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Bucharest Train Station – Gara de Nord

gara de nord / bucharest north railway station building

Bucharest North Railway Station is the main train station in Bucharest and the biggest in Romania. So, if you want to visit Romania by train, you will most probably end up in this place at some point. You might find the place crowded and not the friendliest at first sight, but it’s actually pretty easy to navigate the Bucharest train station. I am here to assist you.

Where to buy tickets in North Railway Station Bucharest 

In Bucharest train station, you’ll find a few train companies, the biggest of them being CFR, which is state-owned. CFR has the most routes, covering most of the country. In recent years, private operators have entered the railway market, but they have limited routes available. CFR has the most sales points in the railway station and the lengthiest waiting lines. Each train company has its own ticket office.

Buy CFR tickets at North Railway Station Bucharest

  • Selling Points: You’ll find the CFR cash desks easily, just across from tracks 14-12. There is one big hall with CFR selling points separated by columns into two rooms. The waiting line is usually shorter in the second room behind the columns. One of the offices is specifically for international tickets. 
  • Vending machines: You can also use automatic vending machines. Here you can pay only by bank card. Contactless payment is not an option – you need to insert your card into the card reader.  
  • Online tickets: the easiest way to plan your trip is by using the CFR website. 

Buy tickets from private operators at Bucharest Train Station

There are 5 private train operators in Romania with stops in Bucharest’s main train station. The tickets for those are usually cheaper, and the trains are newer and cleaner. Some private train operators have offices located in Gara de Nord, but they might be difficult to locate. However, the advantage is that you don’t have to search for a selling point as you can purchase your ticket online or directly on the train from any of these private operators. 

The private operators have limited routes and there might be changes in their summer/winter train schedules. When planning your trip, also check if there is any private train running in the needed direction.  

Here is the list of private train operators at Bucharest Train Station: 

What you can do around Bucharest Train Station 

Coffeeshops, bars and restaurants

If you have some time to spend at North Railway Station, there are some familiar places where you can stay. Here you’ll find KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks and Subway. Most of the time, these places are crowded, and even if you can find a table, you won’t find silence. There are also local coffee shops and restaurants. If you’re hungry but on the run, you can try something from a pastry shop. This is authentic Romanian street food. 

The waiting room of Bucharest North Railway Station

There are two waiting rooms in Bucharest railway station. One is first class (clasa 1), and you can enter here only if you have a train ticket. The place is clean, but not fancy: plastic chairs and plug sockets for charging your phone or laptop. 

In the second-class waiting room, everybody can enter. Here there are also plastic chairs and plug sockets, but everything looks dirtier. Maybe this is why most of the people at North Railway Station prefer to wait for the train outside. 

Gara de Nord Park & Surrounding Area 

Overall, Bucharest is a safe city, above the European average. But the Gara de Nord neighbourhood might look scary, even to locals. Things were much worse 5-10 years ago, now the area is getting cleaner. But you may still see homeless people and people with addictions around. Don’t worry, usually they are not dangerous. Worst case scenario, they might ask you for money. Ignore them, and they will leave you alone.  

Also, it might be better to stick to the main streets in the neighbourhood of Bucharest railway station. The old and unmaintained buildings around complete the depressing landscape.  

There is also a small park across the street, nothing special about it, but it might be a nice place to spend a couple of hours if the weather is nice. Sometimes, the park is dirty and there might be dubious people around. Be careful if you choose to go there. 

Be extra careful in this area if you are here at night. Also, don’t trust taxi drivers who stay in front of the railway station. Most of them are scammers. You better use car-sharing apps. 

Tourist attractions nearby

The closest tourist attractions to Bucharest North railway station are:  

Facilities 

The toilet situation

There are two public toilets in Bucharest, both with an entry fee of 2 leu. Sometimes they’re clean, but most of the time they aren’t. A better idea would be to go to a bar, buy something and use the toilet there. All the toilets in bars and restaurants are for customers only and protected with a code. 

The toilets on trains are not a dream either, but better than the railway station ones. 

Wi-Fi in Bucharest Train Station

You can access the free high-speed internet by logging in with your email address or Facebook account. Wi-Fi is available at cash desks, waiting rooms, and on central train platforms.   

Bucharest train station luggage storage

If you prefer to store your luggage for a few hours while you explore Bucharest, you can choose to leave it in a locker. You’ll find the lockers inside the train station. Most lockers are equipped with one regular plug socket or one USB socket so you can charge your electronics while you are visiting the city. The prices start at 10 lei (around 2 euros) for the first hour and then vary depending on the locker size – you’ll pay an extra fee of 5-15 lei per hour. So, if you have a big bag and want to store it for 12 hours, you’ll pay 175 lei for the entire time. With this money, you can rent a hotel room nearby.  

Or better, you can go to the old baggage storage office, and the lady there will only charge you 12 lei a day for a big bag and 9 lei for a small one.

You can safely store your luggage at the storage office in Gara de Nord

Info boards for Bucharest train station departures

There are a few blue info boards around the station. The main one is in front of tracks 7 – 8, just across from the Information Center, and it displays both arrivals and departures. Because the trains have delays very often, the easiest way to find the board with Bucharest train station departures is by going in the middle of the train station, where there are a lot of impatient people looking up. The same board is available here

Other facilities

In Bucharest train station you can also find ATMs, a currency exchange shop, a pharmacy, a supermarket and various small stores, assistance for persons with reduced mobility (PRM), railway transport police, and a medical office.  

There is no lost and found office in Bucharest North railway station, so please be careful. There are small chances of recovering your lost luggage. 

Traffic 

Bucharest North railway building is old and needs renovation. Also, the whole railway network in Romania needs improvements. Since the 90s, the traffic in North Railway Station decreased, as more and more Romanians prefer to travel by car. Even so, Bucharest’s main railway station still has great traffic, with about 160-200 trains leaving and arriving daily.  

The peak traffic is during holidays, especially on the days before Easter and Christmas. During a normal week, Gara de Nord is most crowded on Friday evenings. 

The international trains connect Bucharest with Budapest, Sofia, Istanbul, Kishinev, and Kyiv. Also, the legendary annual train Orient Express has a stop in Bucharest North railway station on its way from Paris to Istanbul.  

Gara de Nord București – The building 

The main building, completed in 1872, has undergone numerous upgrades over time, reflecting its growing importance. Now it has 8 platforms with 14 tracks. Gara de Nord building is a protected historical monument for its architectural value. 

Unfortunately, the Bucharest North building doesn’t look good. The last renovation was in the late 90s, and another restoration is needed. There is a modernization planned. The project includes an underground connection with Obor railway station.  

Other stations in Bucharest 

There are other small train stations in Bucharest, with low regional traffic. Those are: 

  • Gara Basarab 
  • Gara Băneasa 
  • Gara Carpați 
  • Gara Obor 
  • Gara Progresu 
  • Gara Titan Sud 

How to get to Bucharest North Railway Station? 

Bucharest’s main train station is well connected with the city and the airport. The capital city’s centre, Piata Universității, is 3 km away from the railway. 

If you are in Bucharest, you can take the subway to Gara de Nord station and there, on the subway platform, choose the escalator, then follow the signs to “Gara de Nord”. You’ll end up right inside the station. Pro tip: if crowded, just follow the crowd, most of the people are going to the train station. The subway is the fastest way to get around in Bucharest.  

You can also opt for the surface public transport operated by STB. This is as cheap as the subway but not very reliable due to Bucharest’s congested traffic. You can choose between buses, trolleybuses and trams. You should download the InfoTB app to find the best route to Gara de Nord, and the 24pay app for the ticket.  

Alternatively, you can take a taxi (but be aware that taxi drivers may try to scam you), an Uber, or a Bolt.  

If you come from Henry Coanda Airport, I recommend taking the train. This is the cheapest, fastest and safest option. The train track is built to connect those two points, so no worry about ending up somewhere else – just don’t get out of the train at an early station. Two companies are operating on this track: CFR and TFC.  

Also, there are a lot of connections from Bucharest train station to the rest of the country. 

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