First-hand information about railways in Bulgaria: types of tickets, fare, calculations, how much it costs to get from Sofia to Burgas and other cities, information about luggage storage, types of cars, photos and descriptions of how Bulgaria trains look, instructions on how to buy a ticket on Bulgarian trains and other tips
The railway system in Bulgaria was formed back in Soviet times, and since then has not undergone major changes. And if more or less decent Bulgarian trains are put on international routes, from new ones, then domestic traffic is served by well-worn trains. In terms of comfort, vehicles seem preferable. For example, on routes between major cities, buses leave every hour. In addition, trains in Bulgaria take a long time, and where the voyage spends less than 5 hours on the way, the railway takes 6-7 hours. However, there is a small gain in money: the price of train tickets in Bulgaria is lower than the cost of travel in buses. If you can get from Sofia to Burgas by bus for about 24 levs, then the train will cost 21 levs. In addition, you can save money by immediately buying a round-trip ticket. Such a travel card in Bulgaria costs a third less, and, in relation to a voyage from Sofia to Burgas, it will take 30 leva for the whole trip.
But not everything is so simple: alas, you will have to save at the expense of comfort. The bus has at least "airplane" seats, while the seated carriages of the Bulgarian railways are deprived of this convenience, and the sleeping rooms, which, in theory, can be reached at night from Sofia to Varna or Burgas, are equipped with three rows of shelves. ... In a word, personally, I'm not at all sure whether it's worth traveling around Bulgaria by train. Well, if you really want to, then if you please, here are the clues ...
The Bulgarian Railways website contains a minimum of information. There is no Russian interface, so let's go straight to English.
From the whole modest menu, tourists, in fact, need one single item, namely "Timetable". Having done the appropriate manipulations and clicking on the "Search" button, the future passenger gets access to the page where you can find the schedule of the Bulgarian railways.
As you can see from the example, less than ten trains run from Sofia to Burgas per day, of which only three are direct. Pressing the "Fares" button allows you to understand how much the tickets of the Bulgarian railways cost.
As you can see from the example, to get to Burgas from Sofia, you need to pay 21 levs. The fare is reduced if a group of 3 to 6 passengers is traveling.
Now let's consider the question of how to buy tickets for Bulgaria trains online. Actually, Bulgarian railways do not experience an influx of people who wish, but it may happen that it will be necessary to make an order in advance. Therefore, we turn to the ticket booking system. It looks like this:
In order to buy a ticket for the Bulgarian train online, you will need to register by entering your data, including a mobile phone number, which must be indicated only in numbers, without a plus at the beginning; as practice shows, Russian numbers are quite suitable. Upon completion of the formalities, a letter with a password will drop into the mailbox of the new client, and the mail address will serve as the login.
Once you have entered the system, you can begin the purchase process. After choosing the departure and arrival stations, the traveler in the next step sees a list of available travel options.
Depending on which train of the Bulgarian railways the client preferred, different possibilities open up for him. For example, in daytime trains only first and second class seats are available.
Empty seats are marked in white, occupied are marked in gray.
Night trains on the Bulgarian railways include sleeping cars. Here you can choose either first or second class, or the level of comfort. The worst option is a three-seater compartment, where the distance between the shelves only allows you to lie down. There is a minimum of free space in them, and the whole trip will be one continuous nightmare. It's easier to pay a little extra and go first class. Well, in this example, the passenger is given to decide on which of the three shelves he will sleep, if, of course, he can fit in and fall asleep.
In any case, whether we are talking about sitting or sleeping cars of the Bulgarian railways, after choosing a seat, you will have to pay in full for the order. It is as easy as shelling pears to do this, since there is nothing to choose from.
When paying, you need to enter information about your bank card, and voila, tickets for Bulgarian trains, consider, bought ...
On arrival at the station, you should not expect any specialties. While the large stations look decent, the small ones are mostly forgotten and abandoned. This is the Burgas station, and it is only pretty from the outside. There are a minimum of amenities inside.
Ads are understandable even without translation into English. It is not for nothing that they say, they say, Bulgarian and Russian are twin brothers ...
There are almost no places for waiting, most people have to wait for the train on the platforms. There is a left-luggage office not everywhere: it is present in Burgas, and, for example, those leaving Sofia should go to the bus station.
This is nothing more than an international train schedule ...
But not everything is so bad: in the corner of the hall there is an electronic scoreboard for local flights, which looks "one hundred percent". In my opinion, the information displayed on it does not need translation ...
It is best to wait for departure in the fresh air ...
This is what the Bulgarian trains look like on closer inspection.
Typical Soviet layout adjusted for local flavor.
The coupe looks quite modern, there are even sockets. But do not be fooled by a decent appearance: worn, faded seats remind of the age of the carriage quite loudly. And, of course, it should be remembered that all the way, that is 6-8 hours, passengers will have to sit opposite each other, without the ability to properly stretch their legs.
In a word, Bulgarian trains are far from the best way to move around the country ...
As a railway lover, I have made many trips and photo excursions, but outside the former USSR, I have never visited the railways of this or that country. When I flew to Bulgaria, after taking off from Domodedovo airport, our plane flew over the railway and I watched it from a height. But, ironically, when landing at the Burgas airport, our plane also flew over the railway, which was being followed by an unknown passenger train at that moment. Looking down, I thought, shouldn't I make a study trip and take pictures of the local rolling stock? Why not!
But, of course, in the first days of rest there was no question of this: the sea, the sun ... But I did not think to give up the idea, I got a schedule for the Burgas station, chose the day of the trip. In the interval 13.45 - 14.30 several trains were expected from Burgas, which I decided to photograph. The trip was scheduled for August 10.
The road from Pomorie to Burgas took about 30 minutes, and now I am standing in front of the station building. At the station of Burgas station, repair work was underway: repairing passenger platforms, changing tracks. But I was interested in the schedule, I had to double-check the information. All trains were displayed on the departure monitor, everything coincided in time, except, perhaps, the numbers and some routes. But I did not pay attention to the fact that the 3 trains that I was planning to photograph in the column "track" had not a number, but the inscription "aut", only the suburban train # 8028 Burgas - Yambol had track # 7. But I did not attach any importance to this, but in vain!
I decided to take a photo trip in front of the Burgas-Razpredelitelna station, for this I took a bus next to the Dolno Ezerovo quarter. I drove about 20 minutes by bus, I see parallel railway tracks and a marshalling yard. I get out at the nearest stop, move to the tracks. But as soon as I got to the railway line, a whistle was heard from the direction of Burgas. I wonder what it is? And then an electric train appeared from around the corner. 
Electric train 32-104.2. Although the light is backlit, the first train was filmed. I was even more pleased that the first trophy was an electric train built for BDZ by the Riga Carriage Works, known as ER25. 
The electric train rushed off, and I began to inspect the freight station. If work is constantly in full swing at our marshalling yards, the shunting locomotive ChME3 or TEM2 is constantly shifting cars from one track to another, then silence reigned here. No diesel locomotive whistle, no clatter ... Silence. 
But looking closer, I noticed that most of the cars had rusty wheels, which indicated that they had been here for a long time. And the roll on the tracks was rather weak on most of the tracks. 
I decided to walk along the paths. Now it is good to shoot trains to Burgas, but the surroundings of the tracks are so overgrown that there is nowhere to stand. Walking along the tracks, I glance at the cargo station, trying to notice at least some signs of life. So I got to the station building of the Burgas-Distribution station. 
Station Burgas-Distribution (Gara Burgas-Distribution). Nearby is the landing platform of the stopping point of the same name (bolg: spirka). The tracks of the truck fleet adjoin the main ones in a couple of kilometers, it is in that place that the entrance traffic light and the sign "Border to Garat" (Station Border) are located. 
Continuing the walk I approach the traffic lights. The traffic light is yellow, the station is closed for passage. Although, judging by the timetable, there should be a train. The train appeared, of course, but from the opposite side. A series 44 electric locomotive manufactured by Skoda rushed to Burgas with a pair of passenger cars. If you look closely, you can see the signs of the current divide in the distance. The electric locomotive followed this section with the pantograph lowered. Neutral insert, gentlemen.
Since the next train from Burgas was expected only in 40 minutes, I decided to walk to the place where the station border passes. 
Entrance traffic lights and station border sign.
Initially, I wanted to go further, but changed my mind. The terrain is unfamiliar to me, moreover, the railway turned left, where the lighting for shooting trains from Burgas was unsuccessful. Let's go back. 
View in the direction of Burgas, in the direction of the station Vladimir Pavlov. 
I'm going back. When I reach the traffic light, I look at the reading - nothing has changed, it is still yellow. 
In general, the traffic light was a little confused, why it is only two-digit. Is there a semi-automatic blocking here? To be honest, it was hard to believe in it. Like a European country, like a two-track, and the line is clearly not inactive. But then the yellow traffic light changed to green. I took a position, a minute later the muzzle of a Skoda electric locomotive appeared in the distance. 
So, an electric locomotive with a pair of cars follows as a suburban one. The one that I saw just over an hour ago. By the way, the electric train that I took first by this time had already returned back to Burgas. But now all the attention is on the suburban train # 8028. 
Electric locomotive 44-094.1 with suburban train No. 8028 Burgas - Yambol, section Vladimir Pavlov - Burgas-Razpredelitelna. As soon as the suburban passed, I quickly walked forward in order to see the traffic light. The traffic light was green. The suburban train disappeared around the bend, following the entrance traffic light, and the green signal changed to yellow. There is no doubt that it is semi-automatic.
The train sped away, the next one was expected soon, but ... I didn’t attach any importance to the fact that instead of the track number there was an inscription “aut” on the board (the bus is obvious). Fifteen minutes passed, but the warning light was yellow. In the meantime, a freight train arrived at the freight depot - the station revived a little. I already wanted to look at the arriving train, but then the warning light turned green, and a couple of minutes later an unknown locomotive of dark color appeared in the distance. As we approached, it became clear that a freight train driven by a Series 87 locomotive was approaching. 
Electric locomotive 87-033.7 with a freight train. The locomotive is owned by Balgarska Zhelezopatna Company. Electric locomotives of the 87 series were purchased by the railway company from the British, previously operated in England. This locomotive was built in 1974.
A little more time passed, and the green light came on again at the warning light. The yellow muzzle of an electric locomotive with a freight train appeared on the horizon. But as we approached, it became clear that the freight system was headed by a system of two electric locomotives. 
Electric locomotives 92-025.1 "Oscar Wilde" and 92-034.3 "Kipling" with a freight train. I wonder whose locomotives are these? On the sides of the electric locomotives, the logo "EWS" (English, Welsh and Scottish Railway Ltd) of the largest British railway company. And on the face is the logo of DB (Deutsche Bahn) of a large company, the main railway operator in Germany. And the locomotives themselves travel along the Bulgarian railways. Interesting movie!
On this I decided to end my acquaintance with the railways of Bulgaria, but only for a while. The fact is that after a couple of days I had to come to Burgas to buy some things that I did not find in Pomorie; I had my camera with me. And then I decided to shoot a suburban one again to Yambol, but a little further - on the territory of the Dolno Ezerovo quarter. I took a bus to this quarter of Burgas, reached the tracks and after 10 minutes successfully took off a suburban train. 
Electric locomotive 44-134.5 with suburban train No. 8028 Burgas - Yambol, section Burgas-Razpredelitelna - Dolno Ezerovo.
After filming the commuter train, I decided to wait a bit in the hope of freight trains, but there were no freight trains that day. More precisely, there was one cargo, but it passed already when I was returning back to the city.
In principle, this was enough for me, but ... I liked the Bulgarian Skoda electric locomotives, after all, they have a slight external resemblance to our ChS2. God, as you know, loves the Trinity, and therefore I decided to come to this section once again in order to film another Czech. The trip took place on 15 August. 
I went to the section 20 minutes before the commuter train. At the warning traffic light, the usual yellow was on, nothing was expected in front of the suburban. On the last train, I saw a notch in the curve ahead, so I decided to go forward. 
But when I got to the curve, I realized that the plan to remove the suburban from the recess can be discarded - the recess is all in the bushes, there is nowhere to stand. It's a pity of course, but what to do. Not salty I go back. About 10 minutes passed, and then the noise of a suburban train approaching was heard. I knew there would be an electric locomotive 44-096.6 because I saw it at the Burgas station 
Suburban appeared in the curve. I pointed the camera, but then the technique failed by focusing inaccurately, correcting the inaccuracy only when the electric locomotive almost left the frame. 
Electric locomotive 44-096.1 with a suburban train Burgas - Yambol. I was not very happy with the shot, but on the other hand, I have not yet shot a close-up of Bulgarian Czechs. The train followed a yellow-flashing warning light and disappeared around the bend.
Now all that was left was to wait and hope for luck. But an hour passed, and there was no movement. Only in the sky flocks of pelicans constantly circled. 
A flock of pelicans flying to the Burgas lake.
After walking a little more along the tracks, I decided to leave. I left the railway, but when I got to the bus stop I found out that the bus had just left, and here they only run every 45 minutes. Well, since it happened, I decided to go to the Dolno Ezerovo station and see what kind of station it was. Since the station was located in the very quarter, I did not have to walk for a long time and, having turned onto one street, I saw a crossing 150 meters away. 
Station (Gara) Dolno Ezerovo. Taking a look at the station, I understood why the train arrived at the station under two yellow signals of the entrance traffic light - the 1st and 2nd main tracks were closed for repairs, the trains were moving through the side tracks. Track 2 has been completely dismantled, a new track has already been laid in place of the dismantled track 1, but it is still far from being put into operation. A similar picture is observed at the Vladimir Pavlov station. 
Railway crossing at the Dolno Ezerovo station. As soon as I made a frame of the crossing, the alarm went off and the barrier closed. A train is expected only on which side, in addition, a single-track line to the metallurgical plant departs from the Dolno Ezerovo station. But when I got to the crossing, I noticed a green signal at one of the repeating traffic lights - a train is expected from Burgas. 
And in front of the station there is a curve, here only a suburban with two cars is well removed. And from behind the curve appeared the already familiar pair of electric locomotives bearing the names of Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling. 
Electric locomotives of the 92 series with a freight train. In general, freight trains in Bulgaria are not that long, but some, nevertheless, are equipped with systems of 2 electric locomotives. 
Bulgarian freight cars. The freight train slid onto a side track and was soon out of sight. A few minutes later the crossing rang again. Only this time the train was already on the opposite side, and it was the already familiar locomotive 44-096.1, which was returning with a commuter train from Yambol. But then I remembered that from minute to minute there will be a suburban train No. 8014 Burgas - Sliven, and judging by previous observations, an ER25 series electric train, aka 32-104.2, will go as a suburban train. Excellent! A few minutes later, when a suburban from Yambol rushed off to Burgas, the crossing rang again, and a beautiful Riga woman appeared from around the corner. 
Electric train 32-104.2 on the route Burgas - Sliven. Excellent! If you have a question how I knew what this particular electric train would be, I am answering, at the present time it works alone here. There is really one more electric train in Burgas, but that one stands at a dead end without movement. Great result, but now you can go to the bus? Perhaps! I go to the bus stop, reaching which I find out that the next flight will be soon, but .... Something made me miss this flight and go back to the railroad tracks. The crossing rang when I was about 50 meters away from it. I'm running ahead although it's not a fact that the train will be from Burgas. And as it turned out, the train was on the opposite side, but ... An electric locomotive was following to Burgas in reserve, which made it possible to take it off for the run. 
Another addition to the collection is the 86 series electric locomotive, which, judging by the logo on the face, also belongs to the Germans.
After the passage of this electric locomotive, there was a slight lull, which I took advantage of while walking around the station. 
Dolno Ezerovo station. Before us is the railway station building, as well as the landing platform. The station is undergoing repair work to replace the railway track. 
View towards the station Burgas-Razprazditelnaya.
The station was filmed, but what will happen next. And then I remembered that today is Saturday, which means there should be a train from Burgas to Budapest. I look at my watch - in a couple of minutes the train will leave Burgas, which means there is little time. Only at the station I did not want to shoot against the background of the construction site, but I simply do not have time to reach the Dolno Ezerovo - Druzhba section, and even this is already outside the block - the places are not familiar.
I had to shoot near the crossing, like the previous trains. 
Electric locomotive 45-176.5 with passenger train # 1470 Burgas - Budapest-Keleti. So the Czech of the 45th series got caught.
The passenger train sped away, but a few minutes later the crossing rang again, and a whistle was heard from the direction of Burgas. 
The familiar electric locomotive 44-096.6 with empty passenger cars passed by. In general, a suburban train Burgas - Karnobat should be behind the passenger train, but it turned out that this train does not run on Saturdays.
On this I decided to complete the photo excursion. Returning to the bus stop, I waited for the bus and drove back to the center of Burgas. Then transfer to the bus to Pomorie and after 20.00 I was already at home.
The sun was already hidden behind the horizon when I went to the beach. And even though it was getting dark, I plunged into the warm waters of the Black Sea and got great pleasure from swimming at sunset. The day is good!
As for the general impression of the BDZ rolling stock, I personally liked the local Skoda electric locomotives and the ER25 series electric train. Everything else is certainly not bad, but ours is prettier anyway. That's all! Thank you for attention!
"I do not want! I won't! It is morally outdated! " - with such screams, I threw a blue dress straight at my friend laughing at me. We packed our suitcases so cheerfully on our Bulgarian vacation. This was followed by a fashion show in swimsuits and pillow fights. Where do I start a story about the railroad with references to my wardrobe? Because the Bulgarian trains are as outdated as my silk dress. I got out of the situation by complementing the outfit with a beautiful necklace and heeled sandals. True, I moved on them like a paralyzed grasshopper. But this is a completely different story ... Bulgarian railway workers also followed a similar path. Instead of sending old trains to hell and completely replacing rolling stock with newer models, they simply refurbished the seats on the trains and added new sleeping cars. But let's move from dresses and lyrics to practice. Today I will tell you all about the railways of Bulgaria.
Railways of Bulgaria, what they are
The state-owned company "Balgarski Dzhavni Zheleznitsi" (BDZ) provides its services for the transportation of passengers throughout most of the territory of Bulgaria. Why mostly? Because many towns and villages do not have stations. And sometimes, in order to get to the desired point, you have to make several transfers.
Trains, as you already understood, come from the USSR. They are repaired from time to time, but they clearly do not reach the title of "European". However, the ticket price is a plus. Traveling around Bulgaria can be quite budgetary.
Bulgaria has international connections with Turkey, Greece, Serbia and Romania. You can see the schedule here.
First of all, I want to talk a little about the categories of trains, so that you have an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat and in what conditions you will have to go to this or that town.
Categories of bulgarian trains
The local population does not bother with the detailed division of trains into categories, so any Bulgarians will say that there are only three types of trains:
- ordinary local;
- fast local;
- express trains, following popular tourist routes.
I guess this information will not be enough for you. Well, I'll be a good girl and try to tell you about all the categories of Bulgarian trains in the world.
Types of wagons
There is no countless number of different types of cars in Bulgaria, as in Italy, for example (if you want to read about the railway of this country, then click). Everything is very simple here - sitting cars and sleeping cars. I'll tell you about them.
Seated cars
Most of the trains in Bulgaria are daytime, which means that the overwhelming majority of cars are sit-down. They look like this.
it daytime sit-down trains with compartments.
.jpg)
As you can see, there is a small corridor, the passenger seats from which are separated by glass doors. The compartment has two rows of soft seats.
In the second class, one compartment has eight seats (two four-seater sofas opposite each other), and in the first - six (two sofas, each consisting of three chairs), there is space for luggage, hooks for clothes and where to stretch your legs. :)
Theoretically, if no one else is driving in your compartment, you can take a horizontal position and fall asleep, because the handles between adjacent seats rise.
There is also day trains with shared carriages and without division into a compartment.
The chairs in them are arranged according to the "2 + 2" scheme. Such compositions look like this.
Sleeping cars
They can only be found on night flights. Fortunately, old-style carriages with six shelves and shabby walls are a thing of the past. For there is nothing good about them. Three shelves on each side and you can neither sit down nor get up. There are, of course, cars with SV-class compartments, where there are only two shelves, but this is also a dubious pleasure.
And there is such a gloomy corridor waiting for you in old trains. And if two people are walking towards each other, then trying to miss each other can become a very intimate action. :)
Old school trains are gradually being replaced by new comfortable trains.
I’ll tell you about them, because if you go by night train, it’s most likely in these trains. Sleeping cars are divided into three classes:
- in business class, the compartment is designed for one person;
- in first class - for two passengers;
- and in the second, respectively, for three travelers.
At the entrance to the car we are met by a video camera. The corridor itself is very narrow and uncomfortable. The compartment is small and clean.
There are a lot of different sensors and buttons for controlling lighting, sound, launching nuclear weapons.
Hooks to hang your outfits. And a ladder for those lucky enough to travel on the second and third shelf.
There is a washbasin, towel and sockets.
The toilet is also of European size. Well, more or less European ...
There is even a shower.
Of the minuses, it should be mentioned that the sockets can be broken, there will be no water in the taps, and of the two toilets located in the carriage, only one will work - sadness. :(
It is worth remembering that such coupes are divided into male and female. If you plan to travel with your spouse in a second class compartment, be prepared to be accommodated in different compartments.
Actually, my knowledge about the Bulgarian trains is over. Now I'll tell you about tickets, travel discounts and options for purchasing travel cards.
Tickets and train discounts
There is very little information on the web regarding tickets. And a vacation in Bulgaria does not guarantee that you will become an expert in railway matters. It is best to refer to the official railway website. According to him, there are two categories of tickets: computer and blank.
Computer tickets
These e-tickets are bought through the Belarusian Railways website (a little later I will tell you how this can be done). In addition to the classic information about the date of travel, direction, train number, ticket cost, there can be a lot of other designations on the pass. For instance:
- 1 / 2R-D - ticket for children from 7 to 10 years old.
- MG - a ticket for a small group traveling in one direction.
- 1 / 2L-B - ticket for the elderly.
Honestly, there is no point in writing and deciphering all these designations, since you will not need them on your trip. But, if you want to be knowledgeable in everything, then keep, by clicking on which, you can find out all the necessary information.
Blank tickets
You can buy these tickets at the box office. They indicate:
- carrier name;
- train category and number;
- car number and class;
- pick-up and drop-off station on the passenger's route;
- the validity of the ticket;
- number of ticket;
- date of travel.
It is important to remember that the ticket is valid only for the train number for which it was issued. You cannot take another train in the same direction.
You can buy e-tickets only for the routes indicated on the website. The point of departure and arrival must be selected in the tabs, which I marked with arrows.
At the station ticket office, tickets can be purchased for any destination.
When buying tickets online, you only need documents in order to accurately enter all the data about passengers. And this is very important. At the station, the controller will check whether the information on the tickets matches the information on the identity card.
Note: if you buy tickets for express trains and international routes at the box office, then you must have your passport with you.
Travel discounts
The Bulgarian railway provides several types of different travel cards and cards, thanks to which you can save on travel. You can see their names in the screenshot.
So, here's who have the opportunity to travel cheaper:
- a passenger who has bought a ticket in both directions at once;
- holders of the youth and classic pass;
- regular customers of Belarusian Railways. You will fall into this category if you often use the services of Belarusian Railways, several times a week, for example, for a fairly long period of time. In this case, you can count on discounts. But I tell more about useful things specifically for tourists who have come to the country for a short time, so you can forget about this group of beneficiaries with peace of mind.
- groups of three to six people;
- students-citizens of any country, up to 26 years old, who travel in an organized group;
- children under the age of 7 (accompanied by an adult) travel for free.
All more detailed and, most importantly, up-to-date information about the age of passengers and the amount of discounts can be found on the Belarusian Railways website.
Inter Rail pass
This pass allows you to travel by train free of charge for a specified period. The cost of Inter Rail in Bulgaria is from 50 EUR.
You can take a closer look at all the current prices, the periods of time during which the ticket is valid, here. And you can buy such a pass simply by clicking on this link.
Buying tickets
There are three ways to buy tickets:
- at the register;
- at the conductor;
- on the Belarusian Railways website.
I'll tell you in more detail about each of the methods.
Purchase at the checkout
Tickets can be easily bought at the ticket office of the station: Russian is understood here. You will tell the cashier the direction, date and time of departure, type and class of the car.
By the way, cash desks work mostly until 19:00, especially in small towns. Some stations have no ticket offices.
For night trains, ticket sales end one hour before train departure. In addition, when I was there, passengers on night flights had to go to the ticket office before departure, and there the cashier manually wrote down the names of travelers on a piece of paper, distributed who was traveling in which carriage and compartment.
Buying a ticket on the train
You can also buy tickets from the conductor. In some cases, tickets may even cost you less than at the box office. Just do not expect that you will pass by a hare. Conductors pass the train more than once.
Buying tickets online
Meet the legend! The first online photo-instruction for buying tickets on the website of the Bulgarian railways. Well, I want to believe that she is the first. And then at one time I scrolled to the fifth page in a Google search and found nothing. This is a kind of exclusive material. Straight from the front line. :)
First of all, you need to register on the site. To do this, fill out the following form, indicating:
- email;
- surname;
- phone number.
And immediately we pay attention to the text that appears on the website of the railway company on the right. These are online tips to help you buy your ticket. By the way, few European railway sites can boast of such a feature.
Going to the mail, you will see this message with a password. Your email will serve as your login.
Now we return to the site and go through the authorization procedure.
Now we have two possible flights: morning and evening. I prefer to travel at night, so I choose the train that leaves at 22:40. When you select a specific option, this block will turn blue.
Now we indicate the type of place. I choose a bed in a second class carriage.
I marked with a rectangle a form where you can choose a discount option (if it was issued in advance). At this stage, the final cost of the ticket is formed.
Now comes the fun part: choosing a location. I liked the 31st. I press on it and reserve in this way for myself.
Ahtung! Here you need to be extremely careful and double-check all the data. If everything is okay, then choose a payment method.
Now we complete the payment procedure.
All that remains to be done is to sigh happily or sadly over the money debited from the card, print the ticket and stomp with it to the station.
We sorted out the purchase, now I will tell you about several interesting points regarding railway transportation in Bulgaria.
Features of railways
There is nothing special that would distinguish the Bulgarian railways from our domestic ones, but still you need to know something about:
Summary
In order to become a guru in the field of the railway in Bulgaria, I need to go there a couple more times on vacation and replenish my knowledge box. But I hope that what I have told you will help you in planning your vacation in a sunny country.
Bon voyage, comfortable compartments and pleasant experience!
Bulgarian railways are called „ Български дързовни Заханис“And it turns out BJ... And the railway stations, respectively, Zhp (feleso patnand) gara (railway station).
The first railway in Bulgaria was built by the British, the Berkeley brothers in 1866. It connected the cities of Ruse and Varna.
In 1952, a railway connection was opened between Burgas and Sofia. In 1909, all railway lines became state property.
In 2005, new cars appeared in Bulgaria - Siemens, but you can still find old German cars on suburban routes.
I would say that in Bulgaria there is a very well developed railway connection for such a small country - almost all large settlements are connected with each other. It's comfortable. It is a pity that due to cost optimization, the Bulgarian railways have cut some international routes.
Train in Bulgarian vlak... This word comes from the verb " dragging along, attracted"and was previously used for river transport.
Train from Sofia to Burgas
Now I want to tell you about how to travel by train from Sofia to Burgas. Travel time is night. At 22.45 you sit down in Sofia and at 6.15 in Burgas.
Tickets for Bulgarian trains look like in the photo below. This is a second class ticket in a triple compartment. It costs 30.40 levs (15.58 euros) per person from Sofia to Burgas.
There are three sections: the first ticket gives you the right to travel from Sofia to Burgas, the second ticket gives you the right to use a sleeping car, where your compartment and berth will be specified, the third ticket in red is a receipt that remains with you after the conductor will pick up the average ticket. At the entrance to the car, the conductor will take all three tickets from you, and then, upon arrival at the destination, he will return the first and third.
Cars are divided into sleeping and seated. In turn, sleeping rooms are divided into "business class", "first class" and "second class"; sedentary - for "first" and "second" classes. The business class of a sleeping car means that the passenger will be in a single compartment, the first class - there are two berths in the compartment, the second class - three berths. There are two types of seated coaches - "first" and "second" classes. The first class is arranged like a sitting compartment. The second is like an electric train. The latter type is also enjoyed by big, cheerful companies that are not going to sleep.
Shared toilet in a sleeping car
When you buy a ticket at the box office Zhp gara, you pay for travel and type of accommodation on the train. If you buy a Sofia - Burgas ticket, you pay the fare plus the type and class of the carriage. Here we get 20.40 levs (from Sofia to Burgas) plus the cost of sleeping accommodation - 10 levs.
These hygienic sets are not given to everyone and not always. Sometimes they lie on the shelf in the compartment, and sometimes they don't.
However, there is no particular use in them, except for paper handkerchiefs, if you forgot a towel at home - there are no other towels on Bulgarian trains.
As for other prices, a business class sleeping car costs 18 leva (9.23 euros), first class - 12 levs (6.15 euros), second class - 10 levs (5.12 euros).
Seats in a compartment are sold for 5 leva (2.56 euros) and standard seats for 50 stotinki (0.25 euros).
Advance sale of train tickets in Bulgaria starts five days before the travel date. A twenty-day pre-sale is being introduced for the holidays and summer season.
You can buy a round-trip ticket, but you cannot pay in advance for a sleeping / sitting place in the opposite direction. To do this, you must go to the ticket office of the place of departure and pay extra for the type of seat there. On the night routes you can buy both seated and sleeping places, on the day routes - only seated ones. The price of the place does not depend on the distance.
Tambour in a sleeping car
A socket in a triple compartment of the second class. Here you can charge any gadget.
The sleeping car of the second class consists of ten compartments. This glass door separates ordinary compartments from wheelchair users. Wheelchair compartments are spacious and have a washbasin.
Bed linen is included in the price of the bed and you do not need to pay extra for it. The set consists of a pillow, a pillowcase on it, two sheets, one of which replaces the duvet cover, and a "camel" blanket. No towels. The linen is good, clean, dry and odorless.
Second class compartment of the sleeping car of the Bulgarian train
An interesting point about the stairs. In the photo, it is in its original position. People complain that it is, they say, incorrectly installed and when using it, you want to pull the "stop valve". In fact, in order to climb onto the third shelf, it is better to remove it (the ladder) from the mount and rearrange it on the shelf.
You can get a seat in a compartment for disabled people simply because it was vacant at the time you bought your train tickets, and not because you are disabled.
Washbasin in a compartment
There are shelves behind the mirror. 
This is the coupe control panel 🙂
Here the temperature regime, the volume of something there and lighting are set. This compartment has a TV. True, he only showed the inscription "Sofia-Burgas". The conductor said it was just an information board and was not working properly right now.
there is a shoe box under the hanger. 
At the head of each berth there is a lamp, a button to call the conductor and some other functions.
Sleeping cars on the direction "Sofia-Burgas-Sofia" are new - German, there are air conditioners.
The shared toilet in the carriage is not closed. Forty minutes before arrival, the conductor wakes everyone up and distributes the tickets that he took at boarding. Neither tea nor coffee is offered, in general there is no restaurant or even a buffet on the train. Smoking is prohibited - there are smoke detectors throughout the car. When boarding a night flight, an unspoken quiet hour is announced. Surveillance cameras are installed in the corridor, and if "unauthorized" movement begins, the conductor goes out for a check.
Important!
Sleeping compartments in Bulgaria are divided into women and men. A family of three can easily buy a triple sleeping compartment of the second class. In this case, a first class sleeping compartment will suit the couple, otherwise they will have to sleep in different compartments.
Platform of ZhP Gar in Burgas
Railway transport in Bulgaria is inferior to bus transport in some cases: railways do not cover all the cities of the country. Moreover, such a trip takes a longer time. At the same time, it should be noted that rail travel is relatively inexpensive.
Railway stations
Central Gara is Sofia's main passenger station. It is located close to the city center in close proximity to the central bus station of Sofia. Most of the international railway trains arrive and depart from here: Sofia has direct international connections with Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Athens.
Train types in Bulgaria
- "Expressin vlak" - express trains (lines Sofia-Plovdiv, Sofia-Varna, Sofia-Burgas)
- "Burs vlak" - local "fast" trains
- "Ptnici" - passenger trains
Daily passenger traffic is carried out in the following directions
- Sofia - Blagoevgrad - Kulata;
- Sofia - Mezdra - Mikhailovgrad - Vidin;
- Sofia - Plovdiv - Dimitrovgrad - Svilengrad;
- Sofia - Karlovo - Sliven - Burgas;
- Sofia - Plevna - Horn;
- Oryahovitsa - Shumen - Varna;
- Sofia - Plevna - Ruse;
Ticket prices for some destinations
- Sofia - Plovdiv, ticket price - 8 lev (2nd class), 10 lev (1st class), travel time - 2 hours 40 minutes, distance 160 km
- Sofia - Varna, ticket price - 23.5 lev (2nd class), 30 lev (1st class), travel time - 8 hours, distance 540 km
- Sofia - Burgas, ticket price - 19 lev (2nd class), 23.5 lev (1st class), travel time - 6 hours 40 minutes, distance 450 km
Ticket discounts
- Children under the age of 7 travel free if accompanied by an adult;
- When buying a round-trip ticket, a 10% discount (while children aged 7 to 10 receive another 50% discount);
- For groups of 3 to 6 people, when buying a one-way ticket, 15% discount;
- 25% discount for youth and classic pass holders;
- 50% discount for frequently traveling BJ clients;
- Students under the age of 26 traveling in an organized group receive a 75% discount;
InterRail pass in Bulgaria
Travel card InterRail Bulgaria Rail Pass valid for 3,4,6 or 8 days. Available for sale only to tourists who are not citizens of the country. The cost of a youth pass for 3 days in 2nd class is 36 euros, for 8 days - 82 euros.
