Hello dear viewers, please join us on our epic 5day train-Adventure from Switzerland to Turkey.
lets jump right in and let me tell you more about the trip on the way. Since 1883, la Compagnie Internationale de Wagons-Lits (CIWL) offered the Orient Express, connecting Paris to Constantinople via Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Bukarest. After 1919, to avoid crossing Germany, Austria or Hungary, the Simplon Orient Express offered different connection via Switzerland and Italy through the Alps by using the famous Simplon and Tunnel. The mainlines were supplemented by a multitude of through coaches, providing an extensive Network through Europe. In 1962 and 1977 respectively, CIWL stopped operating the Orient Express. To recreate the journey, we will stitch it together by using different mainline trains. Very roughly, we will take the EC47 to Venice, crossing the alps trough the Simplon tunnel. On the second day, we will get to Villach in Austria at the Slovenian Border with a Regiojet from ÖBB In the evening, we will board the Optima Express, which will take us to Edirne Turkey. The last journey will be the regional train "Trakya Eskpresi" to Istanbul. If you want to travel the whole route - you should take a TGV to Lausanne from Paris Gare de Lyon - but be careful to choose a connection through Vallorbe and not Geneva Light luggage makes interchanges and walking to the hotels much more easy. This EC Service is operated by SBB and Trenitalia with ETR 610 tilting trainsets. Today, we get a fresh and clean looking SBB trainset. Thankfully on this train, the seats are well aligned with the windows and thus offer a perfect view on the scenic view from the Simplon line. The EC47 provides a dining car for meals, drinks and snacks. We will have lunch there later in the day. We cross to Italy through the famous 19 km long Simplon Tunnel. From its opening in 1906 until 1982, it used to be the longest railway tunnel in the world - and it is still part of one the most important alpine corridors. After leaving the alpine Highlands and the Lago Maggiore behind us, we now dash trough Lombardy towards Milano, where we will have a scheduled stop of a few minutes in Milano Centrale. ETR 600 trainset - the same as ours but without
support for voltage and signaling in Switzerland and Germany. The 25 Minutes Stop is a perfect occasion for stretching legs and getting a sneak preview of the impressive Architecture of the station. The ticket from Lausanne to Venice is between 100€ to 170€ per person.
We travelled in Switzerland with our yearly general suscription.
The first-class ticket from Domodossola to Venice was 53€. After leaving Milan, it’s time for lunch in the dining car. As it is operated by SBB, prices are quite high. Expect to spend about 20€ - 25€ for a meal with a drink. But in my opinion, it’s absolutely worth it. The presentation and food quality on SBB trains is in general great. We went for the traditional Hörnli and the Cappellacci pasta dishes. After this nice meal, it’s time to relax and enjoy the sublime north Italian scenery through these very clean and low tinted windows. Thank you SBB for keeping the trainset in this wonderful condition. As we arrive in Venezia Mestre, here a tip for anyone interested in a similar journey. there are two different stations in Venice Depending on your budget and preferences, one may be better suited than the other. If you are on a budget, staying close to Venezia Mestre, the mainland station, Hotel prices tend to be more affordable and generous in size. Catching a commuter train later in the day to visit the touristic areas is simple and cost less than 2€ per person Santa Lucia is located on the Northern edge of the historic city of Venice. It’s very convenient and close if you plan to visit and stay overnight within the historic and touristic areas. We arrive in Venezia Santa Lucia with a delay of three minutes - just in time. We can now spend the afternoon and evening exploring the city and getting a rest for tomorrows journey. Today, we will first reach Villach with an ÖBB Regiojet - I'm excited, as this is my first trip on an ÖBB train. Venice is well connected to Austria and Germany with ÖBB trains. Here is a Nightjet from Munich and Vienna. What happened here? Almost all of the cars are covered in these black smudges, almost like burn marks from nearby grinding. According to the ÖBB website delays up to 40 minutes are to be expected because of construction work in Italy. We make a huge detour towards Padua. Unfortunately this trainset is covered in dirt - depending on the angle of sunlight, it's almost impossible to enjoy the scenery from our seats - as you can see. During noon, we switch to the wonderful bright dining car. OBB offers a great menu with good prices. Unfortunately, only cash is accepted. We are now reaching the alps again, crossing to Austria from tunnel to tunnel with short but sublime views in between. The tickets from Venice to Villach were 58 € per person. Total of the trip until now 113€ per person. And we arrived in Villach at 13:43 with a delay of still about half an hour. Now we will get rid of our luggage (temporarily) and head to a surprise intermediary destination. We are heading to Velden to spend some time by the Wörthersee until we catch the Optima Express in the Evening. The Strandbad Velden is a great place to hangout, a dip in the lake and have a shower before boarding the Optima-Express as later (unfortunately!) doesn’t have rolling stock equipped with showers. From here we return back to Villach, where will have a quick dinner and transfer to the car-terminal. The Optima Express departs from the car loading siding just east of the main station. About 20 mins to walk or 5 minutes by Taxi. The Optima Express is a private train company that offers a direct "non-stop" motorail connection between Villach in Austria and Edirne in Turkey. It mostly caters to Turkish expats traveling between Germany or Austria to Turkey and who search to avoid to drive in former Yugoslavia. Even though you can take your car - you are free to book a place without it. he Optima Express consists of former Slovenian Couchette cars, a dining car and a dozen of car wagons. As it seems, there is also a sleeper in the trainset. It turns out - we got a compartment in the sole sleeper of the train. Acoording to the staff, the sleeper was rented for a month to provide a few extra seats, so we are very lucky! It is the only car equipped with AC. Beginning of shunting The journey starts already with a bad omen, as the original departure, 9 pm passes by and we don't leave yet. Rumor has it that ÖBBs technicians, who will perfomre the brake check after the shunting, are late. And we are moving! We left Villach with a delay of 90 minutes. On the bright side, this means we won’t have to line up at the Turkish border Kapıkule at 4 am as scheduled. Good morning! We crossed into Croatia at 5 am, now we are at 30 km east of Zagreb. In total we made 290 km since the departure 8 hours ago. The Schengen - EU Border in Dobova was simple, we were knocked awake a few polite customs officers went through the train and checked the passports with a mobile reader. The train is absolutely packed - and fully booked out according to the staff. Now it's time for some turkish style breakfast at the dining car. The Optima Express dining car offers reasonably priced fresh meals - but guest are also free to bring their own supplies. Get snacks and drinks, especially for the Optima Express. Even though most trains feature a dining car, having enough to drink is very important Note that if the Optima Express starts in Villach on a Sunday, all shops will be closed. We are traveling directly to Edirne and there are no stops to hop on or off in-between. This means that unfortunately, we are not allowed to leave the train during service stops. We finally reached the Serbian border at Tovarnik - we are ready for the second passport check on this journey, while waiting comfortably in our compartment. A great occasion to quickly show you the compartment of the sleeper. It is designed to accomodate 3 people and it is now set into day mode. Three beds can be folded out by the staff - and they are very comfortable. There is enough space for luggage and integrated coat hangers. The car was restored by it's owner Train Rental International just a few years ago. As all ex-CIWL Sleepers from the 50's, each compartment has it's own washbasin, which is equipped with the only plug. There are controls for the AC, and each bed has it's own reading light.
Unfortunately, you can't fold and unfold the beds by yourself. It is now time to continue to relax, read and enjoy the beautiful view of the flatlands until Belgrad. Staying in the only car with AC is a true blessing, as outside temperature now start to reach 30 degrees. In the couchette cars - it's nice when the windows are open and you get some wind. But during the frequent stops, you get slowly cooked. The couchette cars are equipped with toilets and washbasins
for personal hygiene. In suburban traffic, old soviet ŽS series 412 are omnipresent.
They were built by Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca in Latvia. After crossing through Belgrade, we are winding through the Serbian hills and forests towards Niš. The emphasis lies on slowly - and we are far behind our schedule. According to dining car rumors, we are travelling with a delay of 12 hours. The staff doesn't know when we will arrive The arrival is scheduled to 6am tomorrow Tuesday. But when will we arrive? What do you think? have guess and let me know in the comments bellow. Thankfully, the delay doesn't bother us too much, as we will stay overnight in Edirne anyway. Most other travellers also accept their fate without complaining. In general, the vibe among passengers and the mostly serbian crew is extremely relaxed, familiar and sympathetic. You could see that everybody is really enjoying the journey. You could see that everybody is really enjoying the journey. So it’s time for the second meal in the dining car - and time to enjoy the wonderful colours above the Serbian sky. After Nis, we are brought to the Bulgarian Border by a ZŠ 666 diesel engine, which struggles to pull the long and heavy train up the slope. For three hours, we travel with an average speed of slightly above 20 km/h. We just entered Bulgaria in Kalotina. Time to sleep again. After about one hour and a half at the respective border stations, we entered Bulgaria about an hour after we should have arrived in Edirne. Slowly slowly we continue easterwards The Optima Express is pulled by a double traction BDŽ 44 or 46. At this curved service stop, we can very well see the impressive length of the Optima “Express” I calculated and todays Optima Express composition measures 456.5m By the way, this year the Optima Express features WiFi. But to be honest, except for Serbia, you will have a decent LTE or 3g connection along the line. Nevertheless - get enough entertainment, download movies, get a book. Even if you enjoy the travel, there will some time to kill. After more than 36 hours now in the train and with fellow passengers, it starts to feels very familiar. The fantastic Momina Klisura - the Maiden's Gorge Time for the second breakfast on board the Optima Express. Since Plovdiv we are rushing towards the border with 80 km/h. The border to Turkey is only a hundred kilometers away. The price of a private compartment in the Optima is around 600€ for the full journey. It's quite expensive but considering the views, the journey and the efforts of the private carrier, I understand it. you can also reserve a berth in a shared couchette, which will be around 200€ per person. all tickets combined we are now at 415 € per person for the journey. Svilengrad Bulgarian passport check. It really has some Papers, Please vibe, but the check is thankfully within the train. And we are cleared to enter the Turkish customs checkpoint. Turkish Border guards don't check in the train we have to exit and line up at the customs office. But everybody is in a good mood and I got the most clean turkish stamp in my passport. A double traction DE24 will pull us the last dozen kilometers to Edirne. I’m a firm believer in electric traction, but oh boy do they sounds amazing!! The one and half hour stop at Kapıkule is finished and we are now on our way to Edirne, a trip of roughly 20 minutes. In the background we can see the Selimiye Mosque
which is considered to be Mimar Sinan's masterpiece - From Kapıkule on you can already see the works on the international highspeed line connection that is being built to connect Istanbul with the rest of Europe We arrived with 13 hours of delay in Edirne. We'll rest a bit in a cosy local hotel, the last leg is awaiting us tomorrow morning at 8:17 - Good morning! we are back at Edirne Gar to take our last long distance train, the daily Trakya Ekspresi between Kapıkule and İstanbul The Optima Express is still here, but waiting on a different track. Our platform is crowded with passengers to Istanbul. notice the “hybrid” engines because of the first kilometers without overhead line. The weak Diesel now removed, we blast through Thrace with 105 km/h, which feels insanely fast after almost two days at sub-60 speeds in the Balkans. - Even if the line is in great condition, it’s only single line. Thus we are waiting in Lüleburgaz for a freight train to cross, accumulating a bit of delay here and there. The train is pulled by engine E68008. It is one of the first production batches, built in South Korea by Hyundai Rotem. Later units were built in Türkiye. Despite being the only service between Edirne and Istanbul, the Trakya Ekspresi is a regional train and stops at many small local stations. Like most TCDD regional trains, the rolling stock consists of TVS 2000 cars made by TÜVASAŞ in the late 1990s. They are 100% turkish products, but they use some licence built parts.
Like the YB32 bogies originating from french Corail cars. ... or the luggage racks that look they are directly taken from
german ICE 1 trainsets. After Çerkezköy, the train is now fully packed. Some of the historic minor station buildings are in a wonderful condition. It's great to see how TCDD values it's historic heritage. The line offers some scenic views on the Thrakian landscapes. The ticket for the Trakya Ekspresi is about 3€.
In total we are at 418€ per person. We arrive in Halkalı with 2 hours of delay. Welcome to İstanbul (Halkalı) After 5 days, we finally made it to the city of Worlds Desire - but we are not done yet! Finishing at Halkali would be very anticlimatic (wink wink Belmont Orient Express) From Halkali, in theory, you can directly connect to a few daily high speed train, or to the Ankara Ekspresi sleeper. Check out my video of that journey by clicking the link in the upper right corner. People queuing for buying or charging an Istanbulkart.
You need an Istanbulkart for using public transportation. We will reach the final station - Sirkeci by commuter train. Unfortunately, the mainstation is cut off from the railways since a few years. So we have to walk the last bit from the underground station. The Sirkeci Underground station entered service in 2013, together with the Bosporus tunnel.
A few long distance trains cross the station and the Bosporus tunnel
daily - it is a fully equipped normal gauge line. The Sirkeci Subway station lies very deep underground, but no effort was spared to decorate the hallways. And dear Viewers, we did it. after 5 days of travel, we arrived in İstanbul Sirkeci with our own self made Simplon Orient Express Let's enjoy the unique vibe of this particular station. Even without trains, it is still one of the most beautiful and best kept
train station from the late 19th century. The Transportation Ministry announced that Sirkeci will be
connected to the rail network again in 2023. Though in the current conditions this seems very
optimistic to say the least. From here, you could continue a good part of the Bagdad Railway at least until Adana within one day. Thank you for watching!
