The direct train between Ruse and Plovdiv will keep running. A new timetable starts on December 13, 2026. The Ministry of Transport and Communications says only the times change, not the route.

Minister Georgi Peev called an urgent meeting after complaints from citizens and a petition to keep the line. The Railway Administration Executive Agency, the National Railway Infrastructure Company, BDZ Passenger Services and Ivkoni Express took part. Ruse council joined online.

Ivkoni Express operates the route. One train runs all the way from Ruse to Plovdiv, so passengers do not have to change at Gorna Oryahovitsa. The train will also call at new stops for people who work or study in the larger towns between Gorna Oryahovitsa and Ruse.

The train will leave Ruse at 4:30am instead of 4:40am. It will wait 10 minutes in Gorna Oryahovitsa and reach Plovdiv in the same time window as before. On the way back, it will leave Plovdiv at 1:15pm instead of 4:05pm and arrive in Ruse at 8:20pm instead of 11:12pm.

The ministry says the earlier return from Plovdiv and the extra stops will make travel easier.

Trains will run through Pavlikeni station as before, with no suspensions or cuts.

Planners took into account limits caused by large construction works on the railways. The works in the Sofia hub and on the Sofia–Plovdiv line have the biggest effect. They cut capacity on some of the busiest sections of the network.

Public meetings are discussing the draft train timetable for 2027. They were held on October 5 in Gorna Oryahovitsa and on October 6 in Plovdiv. Today the talks are in Sofia.

People can send proposals and comments on the nationwide timetable until the end of October to [email protected] and [email protected].