Bulgaria Adds Two More Alstom Trains on Sofia–Burgas Route

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 30, Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) put two new Alstom Coradia Stream electric multiple units into operation on the Sofia–Burgas route, bringing the total number of Alstom trains operating on the line to six. BDZ said two more trains of the same type are expected to enter service next week.

The two newly added trains operate four express services, covering daytime runs in both directions between Sofia and Burgas.

Train 3623 departs Sofia at 13:15 for Burgas and is now operated by the new trains; train 3622 departs Burgas at 08:55 for Sofia and has been operated by the new trains since October 30. Train 8613 departs Sofia at 12:55 for Burgas and returns to Sofia the following day as train 8610, departing Burgas at 07:55. These services extend the deployment of the two new trains from a single point to a daytime round-trip cycle along the Sofia–Burgas corridor.

The trains are six-car low-floor electric multiple units with a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h. Each train has 325 first- and second-class seats and is equipped with an ETCS onboard signalling system, low-floor entrances and accessibility ramps, bicycle and stroller parking areas, air conditioning, audio announcements and dynamic displays, power outlets and USB charging ports, and readiness for wireless network access.

The trains entering service are part of a contract for 35 single-deck zero-emission electric multiple units signed between Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport and Communications and the BULEMU consortium, funded by Bulgaria's Recovery and Resilience Plan, with the contract also including 15 years of maintenance services. The trains already in operation are named after Bulgarian rivers and water sources, and each train has a QR code that passengers can scan to access a corresponding natural landscape introduction page.