The news of high-speed train Ruse – Bucharest crashed into a dead track

Kristiyan Yulzari, For the Truth, 9 January 2024

On the verge of 2024, an anonymous Facebook page reported that very soon the people living on both sides of the river will travel by high-speed train between Ruse and Bucharest and from there to the international airport “Otopeni”. The symbolic ticket price of only 5 euros further delighted the locals. The “news” was instantly reported by BTA, TV stations and internet sites without any verification. However, the enthusiasm of the people of Ruse, who have long been demanding a convenient connection to Bucharest airport, quickly crashed into a dead end.

As it turned out, it was neither a high-speed train, nor would it leave in March.

In fact, it might not go at all.

This is a hypothetical project of the private Romanian railway carrier Transferoviar Călători (TFC), about which the Bulgarian Railways (BDZ) are not informed. Moreover, the company itself, which is said to maintain the route, has informally denied that this is true. 

The railway line from the Romanian capital to the border town of Giurgiu has been out of service since 2005, when the Grădiștea railway bridge over the river Argeș collapsed after heavy rains and subsequent flooding. Since then, all trains to the border with Bulgaria have taken an alternative route, extending the distance by more than 70 km. 

In 2020, it became clear that Romania had invested nearly 120 million euros for the restoration of the bridge, as well as for the complete reconstruction of the railway line. The project is being implemented by the Austrian company PORR Construct, with a large part of the funds coming from the European Union.

Slow execution, loud message

First, according to the Bulgarians in Romania website, the high-speed trains were supposed to start in the summer of last year. This never happened because the renovation of the line was not completed on time. This fact did not prevent the anonymous Facebook page from reporting that “work is proceeding apace”.

Then it was said that the route would be ready in September this year. When it became clear that this deadline was also unrealistic, a new message appeared – the trains will start in December 2023 together with the new BDZ timetable.

It didn’t happen this time either. 

That’s how it came to be on the penultimate day of last year, when the same Facebook page announced that the coveted trains would start running from March 2024. Local and national media, as well as the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), joined the race to be the first to report the news.

The euphoria over the modern hydrogen trains, which would reach speeds of 160 km/h, has spread to the other side of the Danube, where dozens of Romanian media referred to the BTA announcement.

The private Romanian railway carrier TFC has unofficially denied that it will operate regular trains on the Bucharest-Giurgiu-Ruse line. “For the Truth” sent questions to the company, but no response had been received by the time of publication. 

BDZ-Passenger Transport told “For the Truth” that:

“So far there is no official information about the intentions of the private railway operator in Romania to realize the journey of such a train.”

The company explains that BDZ is the only passenger railway operator in the country and as such “has a role in defining and coordinating train schedules”.

According to the Romanian specialised publication ROMÂNIA FEROVIARÃ, the announced deadline for the completion of the project in March this year is unrealistic and not based on any data. It notes that the maximum speed on line 102 between Bucharest and Giurgiu is 120 km/h, and that due to the terrain the trains will run at 60,80 to a maximum of 100 km/h, not the 160 km/h announced. The journey will thus take an hour and a half.

Last but not least, a distinction must be made between the completion of the track repair works, the commissioning of the line and the start of a regular rail service. The latter has nothing to do with the first two and will take time to be agreed between the Bulgarian BDZ and the Romanian railway carrier. ROMÂNIA FEROVIARÃ therefore forecasts that trains to Ruse could start as early as June this year.

Secure, reliable and fast

There will not be rapid train transport to Bucharest airport until we enter Schengen

In practice, there is still a connection from Ruse to the Romanian capital by rail – once a day in each direction. The distance that can be covered by car in about an hour, by train takes at best 3 hours. 

But even when the main line is put into service after the renovation is complete, and the travel time on the rails is cut almost in half, there will still be no reliable connection between the two countries. The reason is the half-hearted entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area from March 2024 only by air and water.

A “chronicle” of the adventure of travelling by train across a border

The international fast train Bucharest – Giurgiu – Rousse – Sofia and back travels daily. From the Bulgarian capital the train departs at 7 am and the one in the opposite direction – at 9 am. At noon, the two trains meet at the station in Ruse, where a border check must be carried out, after which each train continues on its way. 

The control looks like this: border police officers go through the compartments to take the passengers’ identity documents. Then they get off the train, go back to their offices and check the documents. The time for this procedure depends on the number of travellers, but especially in the summer months it takes 30-40 minutes. If everything is in order and there are no wanted persons or expired IDs among the passengers, the checkers return to the train and hand the passports back.

Regular passengers on this train have long been in the habit of anticipating at least a half-hour delay to their scheduled arrival time. This caution is not the result of a lack of confidence in the punctuality of the services offered by the BDZ and the Border Police. A quick check on the website of the Bulgarian national railway passenger carrier shows that almost every day the international train from Bucharest is delayed by at least thirty minutes, and the stated reason – “late train received at border station”. There are also days when the delay is measured in hours.

The successful border check in Ruse does not mean the end of border control because the exercise of checking ID documents is repeated in an identical way on the other side of the Danube Bridge, at the station in Giurgiu.

This is the reality in which anyone who has the courage to travel by train between Bulgaria and Romania sinks. And this situation will remain unchanged until the two countries fully enter the Schengen area.

Photo is illustraive (source: Flickr)

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