Bulgarian railways offering excursions drawn by its oldest restored steam engine
Bulgarian state railways BDZ is offering excursions from Sofia to Bankya and back on April 12 on a train drawn by its oldest restored steam engine, which was manufactured in 1908.
The excursion is an initiative by BDZ Passenger Transport and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’s National Ethnographic Museum.
The train, made up of three specially decorated railway carriages drawn by steam engine number 26.26, will make two trips that day from Sofia to Bankya and back.
The first will depart from Sofia Central Railway Station at 9am and is scheduled to arrive in Bankya at 9.42am. The return journey is to begin at 11am, arriving in Sofia at 11.51am.
The second will depart from Sofia at 1.50pm, arriving in Bankya at 2.32pm. The return journey will start from Bankya at 4pm, arriving in Sofia at 4.51pm.
The day of the train trips is Lazarus Day in Bulgaria, and is the day before Tsvetnitsa – Palm Sunday. In 2025, the Easter holidays of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are on the same day for Protestants, Roman Catholics and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
BDZ said that there will be gifts for children and they will have the opportunity to learn about folk customs related to Easter.
The price of a round-trip ticket for adults is 35 leva and includes a reserved seat. For children up to 10 years of age, the ticket price is 17.50 leva. Tickets may be purchased from ticket offices and railway offices at all stations in the country, as well as online at https://bileti.bdz.bg/.
(Photo: BDZ)
Please support independent journalism by clicking on the button below. For as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies, you can support The Sofia Globe via patreon.com and get access to exclusive subscriber-only content:
