New Interregional Coradia Stream Train Starts Service in Bulgaria; Passengers Sanctioned for the First Time

At the end of August, the company Alstom presented the first interregional Coradia Stream train for Bulgaria. This is the first of a total of thirty-five electric multiple units for which a contract was signed in April 2025. In the country, 12 train sets have been delivered, financed with funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan. From September 1, the new trains will serve passenger routes along Plovdiv – Hissarlik (Swиленград), Plovdiv – Asenovgrad, Hissarlik (Swиленград) – Sofia, and Sofia – Pernik. With the delivery and commissioning of more train sets, they will be included on additional routes in the country. The Škoda train sets, put into operation in mid-August, and the Alstom ones are the first deliveries of new rolling stock in the country in two decades.

According to an eyewitness on a trip with one of the new trains, on the section between Pazardzhik and Plovdiv the display shows a speed of 156 km/h, even though the train was delayed by about 10 minutes. The witness noted that near them there were people who spilled something and stained the seats, and that the conductor fined the violators with 5 euros. According to him, the amount of the fine is insufficient and should be ten times higher to have an impact on such violations.

Official data indicate that the new train sets will continue to be commissioned and will serve other routes in the country, as part of a modernization effort of rolling stock and the entire railway modernization project.

Recall that the first deliveries of new rolling stock in Bulgaria in the last two decades are part of efforts to improve the quality of passenger transport and the connectivity between major cities.

Source: plovdiv24.bg