anymore? 😢 So privatization is the source of corruption. It shouldn't have been allowed in the first place.
The thing is , astra trans carpatic is owned by the same guy who owns astra vagoane arad , which is a local rolling stock manufacturer. I actually got to travel with both type of trains from their fleet , the ic2 and the locally built train with a locomotive and cars. The local made train was far superior to the ic2 and a huge plus in my books , it was electric. Last summer, when I traveled with astra to the sea side , I got on a IC2 , it was horrible , the lights we're flickering , the doors between cars wouldn't open , or they would actually close when someone was passing , and the train could bearly pull away from the platform, it seems they have a huge issue with the electrical system , and the transmission between the engine and the controls was awful , leaving the train lagging a lot.
I rode the IC2 a few times between Hamburg and Copenhagen. What I remembered the most was the persistent stinky smell of diesel fuel and exhaust that permeated throughout the carriages. The windows couldn't be opened at all, and at some stops, some of us would pile outside to take in the fresh air quickly before boarding the train. The only upside is how comfortable the seats are.
The IC2's have never been cleared to run to Hamburg they dont have the singalling system used in germany, maybe you were on a ICE-TD? they look similar in the DSB livery
You were lucky to have them functioning. :D Yes, in terms of comfort are far by a long margin to the rest of the trains in RO. However what disappoints me the most is the unpredictability of the service. Imagine paying full fare, like on a normal CFR Călători InterRegio train, only to find out that trainset failed in the middle of nowhere, with no support from any trains there are passing through the area. Unlike CFR where you get 2-3h delay & eventually get to your destination without any extra fees, here for Astra TransCarpatic there's no such "luxury". Best regards,
@@Simon-Andersen They are much worse on the reverse run, Brasov to Bucharest. They IC2s struggle really hard with the 2.5% gradient, and frequently can't even keep up a 30 km/h speed (line speed is 65 with a 50 restriction on the toughest gradient), holding up traffic. The air-conditioning also fails very frequently due to engine overheating, in summer this can be a nuisance. The noise they make on the uphill climb between Brasov and Predeal is incredible... As for comfort, I would rather say the IC2s are middle-of-the-road... CFR uses way better stock on their Bucharest - Brasov IR services, with the added plus that heating and air-con works nearly spotlessly, whereas on the IC2s, luck of the draw...
Travelled from Câmpina to Brasov in one of those. Confortable journey. I had read about the issues of these trains prior to my trip but I was quite pleased. If Astra Transcarpatic can offer a reliable service and afford the costs of repairing them, then it seems they made a good deal. Owning also a rolling stock producer also helps in this case. They can fix them faster. We have to take into consideration that the speed regime is much lower than the one the trains were intended to operate in Denmark. They slowed quite a lot in the mountains, I don't know if that is normal also for other trains. Pros and cons.
@@Simon-Andersen Mostly railway tracks in Romania have problems (old structure, incomplete maintenance and unmodernized) thats why we have so manny speed limitations.
how it is compared to Softrans and Regio Calatori operating the same route from Brasov to Bucharest? Softrans use newer Hyperion EMU, RC trains look extremely ugly - like metro/underground train hauled by old French locomotive
When I first start riding with AstraTrans, these trains blew my mind. They were so clean, well maintained and modern, specially compared to other CFR cars and trains that are so old and dirty. But now I saw that they have some problems with the AC Systems.. the restroom were ok when I needed to use them tho. Some small corrections: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the IC2 are actually made in Italy. Also, when the train set was leaving the Bucharest Station, I don't think it was struggling at all. All the trains operate at that embarrassingly low speed when in and out the main station. The tracks are so old and destroyed that you cannot cruise faster through them. Nothing new for us.. The actual distance from Bucharest to Brasov is 166km, and the price you showed.. It's weird, it was always way cheaper than that. That was also a good thing going for AstraTrans some years ago.
Yeah they were made in Italy by the same company that screwed up the Belgian-Dutch Fyra project by making crappy trains. I think the mechanical gearbox just sounds funny on a train (the engines are from Iveco trucks and I wouldn't be surprised if the automated-manual gearbox was from one too.)
I'm ashamed to be Italian, luckily Ansaldo Breda no longer exists. Belgium, Holland and Denmark should be compensated with new free trains ,the whole company was bought by Hitachi and has been completely modernized, now producing excellent trains.. . it is incredible how much damage this company has done to these countries and the damage to Italy's image. I am sorry...
One of the many failures of AnsaldoBreda. We all know what happened to the Fyra trains between Netherlands and Belgium. They ran only for 40 days because of horrible reliability.
3:00 Are you sure it's really "struggling"? These trains use mechanical transmissions, basically like a bus would, so a gear change sound is to be expected.
One of their many issues is the manual transmission, its probably not the best example of them struggeling but a slight inclince and they will really struggle
It's just an automatic transmission like in a city bus, that's why you hear the gear changes and the revving of the engine. Unlike other trains that use turbo-transmissions by Voith that they rev the engine to the max while gaining speed and then changing to the overdrive gear which couples the engine to the turbo-transmission speed.
@@WEMBLEYNE Yes exactly, in this case it has a automatic transmission (I think it's made by ZF Friedrichshafen) coupled to the diesel engine. There are few examples of diesel-electric DMU like the Voyager (Class 220) in the UK but mostly DMUs in Europe are diesel-hydraulic with turbo-transmission fitted by Voith, fully automatic with two or three gears, depending the top speed of the DMU. Here in Spain all the DMUs owned by Renfe are diesel-hydraulic with Voith turbo-transmissions, with 2 gears, allowing a top speed of 120, 140 or 160km/h. They also can be fitted with a retarder.
Velkommen til Simon . I hope you will take the train from Brașov to Deda or further . The landscape is very beautiful . Check the station Băile Tușnad ☺️✋🇩🇰🇷🇴
How refreshing to see a video from Romania that doesn't mention Top G! I rather enjoyed your pronunciation of the place names, which was perfect for all I know.
@@Simon-Andersen I imagine it's been some time since Top G was last seen on a train - it would be an affront to his masculinity! Not to mention other passengers. Thankfully, however, the existence of private jets greatly reduces the risk of an accidental encounter for the vast majority of the travelling public, even if he resumes free movement beyond the vicinity of Bucharest any time soon, an eventuality which may in itself be unlikely. So Romania is yours to explore!
For all who complain about Romanian trains : As a child i would go from Poland via USSR to Bucharest . In Poland and USSR the train was pulled by steam locomotive ..... As we would enter Romania we were connected to ultra modern Romanian diesel locomotive . I never forget its low , powerfull sound .
It would be interesting to hear in future videos about the gauge differences between origin and destinations and possible respective changes that had to be made. Thanks.
Overusing this DMU on the Bucharest to Brasov rail, especially in the summer will cause to break down, happened quite a few times last summer, most of the time on or after the steep incline from Timisul de Sus to Predeal.
Honestly I liked the comfort this train offers but it stopped in the middle of nowhere for five times and they refused to allow us leave the train catch an alternative train until Sinaia. We have various problems with old trains in Bulgaria but such issues with a failing EMU/DMU so often en route is something Ive first experienced with this train. I changed to Regiotrans 70s former SNCF DMU which was in a catastrophic condition in terms of cleanliness and safety such as non closing front doors but at least it succeeded to transport me to the final stop.
I can see you have problems to pronounce the name of the train station you pass all the way to Brașov, glad to hear about accesability on the Romanian trains. I love to tell us more. It is a nightmare as a disabled person to travel around Europe and to find out the inconvenience of accessibility. In my opinion the Brașov train station is so ugly never change from the time I was living in Brașov. I was born in Brașov Transilvania 1958. The city is beautiful but puts people off about the train station
Thankfully, most of the train stations are getting reworks in the following years, Bucharest being the most notable. Also, good thing you didnt continue going up north, because the tracks from Brasov to Sighisoara are so bad, you do 100km in 3h30. ( Current works to redo it completely ).
I think I must make a trip to Romania at some point. They've got so many trains that have been withdrawn from service in the rest of Europe, UK - maybe even further afield, I'm not sure. Nice to see these trains getting a second life.
As a dane i hate those seats ...... The funny thing is that is know the guy in charge of the what was dsb maintenance of theese units and now he is a engineer on the most easterly island group a self chosen exile
@@Simon-Andersen I guess I thought you will publish the videos chronologically, meaning that the CFR video should come after the IC2 one. Obviously, is not the case :)
I managed to use one in Denmark, going home from Roskilde to Taastrup once, and it didn't fail during that!! But the new Siemens Vectron trains seems not to be functioning that much better for now? 🤨🤔
The Vectrons are the best trains in DSB fleet by a long shot! If you take a look at the DSB månedsrapport from february 2023 the Vectrons drive around 80000km before a issue with the train causes a delay. IC3 is around 50000km, IC4 is waay down at 7000km :-) - If anything its the Dosto stock (24000km) that breaks not the vectrons
@@avigdonable Yeah, but Trenitalia overhauled them with the help of Hitachi Rail (formerly Ansaldo Breda) and removed all their flaws, making them more reliable. But I believe 2 or 3 trainsets are just kept for spare parts....
@@mureseanu976 No two of them are used for the installation of the ECTS level 3. The Frecciarossa ETR700 will be the first trainsets in Italy with the most advanced security system.
@@Simon-Andersen I would argue that the Danish fiasco was worse than the Dutch/Belgian one, because it still seems to affect the service, capacity and popularity of the railways until this day. At least that was my impression of the Danish railways in 2019 - a lot of trains standing on side tracks and not enough to actually operate with. The Fyra debacle did cause some inconvenience, but the percentage of travelers affected by it was limited. And no Fyra train was 'accidentally delivered' to Libya 😂
Thanks for the video, Simon. Indeed, I am now in a garbage train of this, and already one hour behind schedule from Brașov to Bucharest, and had great difficulties in starting and keep it going. It is such a shame to live in Romania... everything is like this. 😔 Hope you don't have much more garbage in Denmark, because for sure, it will be bought as "luxury" here. 🤣🤣🤣🤦♂️
Romania Is a very mountainous country, trains cannot travel at very fast speeds because the infrastructure is ( old AF, not well maintained ) designed with lots of bridges curbs and narrow passages. It wouldn't be safe to travel at high speeds through the mountains.
As a train enthusiast it‘s just pain to hear the engines while accelerating when yo know how good diesel-engines should sound like. I really wonder what went wrong there.
Complicated answer, but in short - they were in urgent need for some rolling stock in order to get a share of the much prized 10-year PSO (public service obligation) contracts and respective subsidies that the state was auctioning off. This meant they needed some quick-and-dirty solution to the problem, and the IC2s offered just that, since their rolling stock construction capacity was and is limited by a series of high-profit, high-volume contracts with public authorities in Romania for tram and light-rail construction (which they also do). The initial plan was to run coach and electric locomotive stock on Bucharest - Brasov, and run these on Timisoara - Baia Mare, but lack of rolling stock meant they chose the more lucrative opportunity.
Absolutely horrible trains. They are vastly inferior to anything that the state railway has. Your are lucky you have reached the destination as this things as they usually suffer some catastrophic failure (not even reaching Predeal which is around 30 Km away from Brasov). These junk trains ( as called by rail enthusiast here) almost always gets broken down and leaves its passenger outside to figure on themself how to reach destination. From engine problems to brakes problem they are absolutely horrendous. We have become the railway trash bin of Europe where private companies bring the all the scrap metal from outside and run them here.
Do you know what is the biggest problem in this case? Nobody cares about the pollution, running on diesel on an electrified railway, that's the biggest stupidity! It's like having a Tesla but charging it with a diesel generator.
Theoretically you can still benefit from that. A stationary diesel generator running at optimal constant rpm may have better efficiency than a car engine. Moreover, with an EV you get recuperation.
Nice! 🙂 Simple to memorize for Romanian names: don't pronounce the "I" at the end. Plus, there are some special characters like "ș". So, it's: "Ployesht", "Bushten" or "Brashov", for example. Pity the mountains were partly in the clouds, that's what they look like (back in 2018, Astra Trans Carpatic only operated a train with 1 engine and 1 couchette car on this line): ua-cam.com/video/Bggik8SiMIc/v-deo.html
another thing, the z in azuga is very hard so it dosnt sound asuga, its AZZuga, the campina is actually cuhmpina, and sinaia, the SIN is more louder so more like SINaia, predeal is like prehdeahl
I have a video coming on the Moldova to Romania trains but nothing from India planned, watch the Superalbs or Nonstop Eurotrip channel they just been to India 😊
Umm I ride that train to Brasov every year, twice per year. That train is 10 times better than any other train in US. Every train I’ve taken in the US is nothing compared to Astra. And this is based on the fact that the Romanian trains are really old and crappy. Also, the train does not take long to take off. They have specific requirements for speed and distance and loads.
You would -love- hate the UK, many train operators run on routes which are mostly electrified but only have diesel trains. Some have trains that can run on overhead lines and also diesel, but they go onto diesel mode for some stretches of _electrified_ track because the electrical substations cannot handle the modern demand. It's really annoying.
Here's an idea. Instead of you trying to speak the names of locations in foreign countries, use google trainslate (pun intended) spoken. Be sure to copy the exact name from one of their places with those special characters, so that the translator can speak the correct (as much as it can) title. Cheers.
5:10 I'm involved in the arduous task of maintaining the electronics of these ever-breaking train sets. I'd say that you had the misfortune of being in a train that had its displays broken. Most of the train sets have them in good working order, as the old control system is slowly getting replaced with a new locally-made one.
The seat reservation displays should display the route the seat is currently reserved for, and the in-carriage and external displays show the train number and complete route. Some DSB workers were even amazed we got them to actually work, as I've been informed they've had plenty of issues with them in Denmark.
Oh cool! I can imagine they are annoying to try and fix all the time, the displays on the ones left in Denmark maybe work 1/4 of the time
👏✊🙌
I used to commute on them for 6 months and one day it creeked like crazy. Bogey was going wild.
MG5660-FH6660 was numbers on the carriage.
is it replaced with Softronic-made components?
Meanwhile Japan uses a simpler seat reservation display onboard its E353 rolling stock that shows a red light if the seat is vacant, blue if it is already reserved or flashing yellow if its booked from the next station onwards
As crappy as everyone thinks these trains are… this is 100% better than any train we have in the US. (Excluding Brightline)
Indeed but the motor and transmission issues, if you’ve not experienced them, are very concerning.
Incredible indeed, the country considering itself the richest and most competitive in the world - USA - has a third-world passenger rail system... Great job, Romania!
@@alexpolyakov5934 WE don't need trains here.
U forgot Texrail.... I think they Re also a good regional operator
Thats mostly due to political reasons....but US would benefit from it greatly
As a Romanian train enthusiast and one that travelled all the Romanian Rail lines in 2 years, I've never managed to travel with this train but I am considering it in the future.
Thank you for your great video, BIG LIKE!
Cheers and greetings from Romania. 😎👍
Patrick
Thanks Patrick! I hope you get to chance to try them out some day :-D
Well. I travelled with it last year, from Bucharest to Brașov, and ended buying a ticket for CFR, as the train broke, at Predeal.
That was preety bad, as the tickets are the most expensive. No refund, from the train company, operating these cars.
Pe bune Patrick, n-ai avut niciodată ocazia sa mergi cu IC2-ul?
@@Simon-Andersen thanks for an objective informative video
from strictly a customer perspective i was really happy with the service, comfortable, reliable, toilets were clean (that's a problem on romanian trains), overall a great experience and for a great price
Yeah if the toilet is nice and clean then one will hardly notice that the door is broken and can't be closed.
I think this train is just fine from passenger's prospective. Clean interior, good toilets, not noisy inside. Much better than ancient Malaxa used on diesel lines in Romania
“Biggest fiasco that’s happened to the Danish Railway.”
Mate, as a fellow Dane, the railway company IS a fiasco. They practically run the railway on the bare minimum, and when something goes wrong, it cascades through the entire day until night. They have no ability to try and fix delays or similar, crisis management is just… non existent. I once had to wait over half an hour for a train that wasn’t large enough for all the waiting people when there were literally four at the station that were bigger and didn’t move anywhere, two of which were already on, so it really shouldn’t have been hard at all to switch it around.
They’re not very popular these days.
this seriously feels like every railway company in Europe these days...
And the reason is all passanger thinks the ticket price is too expensive. That means you have to lover cost. Too many people have cars nowadays.
I took it once from Predeal to Bucharest while on a rail trip in the Balkans and they seems to be doing pretty well there
So you made a "trip in the Balkans", but you actually travelled through Carpathian mountains... 🤪 The logic struggles here.
The funny thing is, i recall only one article telling people about how troublesome these trains were in Denmark in the Romanian mass media but hey, one mans trash is another mans treasure. Over here in Romania it doesnt matter if it was bad, we're fine with it cause its not what we currently have. Reminds me of people still buying used clapped out cars from Germany and finding excuses to say they're better despite being plagued with issues
Still, personally, the interior looks better than the Desiros we have here, which are terrible in every way. They want to bring the IC4s here too.
@Andy Ash if you read about its issues it had in Denmark you'll see what i mean (in general AnsaldoBreda products are trash regardless), but hey, its from the West, it means it must be good... right?
Its about technical defects not comfort. I already said its superior to the Desiro in that regard.
@Andy Ash Thats what most people say when they buy really cheap Audis and BMWs from Germany with rolled back mileage... it doesnt matter till it breaks.
Luckily none of these things broke down yet from what ive heard but in the near future they might... must be real convenient for a train to break down while it gets you from A to B.
@Andy Ash Daca ai masina cu adevarat ar cam trebui sa-ti pese..asta daca nu vrei sa faci de 2-3 ori mai mult cu tigaile conduse de batranici prin strainatate, facand referire la ce zicea cfrtrainspotter...
@@CFRTrainSpotter We have train made by them on the Spikkestad-Oslo-Lillestrøm line in Norway, and they are working very well.
Excellent video - many tanks for this video.
Was good to see a bit of Bucharest in addition to the old Danish trains.
Really great effort you went all the way to Romania to make the video. I should check the rest of your feed, but I hope you had some good train trips on the way.
Many thanks! I have more from Romania coming in the future
@@Simon-Andersen oh excellent! Thanks thanks!
Oh yeah, when I went from OTP airport to Gara De Nord, I used one of those trains but a bit smaller I think
I think that's one of CFRs Desiros that run that route
@@Simon-AndersenActually, I used the TFC Bombardier Talents. It's also served by desiros.
Travelling by train in Romania 🇷🇴 is definitely an adventurous ❤ and enjoyable 😀 experience that offers you the chance to know better the country and its inhabitants … 🙂🙂🙂🙏
I just had also a such experience from Bucharest to Suceava. Just posted ❤🙂🙂🙏🙏
I still after all these years don't understand what the heck was wrong with them... liked and subscribed (y)
I am from Romania and I can say that trains such like this one are for romanians like a ray of hope that railway transport can be again a cheap comfortable and civilised experience. In communist era, railways were the best and cheapest transport system, despite being in old trains often crowded and not very comfortable... Everyone could afford it and went everywhere with regular services. After the fall of communism, decades of corruption and neglect , together with bad propaganda made exactly by the corrupt politicians deliberately, made railway transport almost completely dissapear.... Rails almost never maintained for decades, with many accidents and unbearable speed limits, old uncomfortable wagons almost not maintained at all , irregular services that made some towns without trains or with only 1-2 trains per week, bad conditions and often for unacceptable and expensive prices...
So as bad propaganda was tweeting, it was "a must" to sell all this useless railway system that nobody needs anymore" to a " Strategic foreign investor".... Basically the corrupted sold most railway transport to fraudulent international actors at scrap price.... And those, instead of investing to develop it, sold all wagons and infrastructure for scrap at huge profit, destroying national infrastructure in the process....
The rise of private transport companies such like this, that bought trains at their own expense and rented the state owned network to operate them, all of a sudden showed that it is possible to have decent railway transport, in decent conditions, at regular service and cheap prices, almost "impossible" for the romanian state of mind....
And the rent they pay is a source of income for the still surviving national railways company too...
Little by little, train transport is being ressurected in Romania by such trains, hope is not lost ....
.....Btw , unlike some nations that get offended when badly pronouncing in their language, us the romanians in fact consider it funny when foreigners mis-spel our words 😁... And often we are proud that they even give it a try to pronounce them at all.... As a proof of respect they show us 😅🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thank you! ✌️😁
Thanks for the comment! Happy to know you guys laugh when people try to pronounce romanian cities, we do the same in Denmark 😂
@@Simon-Andersen I was in Denmark and I liked the country. But some Danish toponyms are unpronounceable for foreigner :-0
@@awaken77 Just stuff your mouth and try pronouncing then :)
Private companies exist because they a) cheap out on stuff, b) can cherrypick.
@@Simon-Andersen very misleading comment. Many railway lines have been maintained. Private train companies are a source of corruption, CFR had not been sold to anyone. They receive huge state subsidies to compete with the state railways company ( CFR). That's why they buy this cheap stuff. They use state subsidies and pocket the difference claiming they are investing the difference in ,"modernization". But hey, complaining is a big Romanian past time, so what do I know?😂 Did I mention that private trail companies buy the best CFR locomotives for penny on the dollar and that's why a lot of CFR trains are not on time anymore? 😢 So privatization is the source of corruption. It shouldn't have been allowed in the first place.
The thing is , astra trans carpatic is owned by the same guy who owns astra vagoane arad , which is a local rolling stock manufacturer.
I actually got to travel with both type of trains from their fleet , the ic2 and the locally built train with a locomotive and cars.
The local made train was far superior to the ic2 and a huge plus in my books , it was electric.
Last summer, when I traveled with astra to the sea side , I got on a IC2 , it was horrible , the lights we're flickering , the doors between cars wouldn't open , or they would actually close when someone was passing , and the train could bearly pull away from the platform, it seems they have a huge issue with the electrical system , and the transmission between the engine and the controls was awful , leaving the train lagging a lot.
Im sure the other trains that are actually build properly is better, i need to try them one day. The IC2 is such a failure :p
@Simon-Andersen sadly, they are , such a shame cause they are quite pretty DMU'S
Oh nice to see that the old Dutch trains are still in service !😊
Yes they are! plenty around still :-)
I am very delighted to see this video. Many thanks for the support, and hope you will upload more videos like this one. I wish you a good day !
Many thanks more videos to come :-)
I'm glad YT recommended me this video. As a Romanian train geek and trainspotter i really enjoyed it
Thanks for watching!
Used to live in Denmark. This sort of train was used between short distances of 50 60 km such as Odense to svenborg .
I rode the IC2 a few times between Hamburg and Copenhagen. What I remembered the most was the persistent stinky smell of diesel fuel and exhaust that permeated throughout the carriages. The windows couldn't be opened at all, and at some stops, some of us would pile outside to take in the fresh air quickly before boarding the train. The only upside is how comfortable the seats are.
The IC2's have never been cleared to run to Hamburg they dont have the singalling system used in germany, maybe you were on a ICE-TD? they look similar in the DSB livery
You were lucky to have them functioning. :D
Yes, in terms of comfort are far by a long margin to the rest of the trains in RO.
However what disappoints me the most is the unpredictability of the service.
Imagine paying full fare, like on a normal CFR Călători InterRegio train, only to find out that trainset failed in the middle of nowhere, with no support from any trains there are passing through the area.
Unlike CFR where you get 2-3h delay & eventually get to your destination without any extra fees, here for Astra TransCarpatic there's no such "luxury".
Best regards,
Ah i can see how that might be an issue, that was basically also why we got rid of them in Denmark. They would just break down all the time
@@Simon-Andersen They are much worse on the reverse run, Brasov to Bucharest. They IC2s struggle really hard with the 2.5% gradient, and frequently can't even keep up a 30 km/h speed (line speed is 65 with a 50 restriction on the toughest gradient), holding up traffic. The air-conditioning also fails very frequently due to engine overheating, in summer this can be a nuisance. The noise they make on the uphill climb between Brasov and Predeal is incredible... As for comfort, I would rather say the IC2s are middle-of-the-road... CFR uses way better stock on their Bucharest - Brasov IR services, with the added plus that heating and air-con works nearly spotlessly, whereas on the IC2s, luck of the draw...
Travelled from Câmpina to Brasov in one of those. Confortable journey. I had read about the issues of these trains prior to my trip but I was quite pleased. If Astra Transcarpatic can offer a reliable service and afford the costs of repairing them, then it seems they made a good deal. Owning also a rolling stock producer also helps in this case. They can fix them faster. We have to take into consideration that the speed regime is much lower than the one the trains were intended to operate in Denmark. They slowed quite a lot in the mountains, I don't know if that is normal also for other trains. Pros and cons.
I've heard they struggle to climb up some of the hills, but it seems like Astra is taking good care of them, as least as much as possible
@@Simon-Andersen Mostly railway tracks in Romania have problems (old structure, incomplete maintenance and unmodernized) thats why we have so manny speed limitations.
@@hatzsexymama5916 it's the gradient on that route, mate
I just travelled with the same train today, and I can safely say, considering the quality of the other trains here in Romania, this one is gold.
Hope you had a good trip! And that the toilet door was working
@@Simon-Andersen Sure did!
how it is compared to Softrans and Regio Calatori operating the same route from Brasov to Bucharest? Softrans use newer Hyperion EMU, RC trains look extremely ugly - like metro/underground train hauled by old French locomotive
I have been from Buchareşti to Braşov Timişoara to both, and Timişoara to Budapest. No complaints
Good video with beautiful landscapes. Romania is a beautiful country❤️.
Greetings from ❤️Freiburg Germany🇩🇪 (by Tram through Freiburg)
Thank you very much! Greetings to you from Copenhagen :)
When I first start riding with AstraTrans, these trains blew my mind. They were so clean, well maintained and modern, specially compared to other CFR cars and trains that are so old and dirty. But now I saw that they have some problems with the AC Systems.. the restroom were ok when I needed to use them tho.
Some small corrections:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the IC2 are actually made in Italy. Also, when the train set was leaving the Bucharest Station, I don't think it was struggling at all. All the trains operate at that embarrassingly low speed when in and out the main station. The tracks are so old and destroyed that you cannot cruise faster through them. Nothing new for us..
The actual distance from Bucharest to Brasov is 166km, and the price you showed.. It's weird, it was always way cheaper than that. That was also a good thing going for AstraTrans some years ago.
Yeah they were made in Italy by the same company that screwed up the Belgian-Dutch Fyra project by making crappy trains. I think the mechanical gearbox just sounds funny on a train (the engines are from Iveco trucks and I wouldn't be surprised if the automated-manual gearbox was from one too.)
I'm ashamed to be Italian, luckily Ansaldo Breda no longer exists. Belgium, Holland and Denmark should be compensated with new free trains ,the whole company was bought by Hitachi and has been completely modernized, now producing excellent trains.. . it is incredible how much damage this company has done to these countries and the damage to Italy's image. I am sorry...
Ansoldo did make some great trains for our Metro in Copenhagen, so its not all bad :-) Love Italy cant wait to be back this month!
I would love to travel to these beautiful Romanian cities ☺
Man!
These trains have had a tough time, but I am glad they found a new home!
One of the many failures of AnsaldoBreda. We all know what happened to the Fyra trains between Netherlands and Belgium. They ran only for 40 days because of horrible reliability.
1:37 the cfr (romanian national railway) jingle
It's an old song, "Glasul roților de tren" (The voice of train wheels)
3:00 Are you sure it's really "struggling"? These trains use mechanical transmissions, basically like a bus would, so a gear change sound is to be expected.
One of their many issues is the manual transmission, its probably not the best example of them struggeling but a slight inclince and they will really struggle
@@Simon-Andersen Is it manual? Does the driver shift gears?
It's just an automatic transmission like in a city bus, that's why you hear the gear changes and the revving of the engine. Unlike other trains that use turbo-transmissions by Voith that they rev the engine to the max while gaining speed and then changing to the overdrive gear which couples the engine to the turbo-transmission speed.
@@entroenbanda wait what?? You mean it's not a diesel electric train? It has a clutch, didn't know things like these existed
@@WEMBLEYNE Yes exactly, in this case it has a automatic transmission (I think it's made by ZF Friedrichshafen) coupled to the diesel engine. There are few examples of diesel-electric DMU like the Voyager (Class 220) in the UK but mostly DMUs in Europe are diesel-hydraulic with turbo-transmission fitted by Voith, fully automatic with two or three gears, depending the top speed of the DMU.
Here in Spain all the DMUs owned by Renfe are diesel-hydraulic with Voith turbo-transmissions, with 2 gears, allowing a top speed of 120, 140 or 160km/h. They also can be fitted with a retarder.
Velkommen til Simon . I hope you will take the train from Brașov to Deda or further . The landscape is very beautiful . Check the station Băile Tușnad ☺️✋🇩🇰🇷🇴
Mulțumesc, i would love to explore some more of Romania on my next visit 🇷🇴
Corect, dar pana la landscape turistul,strainul da cu nasul in jegurile de gari, facute in graba si prost.Chiar asta era un aspect din clipul asta..
WOW....excellent Video! BIG LIKE!
Thank you! Cheers!
Supee video, nice ride! Big LIKE
Greetings from Dublin
Andrew
Thank you very much Andrew! Enjoy Ireland
How refreshing to see a video from Romania that doesn't mention Top G! I rather enjoyed your pronunciation of the place names, which was perfect for all I know.
Glad you enjoyed it! No Top G on this channel :P
@@Simon-Andersen I imagine it's been some time since Top G was last seen on a train - it would be an affront to his masculinity! Not to mention other passengers. Thankfully, however, the existence of private jets greatly reduces the risk of an accidental encounter for the vast majority of the travelling public, even if he resumes free movement beyond the vicinity of Bucharest any time soon, an eventuality which may in itself be unlikely. So Romania is yours to explore!
Thanks for this interesting video!
Glad you liked it!
For all who complain about Romanian trains :
As a child i would go from Poland via USSR
to Bucharest . In Poland and USSR the train
was pulled by steam locomotive .....
As we would enter Romania we were
connected to ultra modern Romanian
diesel locomotive . I never forget its
low , powerfull sound .
That would be the famous gray Electroputere locos, which are still in use today 😅
@@wyqtor those gray locomotives and pistacja ice cream was what made
my Romanian vacation so special for years . I miss that today ....
Great video!! Please make about CFR călători trains in Romania!!
Grettings from Romania!!!
I have more videos coming in the future from Romania, greetings from Denmark :D
Beautiful train 🚆 Cheers 👍
It would be interesting to hear in future videos about the gauge differences between origin and destinations and possible respective changes that had to be made. Thanks.
Romania is standard gauge, same as used in Denmark so no change
@@Simon-AndersenHow about the electricity? Denmakrk has 25kV 50Hz. What about Romania? Did they have to change the transformer?
Great video with beautiful landscapes. Romania is a beautiful country( except for the stations)
I agree Brasov apart from the station is stunning
Overusing this DMU on the Bucharest to Brasov rail, especially in the summer will cause to break down, happened quite a few times last summer, most of the time on or after the steep incline from Timisul de Sus to Predeal.
I can imagine!
Honestly I liked the comfort this train offers but it stopped in the middle of nowhere for five times and they refused to allow us leave the train catch an alternative train until Sinaia. We have various problems with old trains in Bulgaria but such issues with a failing EMU/DMU so often en route is something Ive first experienced with this train. I changed to Regiotrans 70s former SNCF DMU which was in a catastrophic condition in terms of cleanliness and safety such as non closing front doors but at least it succeeded to transport me to the final stop.
I can see you have problems to pronounce the name of the train station you pass all the way to Brașov, glad to hear about accesability on the Romanian trains. I love to tell us more. It is a nightmare as a disabled person to travel around Europe and to find out the inconvenience of accessibility. In my opinion the Brașov train station is so ugly never change from the time I was living in Brașov. I was born in Brașov Transilvania 1958. The city is beautiful but puts people off about the train station
Thankfully, most of the train stations are getting reworks in the following years, Bucharest being the most notable.
Also, good thing you didnt continue going up north, because the tracks from Brasov to Sighisoara are so bad, you do 100km in 3h30. ( Current works to redo it completely ).
Theres still a long way to go for Romania when it comes to railways. It still lacks behind by 15 - 20 years
Might have to come that way on one of the night trains some day
Thanks to visit my country
Well, I mean Its not hard to have a clean toilet if it not used, so yeah.
the BEST method is to use the Caluta...
...
I think I must make a trip to Romania at some point. They've got so many trains that have been withdrawn from service in the rest of Europe, UK - maybe even further afield, I'm not sure. Nice to see these trains getting a second life.
It's a really fun place for its interesting railways!
As a dane i hate those seats ...... The funny thing is that is know the guy in charge of the what was dsb maintenance of theese units and now he is a engineer on the most easterly island group a self chosen exile
Been To Brasov un 2016. Not this way. But it is a very impressive city and setting indeed. When can I go back? 🤔😁
I mean by train of course.... 😁
I was looking for the video of your return trip with CFR but I didn't find it. Have you forgot to publish it?
Hi, its not out yet, i could have made that clearer in the video :-) Ill edit it some time in the future
@@Simon-Andersen I guess I thought you will publish the videos chronologically, meaning that the CFR video should come after the IC2 one. Obviously, is not the case :)
I managed to use one in Denmark, going home from Roskilde to Taastrup once, and it didn't fail during that!! But the new Siemens Vectron trains seems not to be functioning that much better for now? 🤨🤔
The Vectrons are the best trains in DSB fleet by a long shot! If you take a look at the DSB månedsrapport from february 2023 the Vectrons drive around 80000km before a issue with the train causes a delay. IC3 is around 50000km, IC4 is waay down at 7000km :-) - If anything its the Dosto stock (24000km) that breaks not the vectrons
Cool video. Maybe next time you could review the IC4s in Libya😂
If the Libyan railways ever gets functional i might have to go there 😂
@@Simon-Andersen 🤣, anyways great video as always
Biggest train fiasco? The Dutch say hold my beer and I will give you the Fyra 🤭
That is also another great train by AnsoldoBreda 🤣
@@Simon-Andersen exactly 😂
Look, Romanians bought it for a peanuts. Why would they complain? Same with Italians and Fyra. I think its a win-win for everybody.
@@avigdonable Yeah, but Trenitalia overhauled them with the help of Hitachi Rail (formerly Ansaldo Breda) and removed all their flaws, making them more reliable. But I believe 2 or 3 trainsets are just kept for spare parts....
@@mureseanu976 No two of them are used for the installation of the ECTS level 3. The Frecciarossa ETR700 will be the first trainsets in Italy with the most advanced security system.
I can't find the return video on the CFR train ?
Hi sorry i could have made that more clear in the video, its coming in the future but im yet to edit it :-)
The original IC2 trains made by ADtranz in Randers were much better than the new ones
I agree, I've spent many hours in them as a kid on Lollandsbanen
Travelled in Romania in Trains from Sibiu to Brasov to Bucharest. It was like travelling in old trains in India
your intro mentioned "the biggest train fiasco." yeah, you should definitly look up the fyra trains in Belgium ;)
Denmark biggest train fiasco 😉 I'm not trying to take away the crown from another legendary AnsoldoBreda failure 😆
@@Simon-Andersen I would argue that the Danish fiasco was worse than the Dutch/Belgian one, because it still seems to affect the service, capacity and popularity of the railways until this day. At least that was my impression of the Danish railways in 2019 - a lot of trains standing on side tracks and not enough to actually operate with. The Fyra debacle did cause some inconvenience, but the percentage of travelers affected by it was limited. And no Fyra train was 'accidentally delivered' to Libya 😂
Now the "fiasco" are happily running as Frecciarossa and with ECTS level 3. Meanwhile there they have a train that go slowly than Fyra.
Thanks for the video, Simon. Indeed, I am now in a garbage train of this, and already one hour behind schedule from Brașov to Bucharest, and had great difficulties in starting and keep it going. It is such a shame to live in Romania... everything is like this. 😔 Hope you don't have much more garbage in Denmark, because for sure, it will be bought as "luxury" here. 🤣🤣🤣🤦♂️
TFC have bought all of the 4 car version of this train for their routes, so looks like you'll be having even more of these "luxury" trains 🤣🤦♂️
@@Simon-Andersen 🤣🤣🤣
Should of told me you were coming to Brasov, would of shown you the pretty part of the town. ^_^
Are these the same trains they use on Oslo Gardemoen Flytoget shuttle?
No I think you're talking about the CAF Oaris that also has a lot of issues 😊
Romania Is a very mountainous country, trains cannot travel at very fast speeds because the infrastructure is ( old AF, not well maintained ) designed with lots of bridges curbs and narrow passages. It wouldn't be safe to travel at high speeds through the mountains.
When is the new Romania episode coming out?
It will probably be a few more weeks :-)
Loved your pronunciation 😂😂😂 Skall from Herning ❤
Electroputere Craiova FTW.
👍👍👍
Bring Electroputere back!!!
Superb presentation ! Congrats !
Thank you! Cheers!
For the algorithm. Greetings from Romania. :)
As a train enthusiast it‘s just pain to hear the engines while accelerating when yo know how good diesel-engines should sound like. I really wonder what went wrong there.
A lot unfortunatly went wrong, but it seems like they at least work somewhat in Romania something that was not the case in Denmark
Det er sku helt surrealistisk og se dem der
@Jeg er pizza? Interessant Twitter-navn. Er du dansk?
Det er jeg :)
nobody is gonna talk about the fact that the cab door was open.
If they are buying up the old IC2's? Its likely for parts.
IC4 trains were bought by a different private operator (TFC)
Have TFC started using them yet?
What were the reliability problems with these trains? Why were they not fixable? 😮
They broke down too often for it to be worth for the Danish railway to fix them. There's more time for that on the Romanian railway
Softrans are much better trains than Astra Railways but they are only on route Craiova - Bucharest - Brașov - Constanța
Might have to try them next time im in Romania
I thought that nation had suffered enough...
😂
😂 No, they are quite masochistic.
@@WEMBLEYNE You know them or youre stupidity talks in youre place ??
But why do they run those diesel-units on a fully electrified rail-line?
Because Romania..🤯🤯
Complicated answer, but in short - they were in urgent need for some rolling stock in order to get a share of the much prized 10-year PSO (public service obligation) contracts and respective subsidies that the state was auctioning off. This meant they needed some quick-and-dirty solution to the problem, and the IC2s offered just that, since their rolling stock construction capacity was and is limited by a series of high-profit, high-volume contracts with public authorities in Romania for tram and light-rail construction (which they also do). The initial plan was to run coach and electric locomotive stock on Bucharest - Brasov, and run these on Timisoara - Baia Mare, but lack of rolling stock meant they chose the more lucrative opportunity.
@@frunzaverde1 finally someone who understands! Excellent reply! 👍
Absolutely horrible trains. They are vastly inferior to anything that the state railway has. Your are lucky you have reached the destination as this things as they usually suffer some catastrophic failure (not even reaching Predeal which is around 30 Km away from Brasov). These junk trains ( as called by rail enthusiast here) almost always gets broken down and leaves its passenger outside to figure on themself how to reach destination. From engine problems to brakes problem they are absolutely horrendous. We have become the railway trash bin of Europe where private companies bring the all the scrap metal from outside and run them here.
Exactly! Bring Electroputere back!!! All this junk is bought by private train companies using state subsidies. Completely unacceptable!😡😡😡
Jeg var i Bucharest, Ploiesti og Brasov i december, og gud hvor ville jeg bare have ønsket jeg havde set de der tog...
De kører 4 gange dagligt så man skal time det 😅
@@Simon-Andersen Tak for info 👍 det husker jeg til næste gang
Do you know what is the biggest problem in this case? Nobody cares about the pollution, running on diesel on an electrified railway, that's the biggest stupidity! It's like having a Tesla but charging it with a diesel generator.
Yeah thats not really great, i'm gussing they dont have anything else more economical to operate on the route
Theoretically you can still benefit from that. A stationary diesel generator running at optimal constant rpm may have better efficiency than a car engine. Moreover, with an EV you get recuperation.
Especially as this route is through valleys in the mountains!
I use these trains every day in Denmark. They were conceived for no electrified railways.
Nice! 🙂
Simple to memorize for Romanian names: don't pronounce the "I" at the end. Plus, there are some special characters like "ș". So, it's: "Ployesht", "Bushten" or "Brashov", for example.
Pity the mountains were partly in the clouds, that's what they look like (back in 2018, Astra Trans Carpatic only operated a train with 1 engine and 1 couchette car on this line):
ua-cam.com/video/Bggik8SiMIc/v-deo.html
Thanks! I will keep that in mind when i make my next Romanian video :-) That is one cute train i hope to try the ATC sleeper next time i visit.
@@Simon-AndersenActually there should be an "i" at the end of Ploieshti &co, but a short one. The accent is never at the end.
another thing, the z in azuga is very hard so it dosnt sound asuga, its AZZuga, the campina is actually cuhmpina, and sinaia, the SIN is more louder so more like SINaia, predeal is like prehdeahl
No, this is Romanian, not French! We actually pronounce all the letters.
Balkans and maintenance....
It's not maintenance, but rather huge problems with the train design and construction itself... ATCs other stock is impeccably maintained.
I always try to forget how disgusting Gara de Nord is. It's embarassing tbh.
It could really do with a renovation :-)
@@Simon-Andersen it’s been stale mating for years, because it’s ‘historical’
@@Simon-Andersen as a matter of fact it is getting a total renovation as funds of about 100 million euros have been approved recently
1:04
Uhm, what did you say there? I couldn't understand a word.
"...The [vast] majority of trains either start or end their journey here"
3:34 Dude didn't even try to google the pronounciation! 😂
Balkan express? Show it, Budapest -Bucharest. Not coming to see Indian Railways? One among the biggest and busiest in the world.
I have a video coming on the Moldova to Romania trains but nothing from India planned, watch the Superalbs or Nonstop Eurotrip channel they just been to India 😊
Umm I ride that train to Brasov every year, twice per year.
That train is 10 times better than any other train in US. Every train I’ve taken in the US is nothing compared to Astra.
And this is based on the fact that the Romanian trains are really old and crappy.
Also, the train does not take long to take off. They have specific requirements for speed and distance and loads.
Uitati ce trenuri ca lumea avem trebuie sa ne sprijinim an ce facem la noi si noi avem oameni inginer tecnicieni cu idei dar nu sant ajutati
Using diesel traction on an electrified line makes little sense. 🤢
I agree
A train that is supposed to be running at 200, but only can barely make 70?! How ineconomical is that?!
Based on their history in Denmark it might break if you try to run it at that speed
@@Simon-Andersen 🤣🤣🤣
@@Simon-Andersen Good thing, because in Romania max allowed speed is 160km/h.. most of limitations is 60-80-100
my language it’s Romania so I’m at danish
A Diesel train that runs under overhead lines all the time?
Nice Video
Follow on Twitter Check
And they are not the only operator on the route to do that :P Thanks!
You would -love- hate the UK, many train operators run on routes which are mostly electrified but only have diesel trains. Some have trains that can run on overhead lines and also diesel, but they go onto diesel mode for some stretches of _electrified_ track because the electrical substations cannot handle the modern demand. It's really annoying.
Better than the LRC cars in Canada.
The LRC cars are a lot quieter :D
It's giving IC4
Almost the same train, just longer!
🚄👈🏽
after getting train from bucharest to brasov so many times in ww2 era trains these are amazing lol
Here's an idea. Instead of you trying to speak the names of locations in foreign countries, use google trainslate (pun intended) spoken.
Be sure to copy the exact name from one of their places with those special characters, so that the translator can speak the correct (as much as it can) title.
Cheers.
3:33 haha, nice try on the pronunciations