Ultimate Train Travel Guide for Moldova
This guide provides all the information you need to know about train travel in Moldova, including details about the country’s railway network, domestic train services, and international rail links.
Trains in Moldova
Moldova has a fairly small railway network with limited train services, although it can still be of great use when you visit the country on your travels.
While the domestic train service in Moldova may be poor or even non-existent, there are highly useful international rail links from the Moldovan capital of Chisinau to both Romania and Ukraine.
However, don’t expect any luxuries when taking a train across Moldova, as the rolling stock used is showing its age.
In fact, don’t expect trains in Moldova to be fast either, as centuries of corruption and disinvestment have led to the railway network being seriously neglected and in a state of disrepair.
Indeed, it’s often much faster to take a bus than a train to reach your destination!
On the other hand, travelling by train across Moldova is highly affordable, and if you have a sense of adventure, it can be great fun too.
The railway network of Moldova
As Moldova is a fairly small country in both size and population, it’s not much of a surprise that it doesn’t boast the most extensive rail network.
The main railway line across Moldova runs west from the Romanian-Moldovan border at Ungheni to the capital of Chișinău, Tiraspol, and continues east across the Ukrainian border towards Odessa.
There is also a north-south mainline, which links Chișinău and Ungheni with Bălți and Ocnița, and crosses into Ukraine at the Vălcineț – Mohyliv-Podilskyi railway border.
Although there are railway lines towards the south of Chișinău as well, the southern half of Moldova hasn’t seen any passenger rail service in ages.
Just like its neighbour Ukraine, the Moldovan railway network consists of broad-gauge railway tracks (5-foot wide), although dual broad and standard gauge tracks (4 feet and 8.5 inches wide) exist between Ungheni and the Romanian border.
Train operators
Almost all of the passenger trains in Moldova are operated by the Moldovan Railways (Calea Ferată din Moldova), which is usually abbreviated as CFM.
CFM operates all domestic train services in Moldova, as well as the international night train to and from Romania.
International daytime trains between Moldova and Romania are operated by either CFM or the Romanian Railways (CFR).
The international night train linking Chișinău with Kyiv is operated by Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian Railways.
Domestic train services
The Moldovan Railways are in a bit of a shambles at the moment, as CFM faces both financial issues as well as technical problems with some of their trains.
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, train services east from Chișinău towards Tiraspol (in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria) and Odessa have been suspended.
What are domestic trains in Moldova like
Domestic train services in Moldova are typically operated by diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains that have been fully remodelled and modernised, although sometimes locomotive-pulled trains with older Soviet-era carriages are used.
As CFM isn’t the best-run railway company (which is quite an euphemism!), there is no telling which train you will end up boarding on the day of travel, as occasional breakdowns and trains being sent to a repair workshop mean that last-minute rolling stock replacements are fairly common.
The domestic daytime trains in Moldova typically have three travel classes.
On the DMU trains, these travel classes are simply labelled as first class, second class, and third class.
Seats in first class have a 1+2 configuration, with the duo seats at one side of the aisle being ideal for couples or friends travelling together, while the solo seats at the other side of the aisle are perfect for those travelling alone.
Seats in second class are two abreast at either side of the aisle (2+2 configuration) and are usually placed in bays of four seats.
With seats in a 2+3 configuration, third class is certainly less spacious.
The plus side of these modernised DMU trains is that they have power sockets in all classes, and free Wi-Fi internet.
Soviet-era trains
When Soviet-era trains are used for domestic daytime runs in Moldova, it gets a little trickier when it comes to the travel classes, as it all depends on which coaches CFM actually pulls out of the rail yards to operate a certain service.
The travel classes on these ageing trains are still commonly referred to by their Russian names, which complicates the process of making a direct comparison to the more modern DMU trains operated by CFM.
“Kupé” denotes a coach with 4-person compartments, and is normally seen as the equivalent of second class.
The term “platzkart” refers to an open-plan carriage with 54 seats (that can be converted into bunk beds), and is usually seen as the equivalent of third class.
The most basic travel class is known as “obshchi”, which essentially constitutes fourth-class seating, often on wooden benches.
Ticket prices
Train travel in Moldova is highly affordable, with even first class train tickets not costing much by Western standards.
At most, you pay a couple of euros only when travelling across the country.
At the moment, you can’t buy tickets for domestic train trips online, so you have to do this at a ticket office at a Moldovan station (or on board the train in case the station where you board doesn’t have a ticket office).
Travelling by train to and from Moldova
Moldova may very well be the only country in Europe with more extensive international train services than domestic ones.
To both of its neighbouring countries, Moldova has good rail connections.
If you want to travel between Moldova and Romania, you have the choice out of both daytime trains and a night train.
Between Moldova and Ukraine, there is currently only a night train service available.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at all of theses international train connections below.
Moldova to Romania by daytime train
If you want to travel from Moldova to Romania during the day, you have two options: There is a Chișinău-Ungheni-Iași train service, as well as a train that runs just between Ungheni and Iași.
The Chișinău-Iași train is operated by CFM, which normally uses a modern DMU for this service, just like the ones that are used on domestic services in Moldova.
Note that this broad-gauge train uses Iași’s secondary Socola station in the outskirts of the city, and not the main station in the centre.
This is due to the fact that the dual gauge tracks, which both standard and broad gauge trains can traverse, are only extended from the Moldovan-Romanian border as far as Iași Socola station.
There are normally two trains per day in each direction between Chișinău and Iași, although sometimes this is reduced to just a single daily train.
Tickets for the train between Chisinau and Iași can be booked online on the CFM website, and cost 130 Moldovan lei (€6.30) for first class, 100 MDL (€4.85) for second class, and 90 MDL (€4.35) for third class.
The Ungheni-Iași train is operated by CFR, and since it is a standard gauge train, it does actually run to the main railway station of Iași.
This train has 2nd class seats only and costs 12.63 Romanian lei, or 47.50 Moldovan lei (both around €2.50).
Although you can book this train on the international CFR website, you still have to show your reservation code at a ticket office in Romania to pick up your actual ticket.
If you therefore intend to use this train to travel one-way from Moldova to Romania, it’s much more practical just to buy your ticket at the station.
In Iași, you can connect to daytime trains to other Romanian destinations, such as Suceava, Cluj-Napoca, as well as Bucharest.
These day trains from Moldova to Romania also work out great if you want to connect in Iași onto the night trains bound for Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara.
In our Romania train travel guide, we provide more detailed information about this.
Moldova to Ukraine by daytime train
Moldova used to have some good daytime train connections to Ukraine, but that’s sadly no longer the case.
There were one or even two trains a day linking Chișinău and Tiraspol with Odessa, as well as a more obscure train service between Ocnița and Chernivtsi.
Due to some historical quirks, the Ocnița-Chernivtsi train had the distinction of crossing the Moldovan-Ukrainian border five times on its journey!
Both of these train services have however been suspended, the Chișinău-Odessa train due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Ocnița-Chernivtsi train already before the war due to some other issues.
Moldova to Romania by night train
Although it is possible to travel from Chișinău to Bucharest during the day with a simple change of trains at Iași, there is also a highly convenient direct sleeper train that connects the capitals of Moldova and Romania
This Bucharest to Chisinau train is called the ‘Prietenia’ (which means ‘friendship’ in Romanian) and runs daily in each direction.
To overcome the break of gauge at the Moldovan-Romanian railway border at Ungheni, each wagon is jacked up to have its bogies (wheelsets) changed, which is a fun spectacle to watch!
The Prietenia night train uses old Soviet-era rolling stock, with both first class sleeper compartments available, as well as second class couchettes.
First-class compartments, also known by the Russian term ‘Spalny Vagon’ or ‘SV’, have two berths and can also be booked for single occupancy.
Second-class has four couchette berths in each compartment.
Tickets can be bought online at both website of the Romanian Railways (CFR) and the website of the Moldovan Railways (CFM).
The Bucharest to Chisinau Prietenia train costs 131.30 RON (€26) for a berth in a 4-person couchette compartment, 192.91 RON (€39) for a bed in a shared first class sleeper compartment, and 258.56 RON (€52) for a first class compartment for single (private) occupancy.
Note that when you book your Prietenia tickets on the CFR website, you have to collect your actual ticket at a Romanian train station before departure.
Therefore, it’s better to use the CFM website if you want to travel with this train from Moldova to Romania.
Moldova to Ukraine by night train
Although the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine saw many international train services to and from Moldova being cancelled, it also saw the rebirth of the Chișinău to Kyiv night train.
The Chișinău-Kyiv night train is operated by Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian Railways, and runs once every two days in each direction.
The train makes stops at Ungheni, Bălți, Zhmerynka, and Vinnytsya among others, and crosses the Moldovan-Ukrainian border at Vălcineț – Mohyliv-Podilskyi.
On the Chișinău-Kyiv night train you can find first-class sleepers (also known as ‘spalny vagon’ or ‘de lux’) with two berths in each compartment, second-class sleeper compartments (also known as ‘kupé’, and comparable to couchettes), and third-class platzkart, an open-plan carriage with 54 bunk beds.
For single (private) occupancy, you must book both berths in a first-class sleeper compartment, or all four berths in a second-class compartment.
A berth in a first-class compartment costs 5241.90 Ukrainian hryvnia (€127), while a berth in a second-class compartment costs 2828.96 UAH (€68), and a berth in platzkart costs 2013.82 UAH (€49).
Train tickets can easily be booked online at the Ukrzaliznytsia website (note that Chișinău is listed as ‘Kishineu’ in their system).
Other international train services
Moldova used to have good rail links to Russia, with up to two daily night trains from Chișinău to Moscow, and a daily service to Saint Petersburg.
However, these train services were suspended when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and have not been resumed since.
Given the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is highly improbable that trains between Moldova and Russia will resume in the near future, as any potential service would need to pass through Ukraine.
Considering Moldova’s firm pro-Ukrainian and pro-Western stance, there is likely zero political appetite for such rail links anyway.
Dining cars on Moldovan trains
If your domestic train journey in Moldova is operated by one of the modernised DMU trains, you will find a small counter on board where you can purchase drinks and basic snacks.
The same applies to the Chișinău-Iași daytime service, as this is operated by a modernised DMU as well.
The Prietenia night train linking Bucharest with Chișinău features a dining car that offers a wider range of drinks and snacks, but don’t expect to find cooked dinner options here either.
It’s however a great place to drink a beer or to try out some of Moldova’s excellent wines (a bottle costs only €3.50!).
Make sure you bring some Moldovan or Romanian lei in cash, as card payments are not accepted.
Scenic railway lines in Moldova
Moldova is certainly no Switzerland when it comes to scenic train journeys.
Although it can be highly pleasant to travel by train through Moldova and the views aren’t bad, the scenery doesn’t really extend beyond rolling hills.
As such, I cannot recommend any specific railway line in Moldova if you are looking for scenic train journeys.
Railway stations in Moldova
Chișinău’s railway station is a lovely building, but compared to train stations in other European capitals, it is fairly small and has more of a provincial feel to it.
Although there aren’t many facilities and shops inside the station itself, you will find plenty of cafés, restaurants, supermarkets, and exchange offices in the immediate vicinity.
Ungheni’s train station is also quite impressive, given its status as a major railway junction and border station.
However, other stations in Moldova have a much more small-town feel, with facilities that pale in comparison to those in other European countries.
Conclusion
Taking the train is a great way to travel to Moldova, although it may not be as useful for travel within the country due to the limited scope of the Moldovan railway network.
The railway links between Moldova and its two neighbours, Romania and Ukraine, are great.
If you want to travel between Moldova and Romania, you have the option of daytime trains to Iași, or the highly convenient Prietenia night train, which connects Chișinău with Bucharest.
A modern Ukrainian sleeper train links Chișinău with Kyiv, and also makes for a great way to travel to Moldova.
Unfortunately, due to years of corruption and disinvestment, the Moldovan national railways (CFM) are in a state of disarray, and domestic train services are highly erratic.
Given that most of Moldova’s tourist sights aren’t located near railway lines anyway, this won’t really impact the average tourist visiting the country though.
