Bulgarian railways offering steam train excursion on September 6 Unification Day
Bulgarian state railways BDZ, in partnership with the Dolni Rakovets municipality, is organising a special train trip on the occasion of the Garlic Fest 2025 festival, which will be held on September 6, Unification Day, BDZ said.
This is one of Bulgaria’s long weekends in 2025 – September 6, Unification Day, is on a Saturday, so September 8 will be a special public holiday.
On September 6, a retro train with the legendary locomotive Baba Metsa will travel along the route Sofia – Pernik – Dolni Rakovets – Pernik – Sofia, while in the section from the capital city to Pernik it will be assisted by an electric locomotive.
The train will depart from Sofia Central Railway Station at 8.45am and will arrive at the picturesque small station in Dolni Rakovets at 10.40am.
Along the route, it will stop in Pernik at 9.52am, from where those who have purchased a ticket will be able to join this year’s Garlic Fest.
The train will depart from Dolni Rakovets at 2.40pm, stop at Pernik station at 3.19pm and arrive in Sofia at 4.29pm.
The Garlic Festival (Чесън Фест) in the village of Dolni Rakovets combines traditions, agriculture and culture, BDZ saud. It is a significant event in the region and annually attracts numerous guests from all over the country, promoting local producers and regional traditions.
The Saturday programme will offer a grand opening, musical performances, folklore music, tastings of local products and various games and competitions for young and old.
The price of a round-trip ticket for travel on the special train from Sofia to Dolni Rakovets and back is 55 leva with a reserved seat included, and for children up to 10 years old, 27.50 leva. Round-trip tickets Pernik – Dolni Rakovets – Pernik are also on sale, which cost 40 leva for adults and 20 leva for children.
Tickets can be purchased from ticket offices and railway offices at all stations in the country, as well as online through the BDZ reservation system at https://bileti.bdz.bg/.
