Bulgarian Rail Ramble

“Would the Sofia Express passengers please remain in the waiting room until the bus is ready”.

This chilling announcement was déjà vu recalling my Cape Town – Pretoria Blue Train adventure nearly a year ago, as the announcement rang through Istanbul’s Halkali station. During my previous Blue Train travel, heavy rains in the Cape had washed away some small sections of track near De Doorns in the Hex River Valley and after a couple of hours’ bus ride, we found the northbound Blue Train waiting for passengers at Matjiesfontein station.

However, this time it was the track between Istanbul and the Bulgarian border at Kapikule that was being upgraded to a high – speed line, and on this day of my travel, all trains were cancelled over this section.

Halkali Station – this should have been my train to Sofia

A sickening pit in my stomach, immediately, upon hearing this announcement; I was dreading the prospect of a 5 – hour bus ride; my sleeping car was already paid but was now seemingly becoming an elusive dream. I have had experience with Turkish busses; while not uncomfortable, I knew they were without toilets, which brings with it other discomforts. Fortunately, however, this time several “comfort stops” were made at fuel stations enroute to the Bulgarian border and the time passed rather quickly. Arriving at the border just before 02:00, our Sofia train awaited; however, arriving passengers from the Bulgarian capital had to be processed by Turkish customs and immigration before we could board. These arriving passengers took our places on the bus, for the early morning journey to Istanbul. Turkish government formalities dealt with, we boarded our train and were soon rumbling through the “no man’s land” to the Bulgarian border, where their counterparts did the necessary. By half past four, we were on our way to Sofia to begin my Bulgarian Rail Ramble.

But why subject myself to these travel hardships? I seem to have this insatiable affliction to subject myself to the ardors of travel to many countries not on the typical tourist track. I count among the more than 100 countries I have visited: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burundi, South Africa….many more. But my wife, as well as others, don’t really understand what possesses me to go to these “strange’ countries….”is it safe”?... is the typical question posed to me. I suppose if I had seriously evaluated the security of each country to which I have traveled, I would have spent much more time at home.

My 2025 Bulgarian Rail Ramble

A souvenir of a previous consulting assignment in that country (I saw the map on the wall in an office of the Bulgarian Transport Ministry; it was immediately made a present to me) the image of the железопьтни линии в република бьлгария map hanging in my office was my constant reference. It is a complete line diagram of the Bulgarian Railway Network with all stations shown. With this map, supported by internet research, I identified lines to ride, connection points and likelihood that trains would be on time. This document proved essential to my travel planning – I needed maps, not glossy brochures - to visualize my travel in unknown, and even known, lands. But, in order to get around more comfortably in Bulgaria, I was glad I had at least a rudimentary training in the Russian Cyrillic script, and some ability with the language.

During the wee hours of the morning, the Turkish border station of Kapikule, would be my port of entry on the Sofia Express. Then after a few hours’ of recovery in Sofia, a trek down to the Septemvri (in observance of 22 September, Bulgarian Independence Day) narrow gauge line, next day an all day trip to the Tsar fortress town of Veliko Tarnovo (2 changes enroute); then a short (about 5 hours) trip northward to Ruse on the south bank of the Danube, followed by the last leg, an agonizing 3.5 hour trip over the Romanian border to Bucharest with summer temperatures exceeding 40 deg C (no AC). I have fond memories of my time in the Romanian capital some 20 years ago during my many consulting trips to that country on behalf of the Japanese government, working with CFR Calatori and Marfa (Romanian Railways passenger operator and freight) to improve their operation[1].   

Tsar Boris III

Tsar Boris III

When I think of Bulgarian Railways and what immediately springs to mind is the image of King (Tsar) Boris, illegally at the throttle of the Orient Express while it crossed his kingdom.  The Orient Express’s route from Paris to Istanbul was via Belgrade, Nis, Sofia before crossing the Turkish border at Svilingrad (“silk town”). While moving through Bulgarian territory, that country’s infamous monarch had a predilection to take controls in the locomotive with little regard for safety of its passengers.

Boris was Tsar Boris III, born Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver in 1898, declared Tsar in 1918, and from 1935 until his death in 1943, at the age of 49, he ruled as an absolute monarch, with all opposition parties disbanded. However, perhaps Tsar Boris can be forgiven for his transgressions in the cabs of locomotives as his actions during the Second World War are little – known but quite remarkable. While Bulgaria officially was aligned with Germany during the Second World War, Tsar Boris earned the wrath of Adolph Hitler by refusing to send Bulgarian Jews to concentration camps and declined to send troops to fight Russia. It was rumored that his death in 1943, was the work of a slow poison ordered by Hitler.

Tsar Boris also loved to drive trains; because of this passion, he was also on the "blacklist" of European train operators: the drivers of the "Orient Express" crossing the European continent at that time would be warned from the railway company from time to time that when the train was moving in Bulgaria, King Boris was absolutely not allowed to get close to the cab...

Wearing white overalls designed and made for him by his Parisian tailor, he often stood in the cab observing the professional driver at work, occasionally pulling rank and insisted on taking over the controls himself. He was a devotee of speed but lacked a grasp of what signals meant. The problem king soon got out of hand and the train company (Compangnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits) intervened and the King was firmly ordered to cease and desist and drivers would be dismissed if they allowed him to take over. However, there was little the company could do, short of by-passing Bulgaria on the route. On one occasion, the King stoked the firebox with too much fuel, setting the fireman’s clothing ablaze. While the hapless fellow fell screaming to the ground to his death, the King continued to drive the train ahead, offering himself to his passengers for applause, having made the Orient Express on time, despite the accident[2].

Boris even took his passion for train driving abroad - during a visit to the United Kingdom in 1937, Boris made international news for taking the throttle of a London Midland Scotland Railway Coronation Class steam locomotive.

Where it all began: Ruse, on the bank of the Danube

With Romania to the north, Ruse lies on the south bank of the Danube. Along the riverbank, two museums highlight Bulgarian rail history: the Old Train Station and the Park museum. The Old Train Station displays important moments of the development of the Bulgarian railway transport and its connection with the navigation in Danube. The Park Museum displays trains, freight carriages and special carriages dating back to the middle of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century.  Sultan Abdul-Aziz, Bulgarian monarchs Alexander of Battenberg, Ferdinand, Boris III and other high-standing figures travelled in the luxurious carriages in the museum. Four steam engines on display were fully renovated, one of these a locomotive produced in Germany in 1941 was capable of speeds up to 120 kilometers per hour, among the fastest steam engines in Bulgaria's history. Another was manufactured in 1942 also in Germany. and was nicknamed Baba Metsa (a colloquial name from Bulgarian folk tales, meaning Granny Bear), because it was one of the most-powerful engines of its time.[3]

Bulgaria’s only narrow - gauge line: Septemvri to Dobrinishte

Just over 100 km (60 miles) to the south-east of Sofia lies the scenic Septemvri-Dobrinishte line, also known as the Rodopi Narrow Gauge line (теснолинейка Септември – Добринище), the only operating narrow gauge line in the country. Completed in 1945, the line is 760 mm Bosnian gauge and is served primarily by diesel locomotives; however, there are well preserved steam locomotives that periodically make an appearance.

Bulgarian Railway Network

The line is actively used with four passenger trains running the length of the line in each direction per day and the round trip ticket price will set you back about $7. The journey takes five hours through the valleys and gorges between the mountain ranges of Rila, Pirin and Rhodopes.

At Septemvri, the narrow-gauge line meets the standard-gauge railway line Sofia–Plovdiv. After almost straight 6 km long section in the plain, the route reaches station Varvara, the former junction with the removed branch to the nearby major town of Pazardzhik.

This first section is the most difficult of Septemvri–Dobrinishte railway and it is 45 km long requiring 25 tunnels. This highest point is followed by steep and long descent in the valley of river Dreshtenets. The last part of the railway into Dobrinishte traverses comparatively easy topography, as most of the route was designed for a standard-gauge railway, to replace the narrow one, in future (never happened).

Coaches of the Rodopi Narrow Gauge Railway

Rodopi train at Bansko station

Contacts, people are everything during business….as well as travel. I have found that my contacts, established during my many years of international consulting, proved invaluable during subsequent trips, providing interesting dialogue as well as updating of “on the ground” knowledge and perspectives essential for the informed traveler. I found these Munich and Tashkent on my way to Bulgaria.

Loving a circuitous travel itinerary, my trip to Istanbul as the “jumping off point” for the overnight train to Sofia, was preceded by a stopover in Munich to meet some German colleagues and a week in Uzbekistan with my wife. A railway trade fair held in Munich, Transport Logistic, attracted hundreds of exhibitors from Europe and Asia; among those was Railistics, the railway consulting company with which I worked in Romania some 20 years before. I was greeted at the Railistics booth by Wolf and Kirsten (Wolf is a consummate railfan, having ridden every rail line in Germany and most in Europe) as well as a new member of their consulting team, Setenay. After a quick lunch at the trade fair, dinner at a traditional Bavarian restaurant, I was off to the airport for my flight to Tashkent by a discount Turkish airline, Anadolu Jet, complete with a midnight transfer in Ankara. But I was not done with Railistics meetings…..while in Munich I was told about Nikos, an Indian/American, educated in Germany and now working for Railistics in Tashkent – and was reported to be an even greater railfan than Wolf. Eager to expand my personal contacts, I contacted Nikos and we had a fine Tashkent dinner and next day toured the railway museum, located downtown, quite close to the main railway station. Nikos also provided me with valuable tips for my upcoming rail journey though Bulgaria – he had made a similar journey some two years’ previous.

Tashkent weather served up a string of oppressively hot summer days filled with family visits and pleasant evening meals with former colleagues of my former Tashkent consulting days, including Tanya and Nodira as well as with a special contact of mine close to the Government of Uzbekistan.  But now, on to Bulgaria…..

A mid – morning Sofia arrival at the Central Station on the night train from Istanbul presented a ghastly monument to the brutalist Soviet architecture of the period during the Soviet Union, albeit crumbling due to neglect and insufficient will/funding to maintain. One of the city’s attributes, however, is an extensive tram network; some modern vehicles and some belonging to another era, but I found local transport to be quite good.  

Sofia Central Station

Bulgaria shares the same fate as other former Soviet – bloc countries – scores of abandoned and crumbling shells of factories dotting the landscape. Sofia Central Station – giant concrete Soviet monolith, connected to below – ground circular public areas, with some dilapidated shops but mostly vacant spaces and stairways leading up to several surrounding streets and the tram stops. Convenient for trains and transfers but not a place to linger.  

Some more traditional transport modes in Bulgaria

If the country’s architecture smacks of the USSR, the Bulgarian Railways are a different matter. I booked all my rail tickets online and on the Bulgarian Railway’s web page, train status can be tracked countrywide.

Graffiti – it flourishes in many countries, but in Bulgaria, it has achieved the gold standard. Nearly every vertical surface, particularly on railway coaches, is covered with the script of many budding and (probably) young artists. The only portion of the railway that seems to have escaped this blight is the narrow-gauge line between Septemvri and Dobrishiste, located about 100 km to the south-east of Sofia. During my trip over that line, I saw no defacement on any coaches. One interesting feature about my trip on that line – the conductor was an exact double of the UK comedian “Mr. Bean”.  

Bulgarian Railways graffiti-covered main line train

While I traveled with a carry – on bag which meets most airlines’ regulations, I found it a chore to hoist on board the numerous second – class trains that roll around the Bulgarian Railways. There are no high-level platforms at stations, and the bag must be carried as I climbed up the three or four steep steps on the passenger coaches. A backpack would certainly have been more easily transportable as I moved through my rail journey throughout the country. Though there were some exceptions, unlike in Turkey, most rail stations had no elevator or escalator for those passengers with baggage, so navigating multiple staircases became necessary for each rail journey.

One feature of traveling though Bulgaria which I found in the internet, which proved to be totally false, was “we all speak English here”. That may be true at hotels and among students, but people on the street and on the trains, I received only blank stares when addressed in English. Only when I used my limited proficiency in Russian, could I be understood.

The ghastly Sofia Sever station – avoid at all costs!

While most of the railway stations were clean and tidy, the dramatic exception was Sofia Sever (north) station. This ugly structure, located at the end of tram line #27 in Sofia’s suburbs, turned out to be a cesspool of urine stench with the building structure not only in disrepair but its dilapidation promised imminent collapse. I have seen similar abandoned relics of stations in South Africa resulting from recent vandalism during the Covid pandemic, but the difference was, Sofia Sever station was operating. A more disgusting structure I’m sure does not exist.

DMU loaded with graffiti at Sofia Sever

I made the mistake of spending time at this dreadful place in order to ensure a connection for my train to Gorno Oryahovitsa, with another connection to my destination of the day, Veliko Tarnovo. The connection given to me on the railway’s web site was 5 minutes at Sofia Sever. While running time from Sofia Central Station is only about 10 minutes, I was hesitant to put my day’s trip at risk on such a tight connection; I found a train leaving Sofia Central which gave me about two hours’ connection – a safe bet. Turns out the five minute connection train from Central was a special shuttle train from Central to Sever to meet my train – no risk; just an across – the – platform connection. But, I chose otherwise and endured the rigors of Sofia Sever.

An interesting encounter occurred onboard that train from Sofia Sever to Gorno Oryahivitsa. My seat was number 52, designated as a window seat, according to the picture above the seat. While in my seat, a gentleman standing in the aisle, gestured to me that it was his seat – I showed him my ticket and the picture above the seat, indicating by the window. He seemed to persist, and soon a lively conversation ensued between him and other passengers…..soon the conductor came along an confirmed my position. Case closed.

Veliko Tarnovo is a pleasant medieval style town, set on a sharp hillside. While most of the city is situated with paved streets, my hotel was one of the few actually in the medieval village, with a rough-hewn cobblestone street that runs parallel to the steep slope of the hillside. To get to the interesting sights of the city like the Tsarevets Fortress, one must scale one of the steep stairways hewn out of the hillside rock. 

My last Bulgarian train was an international “express” from Ruse to Bucharest, consisting of two Bulgarian second class coaches and one Turkish couchette from Istanbul, crossing over the Danube from Ruse to Bucharest. That trip by bus, takes just over one hour; my train, absent AC and on a stifling hot day, and in no hurry, made the 72 -km (45 – mile) trip in a painful 3.5 hours.  

Gorno Oryahovitsa has a strategic location in the Bulgarian rail network. Trains from Sofia to the seaside resort of Burgas, make a stop here and all passengers bound for Veliko Tarnovo/Ruse/Stara Zagora must change trains. Northbound passengers from trains linking the Turkish border and Staria Zagora bound for Ruse and Romania, must change at Gorno Oryahovitsa. But there is (summer season) a through couchette from Istanbul to Bucharest – this coach is switched from one train to the other at Gorno, passengers may remain on board. For those not traveling in the couchette, they must detrain and wait for the new trin to be made up before reboarding. This makes for a complex shunting operation on the Bulgarian Railways, and a bit confusing for passengers as well as unusual for modern railway operation.

Along the streets of Veliko Tarnovo

Ancient weaponry at the Tsar’s Fortress, Veliko Tarnovo

Ruse, on the south bank of the Danube, was where railways began in Bulgaria in 1866 with the opening of the Ruse – Varna line. I found Ruse one of the more pleasant towns in Bulgaria with its riverside location, the wide pedestrian promenade along the riverbank, plus interesting views of passing tourist boats and cargo barges that ply the Danube. From early morning, I gazed on the Danube from my hotel window, high above the river. Along with me, hundreds of starlings also enjoyed the view, darting to and fro from the rooftop down towards the ground, then back again. Not seeming to tire of this exercise in flight, I suppose celebrating the cool of the morning before mid-day heat in this part of eastern Europe.

Tranquil scene along the Danube

Park along the Danube at Ruse

Celebrating the first Bulgarian rail line Ruse-Varna at Ruse station

The author with a Japanese tourist on the platform at Ruse

Though, from January 2025, both Bulgaria and Romania became members of the Schengen group of countries, there were passport checks on the platform at Ruse by Bulgarian immigration and during the station stop at Giurgiu, by their Romanian counterparts.

The journey from Ruse to Bucharest was agonizingly slow, which exacerbated the heat coming into my compartment in the slow-moving coach. Up until Videle, In Japanese, I was able to hold a reasonable conversation with my compartment mate – however, at Videle, our compartment became oppressively crowded as a large group of women came on boar for the last hour to Bucharest.  Wikipedia defines Videle as:  “a town of some importance as a railway junction, for the railway track heading south to Giurgiu and Bulgaria leaves the main Wallachian east – west railway from Bucharest to Craiova.”

It was an agonizingly slow slog from Ruse to Videle. For these first 75 km, the average speed was 37 km/hr; beyond Videle, our gait increased to a more respectable 70 km/hr, however, time was lost as we entered the Bucharest Nord station complex, waiting for tracks to become free from departing trains. But finally, the Romanian capital was reached, and exhausted passengers disembarked into the comparatively cool confines of the ancient Bucharest Nord station.

Bucharest turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment; got lost changing metro lines at Piata Victoriei; one of the end stations on the M2 line had changed – it was shown as “Berceni” on the map but in November 2023, the line was extended by one station to “Tudor Arghezi”, but the new terminus station was not shown on the posted map on the metro station wall ….I waited for a train to the end point indicated on the map….which never arrived. Finally, after asking a fellow passenger on the platform, the reality was revealed.  Finally arriving at Piata Romana, I found that the “old neighborhood” of Piata Amzei where I lived some 20 years before had definitely deteriorated; some shops and restaurants remained but not of the quality that I remembered. I suppose not surprising as places we recall in the past, do not always live up to our expectations when we revisit them some years after…..during my departure day from Bucharest, I did manage to ride the new rail link to Otopeni Airport, constructed since my time in that city, and provided to be an excellent service.

Otopeni Airport Station - Bucharest

So, a great trip – reunion with German colleagues in Munich and Uzbek in Tashkent, fascinating exploration of Bulgarian railways’ narrow - gauge line as well as an intriguing medieval city, dramatic Danube River views topped off by what must be the slowest train in Europe on a hot summer’s afternoon (no AC) dragging away the miles from Giurgiu to Gara du Nord for a reunion with an old friend, Bucharest.

So, the question remains…where to next? Following some domestic railway rambles to the West Coast, I look forward to a “back to my roots” trip to Great Britian in October, a land that featured heavily in my travel past, and indeed, future. Watch this space.  

[1] As part of the agreement between the two countries, in exchange for money to upgrade the Bucharest – Constanza main line, they had to suffer management consultants to tell them how to run their railway.

[2] “The Lost Pleasures of the Great Trains”; Martin Page

[3] https://bnr.bg/en/post/100707589/the-revolutionaries-that-built-bulgaria-s-railways