Analysis: How the Kyiv-Varna train derailed in Sofia

Ukraine proposed a direct train to Varna that was meant to start at the beginning of the summer season. Instead, the project remained blocked between Bulgaria and Romania.

While Bulgaria’s tourism industry worries about a weaker summer season, the state missed a chance to ease access for one of its largest foreign markets to the Black Sea coast.

According to Ukrainian Railways, 200–250 thousand Ukrainians travel to Bulgaria, mostly by bus, with the flow most intense in summer. A direct link to Varna would have simplified travel for these people, many of whom traditionally vacation in Bulgaria.

Who will foot the bill?

In April, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria publicly announced a direct rail connection due to start in early June. Four months later, it turns out they never agreed on who would pay the bill.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba had said the route would be Kyiv–Lviv–Chernivtsi–Suceava–Bucharest–Varna and that “preliminary agreements” already existed on both the route and the timetable. According to a Bulgarian source, the nearly 1,600-kilometre journey was meant to take under 30 hours – the same as by bus – to remain competitive. Daily trains were initially planned for testing during the summer season.

The project, prepared under Andrei Gyurov’s caretaker government, stayed blocked after the change of power. Bulgaria and Romania never found a financing mechanism for the reduced tickets requested by the Ukrainian side. The Bulgarian Finance Ministry refused to approve the proposed state aid.

News of the failed train emerged from Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Peev’s written reply to a question by an MP from the opposition Democratic Bulgaria.

The second-class ticket price on Bulgarian territory is €24.80, set under the international SCIC-EWT tariff. This sum does not include reservation fees or any discounts.

They could not find €300,000

Ukrainian Railways asked for the fare to be cut by at least 30 percent because of the difficult economic situation of Ukrainian citizens caused by the ongoing war, Minister Peev’s reply shows. Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) cannot unilaterally lower the international tariff unless the state covers the difference.

According to an EUalive source, the project documentation was prepared by the Transport Ministry and sent to the Finance Ministry for approval on 27 April — ten days before Rumen Radev’s ministers were sworn in. It proposed state support in the form of de minimis aid to compensate BDZ for lost revenue from the 30-percent ticket reduction for Ukrainian citizens on the Ruse–Varna–Ruse section.

“The idea was to support tourism, and the cheap transport would also have benefited the Bessarabian Bulgarians. The compensation sum was not that large — no more than €300,000,” the source explained.

That is roughly the price of an average large apartment in Sofia. BDZ Passenger Transport’s unpaid liabilities stand at €30 million.

In response to a question from EUalive, the Ministry of Finance announced that the materials were received on 27 April, but the acting Minister of Finance Georgi Klisurski did not sign the financial justifications. After the subsequent change of cabinet, the project was not advanced and its implementation remained frozen, it is clear from the response of the Ministry of Finance.

National statistics confirmed hoteliers’ fears of a weaker start to the summer season. In June, foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria fell 0.5 percent year-on-year. German visitors, however, dropped 15 percent, mainly because of a failed charter programme. For August – normally the busiest month of Bulgaria’s short seaside season – hoteliers have already announced price cuts.

Formal support exists

In his reply to the MP, the Transport Minister said that at a meeting with Ukraine’s ambassador in Sofia on 2 June he confirmed the ministry’s support for the initiative. “Ms Ilashchuk informed me that the Ukrainian competent authorities have sent an official letter to the Romanian authorities, but so far no reply has been received. She undertook to inform the Ministry of Transport and Communications once an official position arrives,” Georgi Peev wrote.

The ruling Progressive Bulgaria came to power promising to stop military aid to Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. In early July, Prime Minister Rumen Radev stated that Bulgaria would support Ukraine according to its capabilities: “Previous governments took on a firm long-term commitment of financial support for Ukraine with fixed annual contributions. At the same time they left us a huge budget deficit. That is why I told our allies that Bulgaria will support according to its capabilities, and this year there are none.”

While Brussels talks about integrating Ukraine through transport, energy and defence corridors, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine have failed to launch a single passenger train because of a dispute over financial compensation.

The original article in Bulgarian can be found here.

This article was updated with the reaction from the Ministry of Finance which was received after the publication.

Caption: The Varna train station was planned to be the arrival point of thousands of tourists from Ukraine. [Photo: Wikipedia]