The weight of this review is for travellers who intend to use the airport train, with a few tips and observations. I've travelled into Bucharest quite a few times now, but have reached the limit of tolerating rip off yellow taxis; meters that don't work; a rate of 100 ROM to get downtown (higher than that quoted in airport arrivals); cash only; and difficulties of getting a receipt (the driver hunting through a sheaf of receipts from the glove compartment, with a variety of rates / dates wouldn't be accepted by the folks that audit my company credit card submissions). On this trip, I travelled both ways on the airport train. So here goes:
1. It's cheap. 5 ROM for a one-way journey. Like that's really cheap!
2. Payment is easy. Either the ticket office in the station, or my preferred option, a machine in the ticket office. Just look for the bottom option - that's the one for the airport train (the language options are either Romanian or English). 5 ROM in exchange for a ticket, and that all valuable receipt. You can also pay remotely on the train (no receipt), or the conductor.
3. It's quick. 19 minutes. OK, so that might not be to your final destination, but it's less scary than a taxi, free of the driver's cigarette smoke and less frustrating than being stuck in Bucharest traffic.
4. They depart every 40 minutes.
5. Getting on at Gara du Nord is easy. Get your ticket and jump on the next train (mine was platform 4). Getting off at the airport, well getting to Departures is not as well connected as you might think, but follow the arrows and you will eventually make it. Eventually.....
6. Whoever designed the carriages is clearly not an air traveller. You'd think there'd be space for baggage right? Wrong. And split floor levels / steps are really not helpful for those passengers with baggage. And the carriages are noisy, rock and sway around a fair bit, they just feel old fashioned and really should be better!
7. But it beats the yellow taxi anyway!