Although the train service between Istanbul and Belgrade exists on paper, it has practically ended.
The train service between Istanbul and Belgrade, which had taken attention of Europe-Turkey travellers has practically ended.
The passengers of this train have to interchange at Sofia, if the train arrives on time.
The Istanbul-Belgrade train service was a couchette wagon, which is carried by Istanbul-Sofia and Sofia-Belgrade train services. This enabled passengers to stay at the same wagon without any interchange during whole trip from Istanbul to Belgrade.
However, the irregular delays of both trains caused problems, and one train started not to wait the other in case of delay, which ended the train service in practice.
TCDD staff gives information about this situation on ticket offices, however, the full train ticket is sold without any warning at Serbia. This causes many passengers missing the train and staying at Sofia one night to get on the next train.
Istanbul-Belgrade train details
Cover Photo: Onur Uysal ©
Categories: Passenger
Rail Turkey En 
This train is and has been for years a total joke. Between Dimitrovgrad (Serbia) – Niš the train runs with a diesel without any train electrical supply so the TCDD sleeping car comes a sauna. Most days this doesn’t make it and people are stranded in Sofia, it’s a disgraceful service
Electrification and upgrade of Serbian railway is in progress. It will have been reliable once this work would have been finished.
The failure of this service is unfortunate. It’s not as if the two cities are thousands of kilometres apart. And it’s not as if railways haven’t previously offered trans-border travel, as they did — and, still do — between Canada and the U.S.