Trains in Romania in 2026: CFR Călători tickets online, train types and discounts

CFR Călători is Romania’s state-owned passenger rail operator, and you can buy its tickets online, in its app, at ticket offices or from machines. Buying on board without a valid ticket costs more: CFR Călători’s price lists charge 13.00 lei on board in Regio second class for up to 30 km, against 7.00 lei for a 21-30 km ticket bought before boarding. Pupils in Romanian schools travel free in second class under Law 198/2023, and full-time students get 90% off on set routes under Law 199/2023 as limited in 2026 by Law 141/2025. Government Decision 527/2023 exempts domestic trains from EU delay compensation until 2 December 2029. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with CFR Călători or the operator of your train.

Who runs passenger trains in Romania

CFR Călători is a company wholly owned by the state, set up by Government Decision 584/1998, as its organisation and legislation page states. Its conditions of carriage cover tickets for the trains it runs.

Other companies run regional services. The national timetable site, run by Informatică Feroviară, a subsidiary of the rail infrastructure company, lists CFR Călători, Transferoviar Călători, Astra Trans Carpatic, Regio Călători, Interregional Călători, Softrans and Ferotrafic TFI, each with its own online shop link (Mersul trenurilor CFR, About page). Check who runs your train before you buy.

Train types: what IC, IR, R-E, R and R-M mean

The CFR Călători app shows each train’s rank as IC, IR, IRN, R-E, R or R-M (CFR Călători, buying tickets online). Government Decision 527/2023, which applies the EU rail passenger rights rules in Romania, defines the groups (HG 527/2023, Article 2):

• IC (InterCity) and IR (InterRegio): long-distance services.
• R (Regio) and R-E (Regio Expres): regional services.
• R-M (Regio Metropolitan): urban and suburban services.

The pages we read do not spell out IRN. Rank matters because fares differ by rank, by class and by distance band (Conditions of carriage 2026, Uniform Rules 18).

How fares work, with examples

A fare is the tariff for the train rank, class and distance band. On trains where a seat reservation is compulsory you also pay a flat reservation ticket (tichet de rezervare) set by rank, whatever the distance (CFR Călători, full price of tickets).

Examples from CFR Călători’s price lists valid from 14 December 2025, VAT included:

• Regio, second class: 7.00 lei for 21-30 km (Regio tariffs).
• InterRegio, second class: 13.50 lei for 21-30 km (InterRegio tariffs).
• Reservation ticket: 4.50 lei on Regio trains and 6.50 lei on InterCity and InterRegio trains (reservation tariffs).

For a real trip, search the route on the CFR Călători site or app, which prices your chosen train, class and passenger category.

Buying tickets online and in the app

You can buy domestic tickets, passes and reservation tickets on bilete.cfrcalatori.ro or in the free “CFR Călători bilete online” app, paying by bank card (CFR Călători, buying tickets online). The same page says:

• You can buy until the train leaves your boarding station.
• In seated and couchette cars you pick your seat, up to 30 days ahead and no later than 24 hours before departure.
• Printing is not required: you show the ticket from your account.

On board you show the online ticket and an identity document such as an identity card, passport or driving licence (Bilete CFR online, terms and conditions). Under point 12 of those terms, refunds are requested from your user account before the train leaves; the transport fare comes back minus a 10% fee, and the reservation ticket is not refunded. An online ticket can be changed once, before the original train leaves, paying any fare difference (CFR Călători, how to buy a ticket).

Ticket offices, machines and buying on board

Ticket offices sell domestic tickets up to 30 days ahead, 60 days for organised groups of at least 20 people, and international tickets up to 3 months ahead (Conditions of carriage 2026, section A). At the departure station you can buy until 3-5 minutes before a seated train leaves (how to buy page).

The same page lists ticket machines at Aeroport Henri Coandă, București Nord, București Basarab, Ploiești Sud, Sinaia, Bușteni, Craiova, Timișoara, Arad, Cluj, Brașov, Predeal, Miercurea-Ciuc, Sibiu, Iași and Constanța. They sell up to 30 days ahead and until 5 minutes before departure, and take inserted bank cards, not contactless.

On the train, staff sell tickets at the higher on-board tariff (taxare în tren) to anyone without a valid ticket, with no discounts. The office price applies in set cases, such as boarding at a stop with no ticket office or machine, or outside ticket-office hours, if you ask for a ticket straight after boarding (CFR Călători, on-board tariff). The on-board list from 14 December 2025 charges 13.00 lei in Regio second class and 21.50 lei in InterRegio second class for up to 30 km (on-board tariffs). Refusing to pay it is a minor offence (contravenție), under Uniform Rule 35(4) in the conditions of carriage.

Seat reservations, sleepers and couchettes

In online searches, trains with a reservation regime carry the symbol “R”, marked compulsory or optional (CFR Călători, full price of tickets). On these trains, tickets without a reserved seat are sold only in second class, only on the day of departure and only once second-class seats are gone (CFR Călători, FAQ).

Night trains can have couchettes with 4 or 6 berths and sleeping cars with 2 beds or a single bed, shown in the app. You pay a bed supplement on top of the fare. Sleeper and couchette tickets are sold up to 30 days ahead at offices, online and at machines. For a domestic trip in a CFR Călători sleeper car on an international train, tickets are sold only at ticket offices, at most 2 days ahead (CFR Călători, sleeper and couchette supplements).

Finding the timetable (Mersul trenurilor)

The national timetable, Mersul trenurilor de călători, is published in Romanian by the national rail company CFR SA. It starts on the second Sunday of December, runs for 12 months and covers all passenger operators licensed by the rail authority AFER (data.gov.ro, CFR Călători timetable dataset). By that rule the next timetable starts on 13 December 2026, the first day of the 13.12.2026-11.12.2027 period in the infrastructure manager CFR SA’s 2027 network statement, Annex 19.

For daily use, mersultrenurilor.infofer.ro offers route search, station departures, a train map and live running data. The CFR Călători app’s “Trenul meu” section also shows live train information. For trips abroad, see our guide to Interrail and Eurail passes in 2026; for the airport line, see Bucharest airport to city centre in 2026.

Discounts: advance purchase, children, pupils, students, pensioners

Buying early. CFR Călători gives 10% off from 11 days ahead and 5% off from 6 to 10 days ahead. The current day is not counted, and it does not combine with pupil, student or pensioner fares (CFR Călători, advance purchase).

Children. Children up to 5 travel free without a separate seat. Under-5s with a seat and children aged 5 to 10 get 50% off; the reservation ticket is paid in full, and you must prove the child’s age (CFR Călători, children).

Pupils. Article 83(1) of Law 198/2023 on pre-university education (consolidated version of 28 September 2026) gives pupils in accredited or authorised Romanian schools, including registered foreign-curriculum schools, free second-class rail travel. In the version we read, it is not limited by citizenship. CFR Călători asks for a pupil card showing the pupil’s CNP (personal numeric code), or a school certificate following the template in Government Decision 810/2023 (CFR Călători, pupils and students).

Students. Article 128(3) of Law 199/2023 on higher education (consolidated version of 16 July 2026) gives full-time students at accredited universities 90% off second-class rail travel up to age 30. Article XXXV(1) of Law 141/2025, reproduced in that text, limits this in 2026 to the route between home town and university town. CFR Călători applies it to Romanian and foreign students and requires a status check at a ticket office, which issues a student ID, before you can buy online; its online terms accept a student card showing a CNP or passport number for foreign students. The pages we read do not say how a foreign student’s home town is set, so ask at the ticket office.

Pensioners. Article 1(1) of Law 147/2000 (consolidated version of 25 March 2012) gives pensioners in the public pension system and in other own social insurance systems 6 single trips a year at 50% off on R and IR trains without compulsory reservation, second class. The coupons are issued by the National Pension House (CFR Călători, pensioners). In the version we read, the law does not mention foreign pensions.

Delays and your EU passenger rights

Regulation (EU) 2021/782 has applied since 7 June 2023 (Article 41). Where it applies in full:

• Article 18: if you expect to arrive 60 minutes or more late, you can choose a refund or re-routing.
• Article 19: compensation of 25% of the fare for a 60-119 minute delay and 50% from 120 minutes, paid within one month of the request; operators may set a minimum claim of up to 4 euros per ticket.
• Article 20(2): meals, and a hotel if needed, for delays of 60 minutes or more.
• Article 28: complaints within three months, answered within one month (three in justified cases).

HG 527/2023 exempts domestic services from Articles 15, 17, 19, 20(2)(a)-(b) and 30(2) until 2 December 2029 (Article 7), and exempts regional and urban trains from most other articles (Articles 5-6). So, in the version we read, domestic trains pay no EU delay compensation in 2026; CFR Călători’s 2026 conditions of carriage say the same for domestic traffic. For international trips, CFR Călători takes delay claims within 3 months of the journey through an online claim form. The enforcement body is the Romanian Railway Safety Authority, ASFR (HG 527/2023, Article 1).

Checklist

• Check who runs your train on mersultrenurilor.infofer.ro.
• Buy before boarding: office, machine, website or app.
• Book 11+ days ahead for 10% off, at most 30 days ahead.
• Look for the “R” symbol and pay the reservation ticket where required.
• Carry an identity document with an online ticket.
• Pupils and students: validate your status at a ticket office first.
• Keep your ticket and file international delay claims within 3 months.

Header photo: CFR Calatori LE5100 and passanger train by Coco13cos, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped; this crop is released under the same licence.

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