Balgarianovinite.com Bulgaria’s major electrified railway ring was completed and inaugurated on March 19, 1984. The 1,420 km long ring comprises the principal rail lines linking Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Burgas in the south and Varna, Gorna Oryahovitsa and Pleven in the north. Its construction optimized freight and passenger transport along the country’s key arteries, which were now connected in a closed circuit under electric traction.
A rally marked the occasion in Gorna Oryahovitsa (North Central Bulgaria), where the country’s first fully automated marshalling yard was built as part of the larger project. Senior state officials, managers of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) and numerous members of the public attended.
The large electrified railway ring is an extensive project networking the main economic and administrative centres north and south of the Balkan Range, reducing journey times and improving the efficiency of freight movements.
The so-called first electrified railway ring, covering 633 km between Sofia, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dabovo and Karlovo, was inaugurated four years earlier, on April 29, 1980. These projects formed part of BDZ’s modernization process, which began with the opening of the first electrified line, between Sofia and Plovdiv, in 1963.
Following is an English translation of a news item from BTA’s Home News Desk bulletin, covering the inauguration of the electrified ring in 1984:
“New Triumph for Bulgarian Railway Workers
Gorna Oryahovitsa, 19 March (BTA correspondent P. Dimitrova) – On the eve of the National [Communist] Party Conference, the thousands-strong collective of Bulgarian railway transport scored a new victory.
The complete electrification of the major railway ring Sofia – Gorna Oryahovitsa – Ruse – Varna – Burgas – Plovdiv – Sofia was finished and the country’s first fully automated marshalling yard, Gorna Oryahovitsa, came into operation. This was the occasion for today’s rally, attended by the member of the Politburo of the Bulgarian Communist Party Central Committee and First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Chudomir Alexandrov.
The rally was opened by Nikolai Tsonev, First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party District Committee in Veliko Tarnovo.
In a report, Deputy Minister of Transport and General Director of the Bulgarian State Railways Economic Association Stoil Ferdov stressed that under contemporary conditions rail transport electrification has established itself as a fundamentally new technology, enabling a steep reduction in railway operating costs, an increase in locomotive technical speeds, and an enhancement of station throughput. Forty-six per cent of the total length of the country’s railway network has now been electrified, placing Bulgaria among the leading countries in Europe. Another strategic task is being successfully addressed: comprehensive mechanisation, automation and electronization of operational activity, exemplified by the automated marshalling yard at Gorna Oryahovitsa, which is the first decisive step in this important direction for rail transport.
Transport Minister Vasil Tsanov read a State Council decree conferring the title of Hero of Socialist Labour and orders on designers, builders and managers who had been actively involved in constructing the major railway ring and the first automated marshalling yard.
The high honours were presented by Comrade Chudomir Alexandrov. Congratulating the railway workers on behalf of the Politburo of the Bulgarian Communist Party Central Committee and personally on behalf of Comrade Todor Zhivkov, he emphasized that a deed worthy of our working class and specialists had been accomplished, of exceptional significance for the vigorous development of national transport in the coming years. “The Party’s Central Committee,” the speaker said, “regards the new asset as an important stage in implementing party decisions on accelerated modernization of Bulgarian rail transport, renewal of production assets on the basis of the foremost advances of scientific and technological progress, and implementation of cutting-edge technologies. It is an important testimony to the maturity of Bulgarian professionals and order-takers and to their ability to tackle scientific, technical and engineering problems.” March 19, 1984: Bulgaria’s Electrified Railway Ring Goes into Service 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-19 13:46:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
