Deluxe Sleeper Train from Istanbul to Sofia (SUPER DELAYED!)

Hello and welcome back to Turkey, where tonight we'll be taking a special sleeper train to Sofia, Bulgaria!

This is one of the very few trains to cross an EU external border, and in my opinion, one of the best sleeper coaches out there! Come along and join me on a trip that didn't exactly go to plan, but was still great fun!

Date of Filming: 4 to 5/9/23
Camera: GoPro Hero 10 Black
Operator: Turkish Railways
Departure: Istanbul Halkali, Turkey
Arrival: Sofia, Bulgaria
Cost: Solo occupancy of a 2-bed compartment:
1,985 Turkish Lira (£54.72, €63.00, $68.75)
2-bed sleeper costs: 1,055 Turkish Lira (£29.09, €33.50, $36.56)
4-bed couchette costs: 900 Turkish Lira (£24.75, €28.50, $31.10)

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[Fanw]

Regarding heavily delayed trains, it seems to be the case that overnight trains are particularly prone to long delays, often of several hours.
A few years ago German Railways(DB) gave up on night trains. French Railways (SNCF) came close to doing the same. Austrian Railways (OBB) with their 'Nightjets' kept faith in 'sleepers', buying some of the surplus German sleeping cars. OBB is bringing new sleeping cars into service on December 10th. There are also now some 'open access' sleeper trains. The end result has been a revival of overnight trains. And it seems that these trains are popular, despite the punctuality problem.

[Mergatroid]

Being from the US, I have plenty of experience with delays. The most delayed train I was ever supposed to be on was an Amtrak Empire Builder running 21 hours late. It was initially delayed due to a disabled freight train on its westbound trip to Seattle/Portland, then it was delayed going back east by more freight train interference, then the crew timed out and they had to drive a new crew out hundreds of miles from the nearest crew change point, then there was more freight train interference, etc.

In the end, I wound up being put on a bus since I was only doing an 8 hour daytime trip between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago (a trip I do frequently) and the replacement bus wound up being faster than the train was scheduled to be, despite breaking down halfway and having to wait almost 2 hours for a replacement bus.

Most of the time when I take the Empire Builder between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago, it's 1 to 3 hours late, but occasionally it's on time and occasionally it's VERY delayed like the 21 hour delay. Thankfully, there's enough demand that Amtrak will charter a bus for passengers just going between these city pairs, and there is a second daily train getting added next year (it was supposed to start this year but it got pushed back due to staff and equipment shortages and funding delays).

[kostashikolarev]

Maybe you don`t have the information, but the tracks between Elin Pelin and Kostenets in Bulgaria, are in a reconstruction and renovation, also like Sofia and Plovdiv main stations and railway passes through the cities. Most of the new line between Sofia and Plovdiv will be on a completly new track, with 14 tunnels and more than 30 bridges, with significantly lower gradient, allowing speeds up to160 km/h and more. Delays are big right now, because of the construction. But, when it`s finished, the travel time between Istanbul and and Sofia will be decreased with a big amount of time.

[howardcobb]

Love the videos. Years ago when traveling for business I called these delays a nuisance now being retired I call them ‘charming’. And yes I have had major delays. Here in the states I was on a 12 hour trip and had a 22 hour delay. Messed up every plan I had and nearly provided too much charm.

[vinitshrivastava]

Thank you for all the hardwork you put in to make such high quality videos. It's really addictive.
Well done 👍

[spark_]

I love that kitty !! Looking sleepy & adorable !! 😍 I'd love to visit Turkey !!👍👍💜🥁🐉🎤🎶✈️🇹🇷🚈💕💞

[PostcardAndAPint]

This was so useful. We’ve never travelled around Istanbul via train or travelled to and from it, but this will be so useful when we do. We love Istanbul, never been to Sofia. It did looks super comfy day and night. Shame about your delays, but it’s all part of travel. Cheers for sharing 🍻

[davidbirch]

There's an international ticket office at Sirkeci Station which is handy if you're staying in central Istanbul and you want to buy tickets in advance without having to go out to Halkalı just to do that.

[spark_]

I just chatted with a very nice, beautiful Turkish lady ( she lives here, my neighbour ) & her gorgeous niece ( about 4 years old ? ) a few days ago ! I really want to visit Turkey 🇹🇷 someday soon !!! They drink lots of tea like me !! Lol. Turkey is No.1Tea consumption country !! Lots of nice cafes in Istanbul !! The beginning scenery was beautiful 😍 💕

[AndrewG]

Very nice sleeper train I have to say. Very nice carriages and also very cute cat onboard as well.

[trainsandmodelshungary]

Excellent video! 1. My biggest delay was over 8 hours by RegioJet between Vienna and Budapest due to severe weather conditions and damaged tracks. 2. I think these Turkish sleepers might have been manufactured and / or designed in Hungary cos quite a few features are very familiar and we do produce similar looking carriages for Egypt. But this is just guessing around. Thank you for the great vid!

[herreach]

The Turkish car quality is way outclassed the Bulgarian, and it seems like along the way they come into the part of Bulgarian rail that's not welded yet

[wouterpaap]

Overnight trains run longer distances than the average IC trains. Last september I traveled from Amsterdam to Bologna. To avoid connections in Germany ( you never get those because of delays) I took the Nightjet from Amsterdam to Innsbruck. On the way back there was a delay of 3 hours 45 minutes, due to track works in, you guessed it...., Germany.

[AnnabelSmyth]

We were on a sleeper train from Hamburg to Stockholm in June this year which should have arrived in the latter city at 09:10. We finally arrived at 16:40, so 7 1/2 hours late! There was almost no food, although they did give us breakfast of a sort, and then later, when my husband went to enquire, gave us a much better breakfast which we suspected was what the customers in the couchette and seated cars normally had to pay for. We were very unimpressed, especially as our 30 hours or so in Stockholm were reduced to about 24.

[neurofrank]

This looks like a nice journey on a comfortable sleeper. Concerning delays, my maximum was about five hours being trapped in a TGV held up at St Raphael due to wildfires along the tracks. The aircon wasn't working, which amounted to sheer hell with two young children. Departure time being uncertain, there wasn't even the option of retreating to a nearby café. We missed our onward connection at Paris. At least, SNCF gave us some vouchers to partially cover the cost of a hotel room.

[RAILEXCELLENCE]

Nice 😊Yikes 4 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES DELAY.We were delayed for 50 minutes on the ICE between Aachen HBF🇩🇪 to Liège.🇧🇪😊 There was a Thalys to Essen HBF that was delayed for 5 HOURS😊

[marcinklimas]

Direct car... Istanbul Sikerci- Beograd. Stranded all day in Sofia. We was arrived at Bg next noon, correctly at evening previous day.

[rochesterjohnny]

Nice train, price seems good also a trip like that on the Amtrak in the US is costing 4 times as much

[fubvssp]

I was just saying that the livery is knock me down stupendous. Then you asked what we think of it. Hehehe Sproing! As Baggins Supercat often says on Twitter. She's in England.

[fakerating]

An overnight Amtrak train, single occupancy sleeper, inside the U.S. approaches $1, 000. Yes, it includes a dinner and light breakfast, but it makes this trip seem like a real bargain. Nice video!