Passenger trains between Bulgaria and Ukraine via Romania to start from June

Direct passenger trains between Bulgaria and Ukraine via Romania will start in June. The three countries reached an agreement on the main parameters of the service at a meeting today in Ruse, the press center of the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Murad Turk, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Balesta, representatives of the railway companies of Bulgaria, Ukraine and Romania, as well as the "Border Police" - Ruse. 

The press center points out that the passenger rail link will initially be launched as a seasonal service during the months of June, July and August and will run daily on the route Kyiv - Bucharest - Ruse - Varna and back, thus the direction will rank among the longest railway routes in Europe. During the first 3 months, the load of the line will be assessed and if successful, it can become year-round.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Turk stated that the railway connection with Ukraine is an opportunity to improve transport connectivity and expand logistics routes in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, which will help deepen tourist, cultural and social ties between our countries and will promote our economic cooperation. He pointed out that the pricing of tickets remains to be agreed upon, and discussions will continue at future meetings. 

The ministry added that representatives of the Executive Agency "Railway Administration", "BDZ-Passenger Services" EOOD and the National Company "Railway Infrastructure" have confirmed that they have the necessary capacity and technical readiness to restore the railway connection.

BTA recalls that at the beginning of the week, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said after a meeting in Kyiv with the Bulgarian caretaker Minister of Transport and Communications Korman Ismailov that work is underway to launch a passenger railway link between Ukraine and Bulgaria via Romania.