Turkish Minister Praises High Usage of Istanbul-Sofia Train
The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure has praised the high usage of the Istanbul-Sofia night train, noting that an increasing number of passengers opt to travel by rail between the two cities.
Istanbul-Sofia train
The largest Turkish city, Istanbul, and the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, are connected by a daily night train that has long been popular among European rail travellers and is now increasingly used by Turkish passengers as well.
In tribute to the Istanbul-Sofia night train, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has issued a special statement praising the rail link.
According to the minister, the train has carried 37,000 passengers in 2024.
The Istanbul-Sofia Express. ©AndyBTravels
Increasing demand
Transport Minister Uraloğlu called the rail link with Bulgaria “Turkey’s iron gateway to Europe” and said that the “Istanbul-Sofia Express attracts great interest from both local and foreign tourists”.
He stated that the train sees increasing demand each year as travellers seek a comfortable, convenient, and economical travel option between Turkey and Europe.
Minister Uraloğlu said: “We offer our passengers a comfortable travel experience in sleeping, couchette and pullman type wagons.”
Link with Romania
During the summer season, typically from mid-June to mid-October, the Istanbul-Sofia Express also carries through coaches to Bucharest, enabling you to travel from Turkey to Romania by night train.
These coaches are detached from the main train at Dimitrovgrad and continue as a separate service north to Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, and finally Bucharest.
While the Istanbul-Sofia Express offers both sleeper and couchette carriages, the service to Bucharest consists of 4-berth couchettes only.
If you want to travel by train between Romania and Turkey outside the summer season, it’s best to first travel to Sofia by daytime train, and connect there to the night train.
Alternatively, you can travel from Bucharest to Dimitrovgrad and catch the Sofia-Istanbul Express there, but as this involves multiple trains with short connections and would leave you with an extremely short night of sleep once you finally board the sleeper service late at night, it is not recommended.
On board the Sofia-Istanbul train
The Sofia-Istanbul night train is a sleeper service operated daily year-round by Turkish State Railways (TCDD).
From Bulgaria, the train travels through Plovdiv, Dimitrovgrad, and Svilengrad to the Turkish border station at Kapıkule, then continues to Edirne before reaching its final stop at Istanbul Halkali.
In the current timetable, the night train departs from Sofia’s Central Station at 17:50, arriving in Istanbul at 06:34 the following morning, while the other way around it departs Istanbul Halkali station at 20:00 and arrives in Sofia the following morning at 11:00.
I’ve travelled multiple times on the Istanbul-Sofia Express, and if you’re interested in the travel classes on board and the experience travelling by rail between Bulgaria and Turkey, then do read my report about it.
Single sleeper on the Istanbul-Sofia Express. ©AndyBTravels
Booking the train
As you cannot book the Sofia-Istanbul night train online, you have to buy your ticket at the station in Bulgaria or Turkey
This often complicates matters for international travellers, as they may find that all tickets for the next few days’ departures are sold out when they arrive in Sofia or Istanbul.
If you want to be assured to get a train ticket on the day when you need to travel, you can contact the booking agency Discover by Rail (which I happen to run!), as we can arrange these tickets for you for a small fee, and will deliver them to your hotel in Sofia or Istanbul.
Destination shield of the Istanbul-Sofia Express. ©AndyBTravels
Conclusion
The Istanbul-Sofia Express, a popular night train linking Turkey with Bulgaria, is seeing increased popularity, with the connection even praised by the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.
In a special tribute to the train, the Turkish Minister of Transport referred to the rail link between Istanbul and Sofia as “Turkey’s iron gateway to Europe”.
The train has carried 37,000 passengers in 2024, with great interest in the service shown by both local and foreign tourists, according to the Turkish Transport Minister.
If you plan to travel by train between Turkey and Bulgaria, it’s strongly advised to book your ticket well ahead of time, as the train is likely to become even more popular in 2025.
