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
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
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!
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
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.
“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...
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
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 ❤🙂🙂🙏🙏
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 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.
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.)
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.
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...
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.
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.
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 ☺️✋🇩🇰🇷🇴
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.
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 .
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!
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 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.
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.
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 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
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
@@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'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...
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
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. 🤣🤣🤣🤦♂️
@@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 😂
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.
@@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 :)
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.
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.
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): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Bggik8SiMIc.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
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.
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 😊
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.