S mass discontent and protest signatures the people of Northern Bulgaria oppose the new train schedule and the closure of lines planned by BDZ Passenger Transport. Municipalities and regional governments join the passengers’ demands. BDZ Passenger Transport promises to think about some of the trains, but it is not certain. The new schedule comes into effect from December 15.
For the public discussion of the new train timetable for 2025 with the representatives of the municipalities, regional governments and railway workers, the management of the railways was one hour late because it was traveling by train from Sofia to Gorna Oryahovitsa. In the Roman station area the locomotive broke down and the first railway workers in the country, who depend on what the train schedule will be from December 15, had to wait in the middle of nowhere with ordinary passengers. To see how and with what we travel, the waiting railway workers commented on the 60-minute delay of the high-speed train Sofia – Varna, and Daniel Iliev, head of the department “Organization of transport and train movement schedule” at BDZ Passenger Transport, stated:
“Unfortunately, the technique failed us. We have not kept statistics on exactly how many trains are canceled in total. We have reduced the number of trains where passenger flows are weakest“.
There must be optimization and stopped trains because next year there won’t be a single trainthe representatives of the railway management explained in a loud voice to the dissatisfied representatives of the municipalities and regional governments in Northern Bulgaria. The only train between Dobrich and Kardam from December 15 is scheduled to stop. This destroys the municipality of General Toshevothrough which this train passes, and the municipality opens and closes the railway station, we maintain and clean it, the mayor of the border municipality, Valentin Dimitrov, was angry and pointed out that he had sent a protest signature with 1498 supporters to the Minister of Transport and the management of the railways. who insist that the train stay.
“BDZ is used by poorer people, students, pensioners and especially in winter, the train is the only means of transport that can move in the municipality. Now there is one train. His demise is not good for anyonethere are also traveling people, they may be few, but who do not have other transport,” commented the deputy regional governor of Dobrich, Zhivko Zhelyazkov, as quoted by BNR.
Trains also stop in Silistrenskoresents the deputy regional governor Yuksel Ismail:
“We disagree with the planned stoppage of two of the trains. So far there were four trains, they plan to leave only two. They won’t make it to Silistraand yet BDZ also performs social services”.
We have made a commitment to minimum service, but this does not mean a train every hour, stated Daniel Iliev from BDZ, explaining that they are a commercial company that cannot run a train with 200 seats for two or three passengers and that was not the social function of railways.
The regional administration in Ruse was seriously worried that from December 15, the “Blue Danube” express stops runningwhich was the direct train from Ruse to Sofia and passengers will transfer again and wait at the station in Gorna Oryahovitsa. “70-80 people travel a day with this train,” said Deputy Regional Governor Georgi Georgiev. “This is not true, there are 7-8 passengers,” answered Daniel Iliev from BDZ:
“Ruse-Sofia passenger flows are still observed, but there is no change, as they had announced”.
After the restructuring in the railways it became necessary many of those working in the system to travel tens and hundreds of kilometers to other settlements where they are transferred to work. We finish work and wait an hour for a train to go home, it becomes even more crazy with the merging of trains from Ruse and from Varna to Gorna Oryahovitsa with a 50 minute layover to go to Sofia. Who will travel on this train, the railwaymen who came to the meeting were angry.
Two trains from Troyan to Lovech and back are closedI am carrying a protest sub-list with 200 disaffected, pointed out Boris Boyadzhiev from Troyan municipality.
Tourist Tryavna has no other transport than the railway, and for 14 hours we are left without connection with southern Bulgariabecause the last train from Stara Zagora arrives in Tryavna at 7:25 p.m., Deputy Mayor Jasmina Lazarova pointed out.
“We want a later train that arrives at Tryavna station around 9:30 p.m. Tryavna is a tourist destination to which many people travel during the summer months. We want a later train.”
The desire of Tryavna municipality will not be satisfied. It is not clear whether there will be a decision on the request of the municipality of Pavlikeni, presented by the deputy mayor Albena Petrova:
“The passenger train departing from Gorna Oryahovitsa at 6:30 a.m. is cancelled. We strongly disagree because it is used by workers early in the morning and they have no alternative to travel“.
Which trains will be saved and which stopped it will become clear with the new timetable from December 15, but is there a guarantee that in the winter there will be no snow drifts inside the Bulgarian trains, and in the summer people will not collapse from the heat, which is greater in the carriages than outside?
“I hope so. We are all making efforts to offer a better quality service with new rolling stock, with new locomotives. The entire company is making efforts to avoid this,” said Daniel Iliev, head of the “Transport Organization” department at BDZ Passenger Transport.
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