Balgarsky Darschawni Zheleznitsi
| Български държавни железници Bălgarski Dăržavni Železnici |
|
|---|---|
| legal form | |
| founding | 1888 |
| Seat | Sofia , Bulgaria |
| Branch | Transport / logistics |
| Website | bdz.bg |
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The Bulgarian State Railway ( Bulgarian Български държавни железници Bălgarski Dăržavni Železnici , БДЖ / BDŽ) is a state-owned company in Bulgaria and the largest railway company in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian State Railways has a specific form of company for Bulgaria, which is abbreviated as EAD (Bulgarian Еднолично Акционерно Дружество; transliteration: Ednolično Akcionerno Družestvo; Cyrillic abbreviation: ЕАД). That stands for a stock corporation that has only one shareholder .
The Bulgarian State Railways was founded in 1888 and had the state monopoly on rail transport in Bulgaria.
On January 1, 2002, the company was converted into an operator and an infrastructure company. The article here essentially deals with the operating company.
As part of Bulgaria's accession to the EU, the monopoly of the Bulgarian state railway also fell. In addition to the Bulgarian State Railways, the private Bulgarian-Romanian railway company Balgarska Schelesnopatna Kompania has existed since 2004 .
Division of functions
Until 2002, the Bulgarian State Railway also owned most of the rail network and railway infrastructure . In 2002, the Bulgarian State Railways were transformed into a railway operating company on shares (BDŽ EAD) for rail operations and an infrastructure company (NKŽI) for the rail network and infrastructure (Национална компания "Железопътна инфроптна инфронаструк: Контарина на постаникина нанфраструкина; analogous translation: National Society for Railway Infrastructure). The infrastructure company had 15,766 employees in 2007, making it the second largest employer in Bulgaria after BDŽ EAD and before the Bulgarian Post .
The railway operating company has 17,867 employees, making it the largest employer in Bulgaria. Both the railway operating company and the infrastructure company are based in the capital Sofia .
history
The history of the Bulgarian State Railways is closely linked to the general Bulgarian history . The first two railway lines were built before Bulgarian independence, that is, under Ottoman sovereignty .
plans
The Ottoman government had put the construction of the railway line out to tender as part of its economic and political reform efforts ( Tanzimat ). The Ottoman Empire had in the Crimean War saw (1853-1856) that it was lagging behind the technical development of the other major powers, there were few roads, railway lines and telegraph lines. In the following years the Ottoman Empire tried to catch up by expanding its railway network. The Ottoman government ( High Gate ) planned to build three railway lines: Istanbul - Belowo , Edirne - Prowadia and Russe - Varna . The Russe-Varna railway line was supposed to connect the important Danube port of Russe with the Black Sea port of Varna.
For the government in Istanbul, the line from Istanbul through the Maritza valley to Belove was actually the highest priority. The route from Russe to Varna was the lowest for them, especially since the railway line from Constanța to Cernavoda , opened in 1860 and the second of the Ottoman Empire, fulfilled the same strategic and commercial function, if not quite as well.
However, Turkey was dependent on foreign funding for railway construction . The British government saw in the railway line to Belove, which could (and later became) part of a connection to Vienna, an increase in power for Austria. The Varna – Russe railway line, on the other hand, shortened the route from the Black Sea to the areas upstream of the Danube, bypassing the Danube Delta, which was within reach of the Russian Empire . In this way, it reduced Russia's influence on the Danube region and benefited the sea trade that was particularly important for Great Britain . The Ruse – Varna line was therefore the first to be built.
First routes
Railway line Ruse - Varna (1864–1866)
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On November 7, 1866, the first railway line between Ruse and Varna (Varna) was opened. The railway line had a length of 224 km, eight stations and wooden bridges. Cardan telegraphs and later Morse telegraphs were used for communication between the train stations. This railway line was built from 1864 to 1866 by a British company owned by the Barclay brothers, the main shareholders of which were William Gladstone and the Barclay brothers. The tenders and negotiations for the construction of the line had dragged on for two years. British and French financial houses were involved, but Russian and Austrian investors also submitted their bids. After the decision to build the railway line and to award the contract to the engineer Liar, who had also influenced the route, he resigned. So the contract and a lease for 99 years ultimately went to the Barclay brothers' company.
The first groundbreaking took place on May 21st . / June 2, 1864 greg. . Work began simultaneously in Varna and Russe. By the end of August 1865, 160 km of railway line had been built. The local Bulgarian population was mainly involved in the construction, and the railway was also operated with Bulgarians. Four smaller Belgian locomotives were used to build, transport materials and workers, two each from Varna and two from Russe. The opening of the railway line has been canceled several times. On November 7, 1866, Midhat Pasha , the Turkish governor of Ruse - Vali des Donau- Vilayets ( Vilayet Tuna ) - drove the entire route and officially opened it. This is also the opening date of the first Bulgarian railway line.
The economic expectations placed on the railway line were initially not fulfilled. There weren't enough international transport orders. Due to the poor technical condition and the deficiencies in the construction work, there were often delays and derailments . As this railway line proved unprofitable, the British sold it to the Ottoman Empire in 1869. From 1883 to 1885 sailed Orient Express route Ruse-Varna, because the Russians against Located Romanian Danube port of Giurgiu was already connected to the Central and Western European rail network, while in Serbia was not a railway line in operation. The Giurgiu-Russe Friendship Bridge over the Danube was not opened until 1954, with which the railway line got a permanent connection to Romania. Bucharest is only 65 kilometers further north.
Today the route is one of the busiest railway lines in Bulgaria, connecting the two main entry points for goods transport to and from Bulgaria - on the one hand Russian to Europe and on the other hand Varna, the largest Bulgarian Black Sea port.
Railway line Istanbul - Belovo (1870–1873)
In 1870, the Compagnie des Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO) , headed by Baron Hirsch , began construction of the Istanbul - Belovo railway line , which opened in 1873 and had a branch to Jambol . Creating a rail link from Europe to Istanbul was one of Baron Hirsch's major projects. So the line also became a section of the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, which was continued as the Baghdad Railway from 1903 .
State independence, trade in railways
In 1874 the Ottoman Empire sold its shares in the Russe-Varna railway line to Baron Hirsch , who was then responsible for the entire railway network in what is now Bulgaria.
- After the Russo-Ottoman War and the Peace of San Stefano , which with its favorable arrangements for Bulgaria and Russian interests did not come into effect, and the successful Berlin Congress held three months later (June – July 1878), the north of Bulgaria became a de facto autonomous Principality of Bulgaria independent and the south as eastern Rumelia a semi-autonomous Turkish province.
- The Bulgarian railway network still consisted of two unconnected parts, one in the principality and one in eastern Rumelia (the plan to build a railway line from Shumen to Istanbul, presented at the beginning of the Bulgarian railway era , had still not been tackled). Both together were 532 km long.
- In 1878 negotiations began between the Bulgarian government and Baron Hirsch about the purchase of the Ruse – Varna railway line by the new state. The negotiations dragged on for ten years because the purchase price for Bulgaria was too high.
Steps to the state railway
- On January 31, 1885, the Bulgarian Parliament passed the Railway Act (Bulgarian "Закон за железните пътища"), which provided that the railway lines in Bulgaria are owned and operated by the state.
- In 1885 the Principality of Bulgaria was united with the autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia , which was against the will of the Berlin guarantee powers, but was internationally recognized by the Tophane Treaty in 1886 . Because of the tensions surrounding Eastern Rumelia, Bulgaria agreed to the purchase price in 1888 in order to win Great Britain as a supporter of its position. Great Britain in turn wanted to protect the economic interests of its companies and granted Bulgaria a loan to buy the railway line. On August 10, 1888, eleven years after independence, the Bulgarian state took over the Russe-Varna line that had been bought from the operator.
- In 1888, on the basis of the Railway Act of 1885 and at the instigation of the government of Stefan Stambolow, the new Wakarel - Belovo railway line of the Witalis Society became state owned and operated by the state. From August 1, 1888, the full length of the Zaribrod -Sofia-Wakarel line was opened for international traffic. The continuous rail connection from Western Europe to Istanbul was thus completed. Since then, the Orient Express has also used this route.
- In 1888 the railway lines Zaribrod -Sofia- Belovo founded and Russian Varna, the Bulgarian State Railways.
1888 to 2008
- From 1888 to 1899 the network tripled from 384 to 1,044 kilometers.
- From December 20, 1906 to January 31, 1907, there was the first general railway strike , which enforced the 8-hour day and various safety regulations.
- In 1912 the independent Ministry of Railways, Post and Telegraphy was established.
- In 1922 the State Railway School was founded.
- In 1950, Railway Worker's Day was introduced, which falls on the first Sunday in August.
- In 1963 the Sofia – Plovdiv line was electrified (completion April 27, 1963). For this purpose, electric locomotives from Škoda Plzeň were imported from Czechoslovakia in 1962/63 , from the 41-00 to 45-00 series. Diesel locomotives were also introduced in 1963 .
- In 1964 the first double-track railway line was opened between Sindel and Varna.
- In 1978 the railway ferry line from Varna to Illichivsk (now Chornomorsk) in the Ukraine, 16 km from Odessa , was established.
- With the accession to the EU , the Bulgarian railway standards had to be adapted to the European railway standards. On January 1, 2002, the railway was converted into an operator and an infrastructure company. The rail network at that time had a length of 4,294 kilometers with a degree of electrification of about 63%.
- In 2008 there were two train accidents caused by fire. The first accident occurred at night on February 28, 2008 in the newly refurbished carriages of the train Sofia- Kardam in the vicinity of the station Cherven Bryag . Eight people were killed. The cause has not yet been clarified, instead it is officially suspected that the fire broke out through a piece of luggage belonging to a traveler. On July 21, 2008, a fire also broke out on the Plovdiv – Sofia train. In the second case, too, the cause of the fire has not yet been clarified.
Passenger numbers and freight transport
| year | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers [million] | 102.40 | 58.74 | 50.03 | 41.82 | 33.72 | 35.21 | 38.28 | 33.75 | 34.11 | 33.28 |
| Passenger kilometers [billion] | 7.79 | 4.69 | 3.47 | 2.99 | 2.60 | 2.52 | 2.68 | 2.39 | 2.42 | 2.42 |
The Bulgarian State Railways receives state subsidies (2007: 145 million leva ; 2008: 141 million leva - including sales tax ). In the period from 1990 to 2005, the volume of rail transport decreased significantly. 67% fewer passengers, 70% fewer passenger- kilometers , 68% fewer goods and 63% fewer ton-kilometers were transported. In 2007, 33.2 million passengers were carried.
| year | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tons [million] | 63.25 | 32.92 | 21.08 | 19.29 | 18.50 | 20.07 | 20.39 | 20.30 | 21.18 | 20.18 |
| Ton-kilometers [billion] | 14.13 | 8.60 | 5.54 | 4.90 | 4.63 | 5.27 | 5.21 | 5.16 | 5.23 | 4.71 |
| Comparison of BDŽ with Bulgarian private railways | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2006 | 2012 | |||||||
| Thousand t | Billion t km | % | Thousand t | Billion t km | % | Thousand t | Billion t km | % | |
| BDŽ | 20,298 | 5.163 | 99.91 | 21,183 | 5,224 | 96.82 | 72 | ||
| BŽK | 7.3 | 2.9 | 0.06 | 445 | 170 | 3.15 | approx. 20 | ||
| DB Schenker Rail | approx. 10 | ||||||||
| total | 20,596.6 | 5167.6 | 100 | 21,880.9 | 5,395.5 | 100 | |||
Business figures
| Assets (in thousands of leva) | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term assets | 297.723 | 567.933 |
| Short-term assets | 155.206 | 145.431 |
| Sum of all assets | 452.929 | 713.364 |
| capital | 9,534 | 197,428 |
| Long-term liabilities | 153.144 | 172.732 |
| Short term liabilities | 290.251 | 343.204 |
| Sum of all liabilities | 443,395 | 515.936 |
| Sum of capital and liabilities | 452.929 | 713.364 |
| Income from sales | 374,927 | 391,699 |
| Operating profit | 28,413 | 17,151 |
| Business profit before tax | 41,920 | 29,934 |
| Business results after taxes | 41,920 | 29,934 |
Travel conditions
Discounts
- 10% - when buying a return trip,
- 15% - for small groups (three to six people; even for one direction)
- 20% - when buying a return trip on certain express train routes,
- 20% - for weekend excursion tickets (50 km near zone),
- 25% - for travelers with discount cards : Mladesch (for young people), Klasik or Railcard O - the Railcard O costs 80 leva per year,
- 50% - for schoolchildren, students (up to 26 years) and pensioners,
- 75% - for organized group trips for schoolchildren and students (up to 26 years of age),
- Free rides for children up to 7 years of age; Persons with a degree of disability over 70%, war veterans, holders of the order of bravery, members of parliament, mothers with many children (three or more children under 18 years of age, free rail travel once a year)
Dodger
In order to get a grip on the outpouring of black journeys - the loss is estimated at 10 million leva annually - in 2008 the state railroad resorted to radical control measures for a few days and occupied everyone on particularly affected routes (commuter traffic between Sofia and the suburbs) for several days Car doors on all trains with ticket inspectors. Ticket sales on these routes multiplied.
Luggage
Passengers may only take a maximum of three pieces of luggage with a total weight of 30 kg free of charge in sleeping and couchette cars. Any excess baggage must be checked in and paid for separately. The measure was justified by increasing the safety of rail transport; in practice, the use of night trains for freight transport by small traders should be prevented.
Vehicle fleet
The Bulgarian State Railways has 11,865 cars and 682 locomotives.
Details on the locomotives of the Bulgarian State Railways can be found in the list of locomotives and railcars of the BDŽ .
At the beginning of 2008, the State Railways bought 25 Desiro multiple units from Siemens .
List of train stations in Bulgaria
Stops
Ajtos , Anton, Asenovgrad , Asparuchowo, Awramowo, Balgarovo, Beli Bryag Beli Iswor, Belovo, Belosem, Besmer, Birimirzi, Blagoevgrad , Bobow Dol, Borowo, Botev, Bojtschinowzi, Brazigowo, Brusarzi, Burgas , Burgas marshalling yard, Byala , Dalgopol, Damjaniza, devnya , Dimitrovgrad , Dimitrovgrad North, Dimitrovgrad South, Dobrich, Dobrich North, Dolapite, Dolna Mitropolja, Dolni Dabnik, Dolni Eserovo, Dragitschewo, Dragoman , Dryanovo , Druzhba, Dupnitsa , Elin Pelin , Eserowo, Filipowo, Gabrovo , general toshevo , Goljamo Selo, Gorna Banja , Gorna Orjachowiza , Gorni Dabnik, Graf Ignatiewo , Gurkowo , Chan Krum, Charmanli , Chaskowo , Ichtiman , Ilijanzi, Iskar, Isperich , Iwanowo, Jambalkowo, Jambol , Jana, Jantra, Kalojanow, Junezak, kaloyanovo, Kardam , Karjali, Karlowo , Karnobat , Kaspichan , Katuniza, Kasanlak , Kasitschene, kermen, Knijownik, Koschawa, Kostenets , Kostinbrod , Kremikowzi , Kresna, Krichim , Krumowo, Koulata , Kurilo, Kyoustendil , Stablewski, L om , Lovech , Lovech North, Lukovit, Ljubenowo, lyubimets, Matniza, Netal freight station, Mezdra , Milkowiza, Momchilgrad , Montana , Nadarewo, Nikolaewo, Nova Zagora , Obedinenie, Odarna, Ognyanovo, Panagyurishte , parvomay , Pawlikeni , Pazardzhik , Pernik , Peshtera , Petritsch , Pirdop , Pleven , Pleven West, Plovdiv , Podkowa , Podujane , Polski Trambesch, Popowo, Poweljanowo, Provadiya , Radnewo, Radomir, Rasdelna, Razgrad , Roman, Russian Central station, Russian rail yard, Russian North, Russian train yard, Russian West, Sacharna Fabrika , Sachrane, Saedinenie, Samuil, Sandanski , Sarafovo, Sarantsi, Semen, Senowo, septemvri , Shumen , Simitlii, Simniza , Sindel-Raspredeli, Zlatitsa , Sliven , Slivnitsa, Smijadowo, Sofia Central station , Sofia Nord, Sofia train yard, Somowit, Sopot, Sosarewo, Stambolijski , Stara Sagora , Stolnik, Straitza, Straldja, Strumjani, Suworowo, Swetowrachane, Swilengrad , Swilengrad East, Swishtov , Swoge, Targovishte , Topolite, Todor Kableschkow, Troj to , Trud, Tryavna , Tscherkwiza, Tschernitsche, Cherven Bryag , Chirpan , Tschukurowo, Walt ski Dol , Varna , Varna Ferry, Veliko Tarnovo , vetovo , Vidin , Vladimir Pavlov, Wolujak, Vratsa
Container terminals
The railway has a container terminal in Sofia, Burgas and Russe .
Marshalling yards
There are seven marshalling yards in Bulgaria (number of direction tracks in brackets):
- Ruse : Russian razp. (12) (note: razp .; bulg. Разпределител; abbreviated: разп .; transcription: raspredelitel; German: marshalling yard ; literally: distributor)
- ( Varna ): Sindel (24)
- Varna : Varna razp.
- Gorna Orjachowiza : Gorna Orjahovica razp. (29)
- Sofia : Podujane-razp. (32)
- Burgas : Burgas razp. (20)
- Plovdiv : Plovdiv razp. (27)
Locomotive depots
The Bulgarian State Railways has locomotive depots in:
- Sofia
- Plovdiv
- Varna
- Burgas
- Gorna Oryachovitsa
- Stara Sagora
North-South connections
Since the Balkan Mountains running in east-west direction run through Bulgaria in its entire length and form a natural barrier with its over 2000 m high mountain ridges, there are only a few north-south rail connections in Bulgaria that cross the Balkan Mountains:
- The Vidin - Sofia railway line runs along the Iskar River ;
- the railway line Gorna Orjachowiza - Stara Sagora crosses the middle Balkan mountains near the 1334 m high Schipka pass ;
- the Burgas - Kardam railway line crosses the eastern Balkan Mountains, which are not particularly high or rugged. From Kardam, the line continues to Medgidia in Romania, being the only line that crosses the Bulgarian-Romanian land border (the Danube forms the largest part of the Bulgarian-Romanian border ).
The east-west railway lines are of much greater importance for inland transport and for transit traffic.
International course book series (as of March 2011)
Most of Bulgaria's international rail links run through the Sofia railway junction. There are also some connections that run directly from Romania to their destinations via Rousse.
Many connections only run in summer, meaning the period from mid-June to early September.
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Balkan Express / "Nušić": Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul
The Balkan Express runs on the Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul route, the "Nušić" only runs on the Belgrade - Sofia route. On the Istanbul - Dimitrovgrad route, the Balkan Express runs together with the Bosfor Express Istanbul - Bucharest.
The route of the Balkan Express:
Belgrade - Lapovo - Stalać - Niš - Bela Palanka - Pirot - Dimitrovgrad - Dragoman - Sofia - Plovdiv - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad - border crossing Kapitan Andreewo-Kapıkule - Edirne - Alpullu - Çerkezköy - Halkalı - Istanbul (scheduled travel time 24 hours, 1040 km, one Connection daily)
For the Belgrade - Sofia route, the journey time for 418 km is 8 hours, two connections a day.
- Through car to Bucharest, Bosfor-Express: Bucharest - Giurgiu - Russe - Gorna Orjahovica - Veliko Tarnovo - Stara Sagora - Dimitrovgrad (BG) - Istanbul
- In summer through coaches from Belgrade to Burgas : Belgrade - Sofia - Plovdiv - Stara Sagora - Burgas
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"Romania" / Bosfor-Express: Sofia / Istanbul - Bucharest
The "Romania" operated the route Thessaloniki - Bucharest. In February 2011 he was stopped on the Sofia - Thessaloniki section due to the ailing financial situation of the Greek State Railways. Since then, the "Romania" has only operated on the Sofia - Bucharest section. The Bosfor Express runs the Bucharest - Istanbul route. The "Romania" and the Bosfor-Express come from Bucharest via Russe to Gorna Orjachowiza as a common train. There the train is split and the Bosfor-Express travels south through the Balkan Mountains. The "Romania" runs north of the Balkan Mountains to the west towards Sofia. In Dimitrovgrad, the Bosfor-Express will be combined with the Balkan-Express and both trains will run together as the only international train to Istanbul.
The route of the "Romania" since February 2011:
Bucharest - Sofia (travel time 9 ½ hours, 536 km):
Bucharest North - Giurgiu North - Ruse - Gorna Oryachovitsa - Levski - Pleven - Cherven Brjag - Mezdra - Sofia
The "Romania" runs once a day, another connection between Sofia and Bucharest exists with the Bulgaria-Express Sofia - Moscow.
The route of the Bosfor-Express:
Bucharest - Istanbul (travel time 20 ½ hours, 836 km):
Bucharest North - Giurgiu North - Russe - Gorna Orjachowiza - Veliko Tarnovo - Stara Sagora - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad - Border Crossing Kapitan Andreewo-Kapıkule - Istanbul
The Bosfor-Express runs once a day.
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Bulgaria-Express: Sofia - Bucharest - Kiev - Moscow
The Bulgaria-Express connects Sofia with the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the Russian capital Moscow, there are still through coaches to the Belarusian capital Minsk and to Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. In summer there are also through coaches to Moscow-Varna and Moscow-Burgas.
The route of the Bulgaria Express:
Sofia - Mezdra - Cherven Bryag - Pleven - Levski - Gorna Oryahovitsa - Russe - Giurgiu Nord - Bucharest North - Ploiesti Sud - Buzau - Bacau - Paşcani - Suceava Nord - Dornesti - Vicsani - Vadul Siret (border Umspurung ) - Chernivtsi - Ternopil - Khmelnitsky - Vinnytsia - Koziatyn - Kiev - Konotop - Suzemka (Russian border station.) - Bryansk (Bryansk Lgowskij station; russ. станция Брянск-Льговский) - Bryansk (Bryansk Orlovsky station; russ станция Брянск Орловский.) - Sukhinichi - Moscow ( Kiev train station ) (travel time: 2 days and 8 hours, in summer 2 days and 2 hours, 2841 km, once a day)
- Through coaches from Sofia to Minsk: Sofia - Kiev - Minsk (only in summer, twice a week)
- Through carriage from Sofia to Kharkiv : Sofia - Kiev - Kharkiv (once a week)
- Through coaches from Varna to Moscow: Varna - Russe - Bucharest - Kiev - Moscow (only in summer, 5 times a week)
- Through coaches from Burgas to Moscow: Burgas - Karnobat - Kaspichan - Russe - Bucharest - Kiev - Moscow (only in summer, 6 times a week)
Sofia / Varna - Saratov
Sofia - Mezdra - Cherven Bryag - Pleven - Levski - Gorna Oryahovitsa - Russe - Giurgiu Nord - Bucharest North - Ploiesti Sud - Bacau - Paşcani - Iasi - Nicolina - Ungeni ( Moldova ) - Chisinau - Tighina - Kuchurgan (Ukraine) - Podilsk - Kropywnyzkyj - Znamianka - Dnipro (South station) - Dnipro (Hauptbahnhof) - Krasnoarmiisk (Donetsk, Ukraine) - Yasynuvata - Debaltseve - Chervonopartyzansk (Ukrainian Червонопартизанск; station: Krasnaya mogila; красная могила) - Gukovo - Lihaja - Volgograd - Petrov Val - Saratov (travel time : 2 days and 23 hours, 1 × per week)
Varna - Russe - Giurgiu North - Bucharest North - Ploiești Sud - Bacău - Pașcani - Iași - Nicolina - Ungeni ( Moldova ) - Chișinău - Tighina - Kuchurgan (Ukraine) - Podilsk - Kropywnyzkyj - Znamianka - Dnipro (Central Railway Station) - Dnipro - Krasnoarmiysk (Donetsk; Ukraine) - Yassynuwata - Debaltseve - Chervonopartyzansk (Ukrainian Червонопартизанск; train station: Krasnaja mogila; красная могила) - Gukowo - Lihaja - Volg Sarogradow - (1 × per week Volg Sarograd)
Cherno more (Black Sea route): Varna - Minsk
Varna - Ruse - Giurgiu Nord - Bucharest North - Ploiesti Sud - Buzau - Bacau - Suceava Nord - Dornesti - Vicsani - Vadul Siret - Chernivtsi - Ivano-Frankivsk - Lviv - Rivne - Udrick - Goryn - Baranovichi - Minsk (travel time: 1 day and 15 hours, 1870 km, 1 × per week)
- Through coaches from Minsk to Saint Petersburg : Varna - Minsk - Orsha - Vitebsk - Saint Petersburg.
"Nessebar": Burgas / Varna - Prague / Bratislava / Budapest / Warsaw
These different trains only run in summer.
Bourgas - Budapest Bourgas - Bratislava Bourgas - Karnobat - Kaspichan - Ruse - Giurgiu Nord - Videle - Craiova - Targu Jiu - Petrosani - Simeria - Deva - Arad - Curtici (Romanian border town) - Lőkösháza - Szolnok - Budapest Keleti pályaudvar (Budapest east station ) - Rajka - Bratislava hlavná stanica (travel time: 2 days and 2 hours, 1530 km)
Burgas - Prague: Burgas - Bratislava - Kúty - Brno - Prague main train station (travel time: 2 days and 11 hours, 1920 km)
Burgas - Krakow : Burgas - Bucharest - Lőkösháza - Hatvan - Miskolc (train station: Miskolc Tiszai) - Hidasnémeti - Košice - Plaveč - Muszyna - Krakow (1790 km)
Varna - Russe - (further as Burgas - Russe -)
Route: Sofia - Thessaloniki (- Athens) (discontinued 2011 to 2014)
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Since May 10, 2014 there has been a daily connection - in addition to "Romania" - between Sofia and Thessaloniki, which was temporarily discontinued (February 2011–10 May 2014). The route is: Sofia - Blagoevgrad - Sandanski - Kulata - Promachon - Strymon - Rodopolis - Kilkis - Thessaloniki (travel time: 5:50 hours, 356 km, 2 × daily)
Once a day - with the former late-night connection from Sofia - through coaches continued to Athens (travel time: 13:45 hours, 867 km). This through coach has been discontinued without replacement.
Route: Plovdiv - Athens
Until February 2011 there was a connection Plovdiv - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad - Dikaia - Alexandroupoli - Komotini - Thessaloniki - Athens (travel time: 24 hours, 1140 km, 1 × daily). Currently (as of 2019) the 10 km long route across the border between Svilengrad (BG) and Ormeinion (GR) is not in operation and there are therefore no international train connections between Bulgaria and Greece over this route.
Memberships in international railway associations
The Bulgarian State Railways is a member of:
- International Union of Railways (UIC)
- International Rail Transport Committee (CIT)
- in the South-East Europe Railways Group (SERG) (SERG is a multinational association of the railways of Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria, Greece , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Romania , Serbia and Turkey .)
- in the Organization for the Cooperation of Railways (Russian Организация сотрудничества железных дорог [ОСЖД] OSJD, founded in 1957 by the former socialist countries in Beijing)
- COLPOFER (Collaboration des services de police ferroviaire et de sécurité; Conference on the safety of rail transport)
There are also contracts with Eurofima and Intercontainer-Interfrigo (ICF).
Transport Museum
The Transport Museum was opened in Ruse in 1966 and is devoted to the history of rail transport and navigation on the Danube, as well as the history of communications. The three exhibition themes were symbolically represented in a sculpture depicting a railroad worker, a sailor and a telephone operator.
The Transport Museum is located in the entrance building of the first Bulgarian train station on the Ruse-Varna railway line, which opened in 1866. The foundation stone for the station building was laid on May 21, 1864. The station building was in operation until 1956. The building was declared a cultural monument in 1974 .
The oldest exhibit is a surviving British steam locomotive from 1848. Other exhibits are a "Sultana" saloon car , which was built in Brussels in 1866 - on the occasion of the opening of the Ruse-Varna line. There are also two saloon cars belonging to the Bulgarian tsar family and Boris III. to see, which were built in Germany in 1894 and 1911 and a sleeping car of the Tsar's train - built in Germany in 1902.
literature
- NN: Railway Transport in Bulgaria: 1866-1983 (Bulg.)
- NN: 100 Years of Bulgarian State Railways (Bulg.)
- D. Dejanov, S. Dejanov: The Locomotives of the Bulgarian State Railways (Bulg.)
- K. Konstantinov: Journey Through the Years (Bulg.)
- Markus Rabanser: Railways in Bulgaria . Vienna, Verlag Pospischil, 2003. Bahn im Bild, volume 115. 86 pages.
- Fritz Stöckl: Railways in Southeast Europe . Vienna, 1975
Web links
- Website of the railway company BDŽ (Bulgarian and English)
- www.rail-infra.bg Website of the infrastructure company NKŽI (bulg.)
- Elmar Oberegger: Bulgarian State Railways. In: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesen, 2007. (With maps from the historical network)
- Unofficial map of the rail network (Bulgarian and English)
- Bulgaria commissions strategic transport study Railway Gazette International from June 24, 2008 (transport masterplan; engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eight people died in the fire on the Sofia – Kardam train (Bulgarian) , on the website www.mediapool.bg, last visited on July 28, 2008
- ↑ a b http://bdz.kobreti.com/files/20091214_balkan_express.doc ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ romania.doc ( Memento from May 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Course book of the Bulgarian State Railways, 2010/11 edition
- ↑ http://www.imerisia.gr/article.asp?catid=26510&subid=2&pubid=113250552
- ↑ http://bdz.kobreti.com/files/20091214_sofiq_solun.doc ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
