I last crossed the Bulgaria-Turkey border in about 2003, and I am intrigued to see what (if anything!) has improved. Theoretically the infrastructure should not be too bad, but a border crossing in the middle of the night is never a great joy. The border is used more by freight than by passenger trains.
#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 145 of 167 RE 28203 09:40 Dobrich - Poveljanovo 10:56 BDZ
Train type: Luhanskyj Teplowosobudiwnyj Sawod 07 diesel locomotive, 1 carriage (1 further carriages locked) ⛽️ 🚲: ❓ (not officially allowed, but you'd manage) 🦽: ⛔️ 🛜: ⛔️ 🍽️: ⛔️ 🧳: 😐 (ok once in, but hellish high and narrow steps to get in)️ 🧽: ☹️ (not been cleaned properly in years)
🎫 Interrail: 🙂 (accepted, although the BDZ gadget could not scan the Interrail QR code)
#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 146 of 167 RE 30152 11:47 Poveljanovo - Karnobat 14:14 BDZ
Train type: Siemens Vectron locomotive, 3 carriages ⚡️ (25kV ac) 🚲: ❓ (not officially, but there would be enough space) 🦽: ⛔️ 🛜: ⛔️ 🍽️: ⛔️ 🧳: 😐 (better than first train of the day, but still high steps up, but doors are at least wider, good once inside)️ 🧽: ☹️ (toilets stink, windows are covered in grime)
🎫 Interrail: 🙂 (accepted, but BDZ employee got angry - she had no gadget to scan the QR code. I shrugged!)
Today is confirming my previous impression: both BDZ 🇧🇬 & CFR 🇷🇴 are starved of cash and investment, but damn the Bulgarians do a better job keeping the basics running better than the Romanians do!
#CrossBorderRail Finale Train 147 of 167 R 8612 15:36 Karnobat - Dimitrovgrad 18:23 BDZ
Train type: Siemens Vectron locomotive, 4 carriages ⚡️ (25kV ac) 🚲: ❓(no space foreseen but you’d likely make it work) 🦽: ⛔️ (no disabled accessible carriage) 🛜: ⛔️ 🍽️: ⛔️ 🧳: 🙂 (by standards of this region v good! Wide-ish steps, good space) 🧽: 😐 (even in a few months since sale DB to BDZ cleanliness slipping)
🎫 Interrail: 🙂 or 😐 (officially comp res, but at Karnobat they told me just get in!)
Brit who became German and is moving to France. Runs the #CrossBorderRail project and writes about railways and EU politics. Politically green, lives happily without a car.Normally found stuck on a train or stuck in a village in Bourgogne, or escaping either on a folding bicycle.Toots mostly in EN, einige auf DE, parfois en FR.