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
See also: Narrow-gauge railways in Bulgaria

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

NameRouteLengthGaugeElectrifiedStationsStopsUsage
BDZ Line 1Kalotina – Sofia – Plovdiv – Svilengrad356 km (221 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 2Sofia – Mezdra – Gorna Oryahovitsa – Kaspichan – Varna544 km (338 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 3Iliyantsi – Tulovo – Dabovo – Zimnitsa – Karnobat – Sindel – Varna (ferry)541 km (336 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 4Ruse – Gorna Oryahovitsa – Dabovo – Tulovo – Stara Zagora – Mihaylovo – Podkova415 km (258 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 5Sofia – Pernik – Radomir – Kulata209 km (130 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 6Voluyak – Pernik – Gyueshevo134 km (83 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 7Mezdra – Boychinovtsi – Brusartsi – Vidin181 km (112 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 8Plovdiv – Stara Zagora – Yambol – Karnobat – Burgas293 km (182 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 9Ruse – Samuil – Kaspichan137 km (85 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 11Kalotina – Stanyantsi16 km (10 mi)StandardNo--Freight only
BDZ Line 13Sofia – Voluyak – Bankya11 km (7 mi)StandardNo--Passenger only
BDZ Line 16Septemvri – Dobrinishte125 km (78 mi)NarrowNo--Passenger only
BDZ Line 18Stamboliyski – Peshtera28 km (17 mi)StandardNo--Passenger only
BDZ Line 19Krumovo – Asenovgrad10 km (6 mi)StandardYes--Passenger only
BDZ Line 23Yasen – Cherkovitsa43 km (27 mi)StandardNo--Passenger only
BDZ Line 24Svishtov – Levski – Troyan130 km (81 mi)StandardNo--Passenger only
BDZ Line 27Shumen – Komunari50 km (31 mi)StandardYes--Passenger only
BDZ Line 29Povelyanovo – Kardam106 km (66 mi)StandardPartially--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 42Tsareva Livada – Gabrovo17 km (11 mi)StandardYes--Passenger only
BDZ Line 51Dupnitsa – Bobov Dol19 km (12 mi)StandardYes--Freight only
BDZ Line 52General Todorov – Petrich9 km (6 mi)StandardYes--Passenger only
BDZ Line 71Boychinovtsi – Berkovitsa38 km (24 mi)StandardYes--Passenger only
BDZ Line 72Brusartsi – Lom23 km (14 mi)StandardYes--Passenger only
BDZ Line 73Vidin – Koshava28 km (17 mi)StandardPartially--Freight only
BDZ Line 81Filipovo – Panagyurishte71 km (44 mi)StandardNo--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 82Filipovo – Dolna Mahala – Karlovo65 km (40 mi)StandardYes--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 82.1Dolna Mahala – Hisarya15 km (9 mi)Standard---Passenger only
BDZ Line 83Simeonovgrad – Nova Zagora111 km (69 mi)StandardOngoing--Freight & passenger
BDZ Line 91Samuil – Silistra113 km (70 mi)StandardNo--Passenger only

Urban rail transport

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
Main article: Trams in Sofia

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 Sofia tram network uses two gauges - 1009 mm and standard 1435 mm.[5]

1 Ivan Vazov - NDK - 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. - Sadebna palata
6 Ivan Vazov - NDK - 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. - Sadebna palata
10 Zapaden Park - Macedonia sq. - Srebarna str. - Vitosha Metro Station
11 Knyazhevo - Konstantin Velichkov Metro Station - Iliyantsi
12 Iliyantsi - Central station - St. Nedelya sq. - Journalist sq.
18 Orlandovtsi - St. Nedelya sq. - Journalist sq.
20 Iskar Depot - Poduyane station - Central Sofia Market Hall - Opalchenska Metro Station
22 East station - Poduyane station - Konstantin Velichkov Metro Station - Krasna polyana Depot
23 Geo Milev - Iskarsko Shose - Obikolna Street
  1,009 mm (3 ft 3 23⁄32 in) metre gauge (nominally)
  1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Metro
Main article: Sofia Metro

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 48 kilometres (30 mi) and 43 stations.[6]

References
  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. 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.

See also
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