List of railway lines in Bulgaria

This is a list of railway lines in Bulgaria focusing primarily on intercity train lines. In 2019, there were 4,071 kilometres (2,530 mi) of standard gauge railways, of which 67% were electrified.[1] Narrow gauge lines amount to 125 kilometres (78 mi).[2]

A map of railway infrastructure in Bulgaria

Train railways, as well as related infrastructure such as stations, are managed and maintained by the National Railway Infrastructure Company, which split from Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) - Bulgaria's national rail company - in 2002. The National Railway Infrastructure Company holds a virtual monopoly on ownership and works closely with the State Railways.

Non-train rail transport in Bulgaria is limited to tram and metro services in Sofia, both managed by their own municipality-owned companies.

Active lines

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Bolded indicates main lines. Italics indicate narrow-gauge lines.

Name Route Length Gauge Electrified Usage
BDZ Line 1 KalotinaSofiaPlovdivSvilengrad 356 km (221 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 2 SofiaMezdraGorna OryahovitsaKaspichanVarna 544 km (338 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 3 IliyantsiTulovoDabovoZimnitsaKarnobatSindelVarna (ferry) 541 km (336 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 4 RuseGorna OryahovitsaDabovoTulovoStara ZagoraMihaylovoPodkova 415 km (258 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 5 SofiaPernikRadomirKulata 209 km (130 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 6 VoluyakPernikGyueshevo 134 km (83 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 7 MezdraBoychinovtsiBrusartsiVidin 181 km (112 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 8 PlovdivStara ZagoraYambolKarnobatBurgas 293 km (182 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 9 RuseSamuilKaspichan 137 km (85 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 11 KalotinaStanyantsi 16 km (10 mi) Standard No Freight only
BDZ Line 13 SofiaVoluyakBankya 11 km (7 mi) Standard No Passenger only
BDZ Line 16 SeptemvriDobrinishte 125 km (78 mi) Narrow No Passenger only
BDZ Line 18 StamboliyskiPeshtera 28 km (17 mi) Standard No Passenger only
BDZ Line 19 KrumovoAsenovgrad 10 km (6 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 23 YasenCherkovitsa 43 km (27 mi) Standard No Passenger only
BDZ Line 24 SvishtovLevskiTroyan 130 km (81 mi) Standard No Passenger only
BDZ Line 27 ShumenKomunari 50 km (31 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 28 PovelyanovoKardam 109 km (68 mi) Standard Partially Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 42 Tsareva LivadaGabrovo 17 km (11 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 51 DupnitsaBobov Dol 19 km (12 mi) Standard Yes Freight only
BDZ Line 52 General TodorovPetrich 9 km (6 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 71 BoychinovtsiBerkovitsa 38 km (24 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 72 BrusartsiLom 23 km (14 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 73 VidinKoshava 28 km (17 mi) Standard Partially Freight only
BDZ Line 81 FilipovoPanagyurishte 71 km (44 mi) Standard No Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 82 FilipovoDolna MahalaKarlovo 65 km (40 mi) Standard Yes Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 82.1 Dolna MahalaHisarya 15 km (9 mi) Standard Yes Passenger only
BDZ Line 83 SimeonovgradNova Zagora 111 km (69 mi) Standard Ongoing Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 91 SamuilSilistra 113 km (70 mi) Standard No Passenger only

Urban rail transport

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The capital Sofia is the only Bulgarian city with an urban rail network. These include trams and subway trains. Until 1964, a ring railway connected a number of train stations within Sofia. This abandoned railway has seen renewed interest in 2019, with proposals to either partially restore and use it for connections to Sofia Airport and subway stations, convert it into a "green ring route" for bicycles, or both.[3] In May 2020, it was decided that parts of this railway will not be restored for train movement, but for bicycles and pedestrians instead.[4]

Sofia's urban rail network is nevertheless integrated with the national railway network. Both the tram network and Sofia Metro have stations at Sofia Central Station, the central hub for several of the main train lines in Bulgaria.

Trams

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Operational since 1901, the tram network had 137 kilometres (85 mi) of track in 2016, servicing 14 lines with a total two-way route length of 286 kilometres (178 mi). The Sofiya tram network uses two gauges - 1009 mm (39,72 inches) and standard 1435 mm (56,49 inches).[5]

1 Ivan Vazov quarter - National Palace of Culture - Macedonia Sq. - Central station - Kn. M. Luiza Metro Station
3 Zaharna Fabrika - Konstantin Velichkov Metro Station - Central station - Orlandovtsi
4 Nikola Petkov - Macedonia Sq. - Central station - Orlandovtsi
5 Knyazhevo - Krasno selo - Macedonia Sq. - Sofia Court House
6 Ivan Vazov - National Palace of Culture - Macedonia Sq. - Central station - Beli Dunav Metro Station - Obelya
7 Borovo - NDK - Macedonia Sq. - Central station - Han Kubrat Metro Station
8 Lyulin-5 - Vardar Metro Station - Macedonia Sq. - Sofia Court House
10 Zapaden Park - Macedonia Sq. - Srebarna Str. - Vitosha Metro Station
11 Knyazhevo quarter - Konstantin Velichkov Metro Station - Iliyantsi
12 Iliyantsi - Central station - St. Nedelya sq. - Journalist sq.
18 Orlandovtsi - St. Nedelya sq. - Journalist sq.
20 Iskar tramway Depot - Poduyane railway station - Central Sofia Market Hall - Opalchenska Metro Station
22 East station - Poduyane railway station - Konstantin Velichkov Metro Station - Krasna polyana Depot
23 Geo Milev - Iskarsko Shose Blvd. - Obikolna Street
  1,009 mm (3 ft 3+2332 in) metre gauge (nominally)
  1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge

Metro

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The only subway system in operation is also located in Sofia. It was unveiled in 1998 and has four lines with a total length of 52 km 32 mi and 47 stations.[6] metropolitan.bg web site

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Map of the railway network in the Republic of Bulgaria". Bulgarian State Railways. Bulgarian State Railways. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Field listing: Railways". CIA The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Green ring, ring railroad, or both?". Kapital. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Green ring in Sofia starting next year". 24 Chasa. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Report on Transport" (PDF). Vision for Sofia. 2: 76–81. 2016.
  6. ^ "About - Metro Sofia". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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