Railway Herald
When this image was recorded on 25th September 2024 loco-hauled BDZ PP long distance services from Varna to Sofia were being diverted via the somewhat circuitous route into the capital's central station via Svetovrachane and Kazichene adding almost one hour to the journey. A compromise solution to the moans and groans of the travelling public saw the Bulgarian State run Railway introduce a late afternoon direct shuttle service into Sofia Central by a Class 32 EMU. SIEMENS Smartron 80-041 'KING BORIS 1' is captured about to depart from Kurilo with such an affected FAST service, the 2614 (10:45) Varna to Sofia Central. Having run ECS from Sofia RVR Class 32 EMU Set No. 32-037/32-038 will provide the non-stop fourteen minute direct connection running as the SUB20248 (18:10) Kurilo to Sofia Central. By December this Varna service had been re timed and rerouted to terminate at Sofia-Sever thus rendering the Class 32 shuttle service redundant.
Stephen Ginn
