Bulgaria - General Information

Country Name

Bulgaria (България)

National railway system

National Railway Operator

Bulgarian State Railways - Bulgarski Darshavni Železnici (BDŽ), Български държавни железници (БДЖ).

Language

Bulgarian, using Cyrillic script.

Currency

Lev (Lv, дв); 100 stotinki = 1 Lv

UIC code

numeric 52; alpha BG

Timetable

Journey Planner

razpisanie.bdz.bg/SearchServlet?lang=en

Downloadable Timetable

The 2012-2013 timetable is available as a single pdf almost entirely in Cyrillic script. It is however over 60 MB in size.

There was a no timetable pdf for 2013-2014 as at February 2014

Printed Timetable

Patevoditel (ПЪТЕВОДИТЕЛ). Includes all internal and international services. Almost completely written in Bulgarian, using Cyrillic script. The timetable map is diagrammatic and still shows a few lines that no longer have a passenger service. This can be very difficult to obtain, but a pocket-sized version "СЪКРАТЕНО РАЗПИСАНИЕ" with reduced detail is more generally available.

Engineering Information

Not known.

Maps

Printed Maps

• European Railway Atlas: Scandinavia and Eastern Europe by M.G. Ball (1993) (ISBN 0-7110-2072-4)
• European Railway Atlas by M.G. Ball (2008 onwards)

Web-based Maps

• Thorsten Büker's Map of Bulgaria with enlargements of Sofia and Gorna Orjahovica.
• A map is available on the Infrastructure Authority website

Infrastructure

Infrastructure Authority

The National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), Национална компания "Железопътна инфраструктура" (НКЖИ).

Network Statement

The Network Statement page provides a downloadable Network Statement.

Gauge

Standard. The BDŽ line from Septemvri to Dobrinishte is 760 mm gauge.

Electrification

25 kV 50 Hz.

Rule of the road

Right.

Distances

Although the Network Statement Annex 2 allegedly contains "kilometric location of the stations and length of distances between stations along the railway network managed by NRIC (table 1.1)" and other useful information, it contains only 2 pages and there is no sign of these tables in either the English or Bulgarian language versions.

Other Railways

None.

Tourist Lines

None.

Metro

Sofia.

Trams

Sofia.

Recent and future changes

The BDZ journey planner shows no trains between Kjustendil and Gjueshevo from 15 December to 30 April, so it is possible services have ended.

The combined road/rail bridge between Vidin and Calafat (Romania), now named "Danube Bridge 2", was ceremonially opened to traffic on 14 June 2013. A daily train between Craiova and Sofia is planned. Although the date of introduction is not yet known, it is thought that freight and passenger services will start in February or March 2014.

Much of the network is electrified, and more electrification is in progress. Electrification between Svilengrad and the border with Turkey was inaugurated on 9 May 2013, completing an electric route between the Serbian border and Istanbul.

The section of table 331 between Kremikovci and Jana via Obedinena lost its passenger service at the end of the 2008/2009 timetable period.

Special Notes

None.