I am thinking of spending a few weeks in Romania this fall. I prefer to use rail to go between cities but have read that Romanian rail is old and unreliable. What experiences have people had with the rail system there? I am thinking of starting in Budapest then making my way through to Bucharest.

Any suggestions will be very welcome.

I haven't been to Romania but here is a helpful page from the Seat 61 website (the expert on just about all things train travel related)

https://www.seat61.com/international...-Bucharest.htm

I used trains in Romania in 2014 (reverse direction, Bucharest to Budapest). No issues aside from one train that left 30 minutes late. The rolling stock wasn't the latest but it was fine. Do not miss Szeged in Hungary on your way to Romania.

For my trip start here (links at the top of the page): https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ing-bucharest/