The new train schedule of “BDZ - Passenger Transport“ EOOD comes into effect today, the company's press center announced. They specify that in most regions of the country the current schedule is being maintained, and to improve service, convenient connections between trains with the possibility of traveling between more settlements have been provided, BTA writes.
The volume of transportation set out in the contract concluded with the state for the provision of public transport services will be maintained next year. Passenger transportation will be carried out by 518 trains, of which: 79 fast trains (two of them will run only during the summer season), 117 passenger trains and 322 suburban passenger trains, some of which will run only on certain days of the week.
The new timetable will reduce the travel time of trains between Sofia and Burgas via Plovdiv, Sofia and Varna via Plovdiv, Plovdiv and Varna, after their routes through Chirpan are restored and the long detour through Dimitrovgrad due to repair work on the railway is avoided.
The movement of fast trains Sofia - Burgas - Sofia via the Sub-Balkan railway line with significantly reduced travel time is maintained, which provide a convenient connection to and from Veliko Tarnovo and Ruse and provide the convenient opportunity to arrive before noon in Burgas and return in the afternoon to Sofia and Central Northern Bulgaria.
The new timetable also retains the direct morning trains Ruse - Sofia and Ruse - Plovdiv with convenient afternoon returns from both points of the country to the Danube city. The possibility of a one-day trip to Haskovo, Kardzhali, Momchilgrad and a number of tourist destinations near the Studen Kladenets dam is also preserved with daily fast trains on the route Dimitrovgrad - Haskovo - Kardzhali - Momchilgrad - Podkova and back, which provide convenient connections to and from Sofia, Pazardzhik and Plovdiv.
The new schedule also provides for the movement of eight international fast trains.
More information about the new transport scheme can be found here.
The first new electric train “Skoda“ will arrive in Bulgaria in January 2026, and will start serving passengers from April. By August 2026, the country will receive all 25 new trains, said Deputy Prime Minister and outgoing Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov during a visit to the “Skoda“ factory in Pilsen, Czech Republic, in November.