The Slow Train to Slanic: A Lovely Ride Through Rural Romania

June 24, 2023October 6, 2023 Koen 1 Comment

With lovely views of rural Romania from the open window, taking the Transferoviar Călători (TFC) train to Slanic is slow travel at its best.

The train makes for the best way to get from Bucharest and Ploiești to Slanic, a town famous for its salt mine and therapeutic salt lakes.

Join us for the ride as we take the slow train to Slanic!

slanic salt mine salina day trip — *The Slanic Salt Mine is located 208 metres below the surface. ©Paliparan*

Bucharest Gara de Nord

The journey begins at the grand but rather derelict railway station of Bucharest Gara de Nord, the main station of the Romanian capital.

From here, trains depart to destinations all over Romania, as well as to neighbouring countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary and Moldova.

Most of these trains are operated by national operator CFR.

However, the trains to Slanic are run by a private company called Transferoviar Călători (TFC).

While there are one or two direct trains connecting Bucharest with Slanic each day during the summer season, you will probably have to change trains at Ploiești outside of peak hours and high summer.

You can purchase tickets for the train online through the Transferoviar website, at their station ticket counters, or on the train itself if you are boarding from an unstaffed station.

A one-way ticket to Slanic costs approximately €4 to €5, depending on the exact train you take.

bucharest gara de nord — *The exterior of Bucharest Gara de Nord. ©Paliparan*

bucharest gara de nord departures board — *People looking at the departures board at Bucharest Gara de Nord. ©Paliparan*

Transferoviar Călători TFC train bucharest gara de nord romania — *The Transferoviar Călători train (right) arrives at Bucharest Gara de Nord. ©Paliparan*

On board the train

In between the big trains of CFR, the small, dark-red coloured Transferoviar train was certainly the odd one out at Bucharest Gara de Nord.

These Transferoviar trains, officially known as the DH 2 (Diesel Hydraulic), were manufactured in Germany in the 1980s and were originally used by the Dutch Railways (NS).

In the Netherlands, these trains are more commonly known by the nickname “Wadloper” (which translates to “Mudflat walker” in English), as they were primarily used in the northern part of the country on the railway lines that run along the tidal flats of the Wadden Sea.

In 2011, Transferoviar Călători acquired some of these Wadloper trainsets, which are still in use on certain rural lines in Romania, most notably those around Ploiești and Cluj-Napoca.

Although the exterior may have been repainted in the colours of Transferoviar, the interior remains exactly the same as it was when this train was operating on the Dutch railways.

As I still remembered these trains from my youth in the Netherlands, it was certainly fun to see them being used in my adopted country of Romania!

Transferoviar Călători TFC — *The Transferoviar Călători train to Slanic. ©Paliparan*

second class seats train wadloper — *The train has second class seats only. ©Paliparan*

wadloper train romania — *The train’s interior is still exactly the same as it was when in service with the Dutch Railways. ©Paliparan*

Slow travel

If you are on a direct train, the journey north from Bucharest to Slanic will take around 2.5 hours.

As the rail distance between Bucharest and Slanic is only 105 kilometres, it means that the train has an average speed of only 42 kilometres per hour (26 mph).

Fast it is not, but if you come prepared and see the journey across southern Romania as a trip in its own right, then the Slanic train will be slow travel at its best.

This of course means that it’s vital to bring some drinks on board to ensure you stay hydrated.

iced coffee transferoviar — *Waiting for departure with an iced coffee within easy reach. ©Paliparan*

Ploiești

The initial part of the journey from Bucharest to Ploiești may not be the most exciting, as this stretch traverses the flat and featureless Wallachian Plain.

It’s however still good fun to have a look at the rural stations on this stretch.

Just before the Transferoviar Călători train approaches the oil city of Ploiești you can see the cooling towers of the refineries in the distance.

You will also likely pass by some sidings with tanker wagons transporting oil, adding to the industrial scenery of the Ploiești area.

The train first makes a stop at Ploiești Sud station, the city’s main railway station on the mainline from Bucharest to Suceava.

It then reverses direction and continues its journey towards Ploiești Vest station, the city’s secondary railway station on the Bucharest-Brașov mainline.

It makes the Transferoviar Călători train to Slanic rather unique being one of the very few trains to stop at both of the Ploiești stations.

wallachian plain slow travel romania — *Riding north across the Wallachian plain. ©Paliparan*

Periș station transferoviar slow travel romania — *Stop at the station of Periș. ©Paliparan*

brazi Ploieşti — *Brazi station just south of Ploieşti. ©Paliparan*

oil refineries ploiesti — *Oil refineries. ©Paliparan*

Trainwreck romania — *Trainwreck. ©Paliparan*

Ploieşti Sud train station transferoviar — *The station of Ploieşti Sud. ©Paliparan*

Off the mainline

Just north of Ploiești Vest, the Transferoviar train departs from the Bucharest-Brașov mainline and continues along the single track line that leads towards Slanic.

The scenery instantly becomes more beautiful as the train passes through sunflower fields and rolling hills start to emerge on the horizon.

The downside is that at this point, the relatively high speeds we enjoyed so far instantly decrease, as the track quality of this branch line is not the best, to say the least.

Bucharest Brașov mainline — *After the stop at Ploieşti Vest, the train continues north on the mainline to Brașov for a short while. ©Paliparan*

softrans ploiesti brasov — *Our train heads off the mainline at a junction north of Ploieşti, while a red Softrans train continues north towards Brașov. ©Paliparan*

sunflower fields slow train travel romania transferoviar — *Sunflower fields as seen from the train. ©Paliparan*

Jungle

It’s not only the poor track quality that makes the train ride to Slanic excruciatingly slow, but also the lack of upkeep of lines like these across Romania.

At one point, the train passes through dense vegetation, creating the feeling that you are actually riding on a jungle railway somewhere in Malaysia instead of a slow train in Romania.

Some of the trees really could be trimmed down a bit to make it easier for the train to pass.

Be careful if you have the windows open, as some of the tree branches will come through the window and might hit you in the face!

dense foliage jungle train — *Riding through some dense foliage. ©Paliparan*

Open window

Apart from the stretch through the dense vegetation, it’s otherwise a great pleasure to have the window open.

The open window not only provides a refreshing breeze on hot summer days but also offers a great opportunity for capturing photos more easily during the journey.

slow train romania transferoviar slanic — *View from a train on the Ploieşti-Slanic line. ©Paliparan*

hilly landscape view train — *The landscape slowly turns more hilly. ©Paliparan*

Single track line

The railway line to Slanic is single track only, although certain stations along the route have additional tracks to facilitate the passing of trains.

This is for example the case at the station of Plopeni Sat, where we had to wait for 10 minutes for the train in the opposite direction to arrive before we could continue our journey towards Slanic.

Plopeni Sat transferoviar train slanic slow travel romania — *Plopeni Sat station. ©Paliparan*

plopeni station romania — *Waiting at Plopeni station for the train in the other direction to arrive. ©Paliparan*

Rivers

After the stop at Plopeni Sat, the Transferoviar train will cross a few rivers.

The train will first cross the small Mislea River, followed shortly by the crossing of the Vărbilău River, which has a much wider riverbed.

At this point, the Carpathian foothills seem to draw nearer with each passing moment.

plopeni carpathian foothills romanian slow train travel — *North of Plopeni, the Carpathian foothills really start to appear. ©Paliparan*

plopeni river — *Crossing the small Mislea River just outside Plopeni. ©Paliparan*

Small villages

The train ride to Slanic may be slow, but if you travel in spring or summer you will at least enjoy the views over the lush countryside.

Apart from green hills, fields and forests, the train will also pass through a couple of small villages.

Right next to the small Vărbilău station, there was a little farmers’ market that seemed to catch the interest of car drivers passing by.

slanic railway line view — *Lush, green landscape on the railway line to Slanic. ©Paliparan*

transferoviar train slanic view — *Hanging out of the window of the Transferoviar train to Slanic. ©Paliparan*

pond hills — *Small pond and some hills as seen from the train. ©Paliparan*

Vărbilău River Transferoviar train slanic slow travel romania — *Riding along the Vărbilău River. ©Paliparan*

Vărbilău train station romania — *Stop in the village of Vărbilău. ©Paliparan*

Vărbilău farmers market — *Small farmers’ market next to the station in Vărbilău. ©Paliparan*

Arrival in Slanic

A short while later we approached the outskirts of Slanic.

We passed by another Transferoviar Călători train parked at the sidings and eventually arrived more or less on time at the small terminus station of Slanic.

slanic outskirts — *Approaching the outskirts of Slanic. ©Paliparan*

bucharest slanic train day trip — *The train from Bucharest has just arrived at the station of Slanic. ©Paliparan*

Slanic station

The train station of Slanic is located right in the town centre.

Just a short 5 to 10 minutes’ walk away from the station you will find the famous thermal lakes and salt mine of Slanic.

I’ve detailed my visit to Slanic in another article, so check that out if you want to learn more about this town and its sights.

The Slanic station building houses a small shop selling swimming inflatables and beachwear, which can be handy if you take your children to one of the lakes.

However, I was instead rather tempted to buy a small inflatable pool from the shop and fill it with water from a tap at the station.

It would have been a refreshing way to cool down at the station platform while waiting for my train back!

slanic train station slow travel romania transferoviar — *Slanic train station. ©Paliparan*

slanic railway station — *The railway station of Slanic marks the end of the line. ©Paliparan*

slanic station shop — *The Slanic station building houses a small shop selling inflatable pools. ©Paliparan*

slanic station — *The railway tracks at the station of Slanic. ©Paliparan*

Transferoviar Călători train slanic slow travel romania — *Transferoviar Călători train at the sidings of Slanic station. ©Paliparan*

Journey back

After a fun afternoon in beautiful Slanic it was time to head back to Bucharest.

Following a short wait, the Transferoviar train arrived at Slanic Station, swiftly completing its turnaround to commence the return journey.

This time, the train would only travel as far as Ploiești, where I would need to change trains in order to reach Bucharest.

I took a seat on the opposite side of the train from where I had sat on the outbound journey, allowing me to enjoy a different view on my journey back.

Fresh air

As the summer temperatures were absolutely soaring it was a welcome relief to be able to open the windows of the Transferoviar train.

I probably spent half of the time hanging out of the window enjoying the fresh wind in my hair.

It also made for a great way to absorb the environment and all the train sounds from the rickety rails, accompanied by the frequent honking of the train driver.

open window view — *View from the open window. ©Paliparan*

poiana slanic station transferoviar slow train romania — *Poiana Slanic station. ©Paliparan*

slow train romania — *Although the return journey was equally slow, I did really love hanging out of the train window to fully absorb the beautiful landscapes of Romania. ©Paliparan*

Level crossing

Another reason why rural train rides can be slow in Romania is the presence of unguarded railway crossings.

Trains inevitably slow down as they approach these unguarded level crossings to ensure they avoid any collision with a car driven by a careless driver.

Pleasant ride

The return journey was a highly pleasant ride as well.

Despite the slow speed of the train journey, I always find great joy in observing the traditional train station scenes in Romania, where uniformed station masters wave off each train.

transferoviar slow train romania — *One of the rural stations on the Slanic-Ploiești railway line. ©Paliparan*

train view — *View from the train. ©Paliparan*

slanic train transferoviar — *Passengers boarding the Transferoviar train at one of the intermediate stations. ©Paliparan*

*Crossing the River Vărbilău. ©Paliparan*

Arrival in Ploiești

After a while we rejoined the Brașov-Ploiești mainline again just before Buda station.

Although Buda station is certainly not as grand as magnificent Budapest Keleti Palyaudvar in Hungary, it doesn’t look that bad for a minor junction station in the countryside.

We eventually pulled into the station of Ploiești Sud bang on time.

ploiesti agriculture — *Agricultural fields around Ploiești. ©Paliparan*

transferoviar train slanic Ploiești — *The Transferoviar train from Slanic has arrived at Ploiești. ©Paliparan*

ploiesti transferoviar wadloper train romania — *A look at my Transferoviar ‘Wadloper’ train from the adjacent platform. ©Paliparan*

Ploiești Sud station

At Ploieşti Sud, I had 30 minutes between the arrival of my train from Slanic and my connecting train to Bucharest.

I certainly didn’t mind the long wait as it provided a great opportunity to buy some much-needed Fanta and water to cool down a bit more in the scorching summer temperatures.

Ploieşti Sud is quite an impressive station and certainly isn’t a bad place to change trains.

Being situated on the railway line connecting Bucharest to north-eastern Romania (the region of Moldavia, to be precise), Ploieşti Sud has always been the city’s most important station.

Historically, the station of Ploieşti Vest, situated on the mainline to Braşov in Transylvania, held less significance as that region only joined the (then) Kingdom of Romania after World War I.

Ploiești sud train station — *The main hall of Ploiești Sud train station. ©Paliparan*

*The entrance to Ploiești Sud railway station. ©Paliparan*

station forecourt — *Station forecourt. ©Paliparan*

Back to Bucharest

My train back to Bucharest was a Transferoviar train that originated in the city of Buzau.

The train was already quite full when it arrived at Ploieşti and I was happy I had a reserved seat and didn’t have to stand.

It was bloody hot inside the train on the final stretch to Bucharest and I was quite envious of the women seated diagonally opposite me who was smart enough to bring a small fan with her!

ploiesti station platform — *Waiting on the platform for the train to Bucharest to arrive. ©Paliparan*

buzau Ploiești bucharest train transferoviar romania — *The Buzau to Bucharest train arrives at Ploiești Sud. ©Paliparan*

bucharest train — *On board the train to Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

Arrival

We eventually arrived back at Bucharest Gara de Nord with a 10 minute delay.

From the station, I walked for 20 minutes through a leafy suburb with magnificent interbellum houses to Cișmigiu Park.

In the park, I treated myself to a refreshing cold beer to recover from the wonderful yet exhausting day trip to Slanic.

bucharest abandoned building — *Walking towards the city centre of Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

overgrown house — *Overgrown house in Bucharest. ©Paliparan*

bucharest abandoned building house — *Another lovely old Bucharest house engulfed by plants and trees. ©Paliparan*

Cişmigiu park beer — *Enjoying a cold beer in Cişmigiu Park to conclude the beautiful train trip. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

Although the train ride to Slanic may be slow, it makes for a wonderful journey through the scenic countryside of Romania.

From the open window of the Transferoviar train you can enjoy some superb views of sunflower fields, forests, rolling hills and rivers.

It was good fun to see DH 2 ‘Wadloper’ trains being used by Transferoviar on the railway line to Slanic, as I still remember these old trains from my youth in the Netherlands where they were originally used before the company acquired them second-hand.