Gara de Nord, Bulevardul Garii de Nord 2 (tel: (021) 223 2060), is the city's main train station. Those entering the station without a train ticket are charged a small fee at the station entrance; this is to discourage pickpockets and other petty criminals. Facilities include ATM machines, fast-food restaurants, bars, newspaper stands, shops, a tourist agency, pharmacy, supermarket, florist, hair salon, 24-hour left luggage and a waiting room for first-class ticket holders. The ticket counter for domestic trains is on the station's right-hand side; international trains are to the left. Bucharest also has two smaller train stations (Gara Obor, Bulevardul Garii 3, and Gara Baneasa, Strada Dr Minovici 1) serving trains running east to the coast, during the summer.

The Romanian state railway, SNCFR (tel: (021) 307 7901; website: www.cfr.ro), provides a reliable and often scenic means of transport to destinations outside Bucharest. Rail information is available by calling the information line (tel: 9521). You can buy advance tickets for all trains at the SNCFR offices on Strada Domnita Anastasia 10-14 (tel: (021) 313 2644). Visitors departing within 24 hours, however, must buy their tickets at the relevant train station, where queues can be long. Prices are reasonable and first-class tickets are recommended, as the extra comfort is worth the cost. Tickets are checked at the platform entrance.

There are four types of train. InterCity trains (indicated by IC on timetables) are fastest and only stop at major Romanian cities, such as Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Timisoara. The next fastest are rapid trains (indicated in green), then accelerat (red). The slowest are the local trains (personal). Direct trains also run to Budapest and Istanbul. Trains to Western European cities run via Budapest.