Bulgarian railways begins putting ticket vending machines into operation

Bulgarian state railways’ BDZ Passenger Transport is putting into operation ticket vending machines, which will provide a faster and more convenient way to purchase tickets, BDZ said on February 18.

The machines were bought five years ago but have not been installed because of technical delays.

BDZ said that the development of the software for the machines was the work of state-owned Informatsionno Obsluzhvane, as part of the overall upgrade of the Ticket Issuance and Reservation System.

The machines have an English-language option.

BDZ said that the first machines are available to passengers at Sofia Central Railway Station, Poduyane Station, Zaharna Fabrika Station and Pernik Station, and by mid-March 2025 the machines will be active in the remaining 24 stations where they are to be located.

All machines work entirely with electronic payments – with bank cards and mobile devices, which guarantees faster service, higher security and efficiency, BDZ said.

In the future, this solution allows for the expansion of the service to smaller, unserved stations, it said.

BDZ Passenger Transport manager Ventsislav Slavkov told Nova Televizia that it had been decided to make the machines cashless to discourage vandalism.

(Photo: BDZ)