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The Dostluk/Filia
(Friendship) Express runs
nightly between Istanbul and Thessaloniki (Selanik),
Greece, departing each city at 21:00
(9 pm) and arriving in the
other city about 08:00
am the next morning, an
11-hour trip.
(The bus is
much faster, and cheaper, but not as
comfortable for sleeping. More...)
The Dostluk/Filia Ekspresi hauls
only air-conditioned sleeping
cars (no normal passenger cars).
The one-way fare, including the sleeping
compartment fee, is €85 for one
person in a private sleeping compartment,
or €97 for two people (€48.50
per person) sharing a sleeping compartment.
The round-trip/return fare is twice
the one-way/single fare. There is no
discount for buying a round-trip
international ticket.
You may reserve your compartment and
buy your ticket in advance at Istanbul's
Sirkeci Station. If you make your reservations
and buy your
tickets
through
an authorized
TCDD travel agency, the fares may
be somewhat higher, and there may be
a service charge because
the agency must actually send a staff
person to the railroad station to buy
your tickets. That's what the railroad
requires.
Here's
how to buy train tickets in advance.
The route is Istanbul-
Alpullu- Pehlivanköy- Uzunköprü-
Pythion- Alexandroupolis- Komotini-
Xanthi- Drama- Serres- Rodopolis- Kiklis-
Thessaloniki.
There is also a slower, less comfortable day
train between Istanbul and Thessaloniki.
There are no direct trains
between Istanbul and Athens.
You must change trains at Thessaloniki.
For information on trains
in Greece, see the OSE (Hellenic
Railways Organization) website (in
English).
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