Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) can get you to most towns in Bulgaria, although trains are very slow by Western standards and delays are common on longer routes. Intercity and express services only operate on the main trunk routes, but on everything except the humblest branch lines you’ll find the so called rapid (barz vlak) trains. Use these rather than the snail-like patnicheski (literally "passenger train", but meaning "slow" in this context) services unless you’re planning to alight at some particularly insignificant halt. Generally speaking, intercity services are the only ones which carry a buffet car, so if travelling on another type of train, make sure you have enough food and drink for the journey. 

     On timetables, the four types of services are indicated by abbreviations; express services are usually lettered in red. A reservation is compulsory on intercity and express services and advisable for all other trains if you’re traveling on summer weekends. You might find yourself paying a hefty surcharge if you board a train without one. Though the national timetable is extremely useful for frequent train travellers, the chances of obtaining one are slim, as they're snapped up immediately after publication each May. If you do get hold of a copy, note that trains running on a particular day only are indicated by a number in a circle (for example, 1= Monday, 2= Tuesday, and so forth). International services are printed in the Latin alphabet, rather than Cyrillic.
     Long-distance/overnight trains have a wagon with reasonably priced couchettes ("kushet") and/or sleepers ("spalen vagon"). In order to secure a bed on the train, you need to reserve a day or two in advance, and, if possible, at least a week in advance in July or August.
     Commonly, a single sign halfway down the platform is all that identifies a station ("gara"). If you are sitting at the back, you won’t see this until the train starts up again, so try to sit up front. Most stations have a left-luggage office; in the large ones you may need to complete a form before stowing your gear.

     Intercity Routes
     Bulgaria’s main intercity routes are very busy in summer and on weekends throughout the year. It's wise – if not always essential – to book a day or two in advance; otherwise you’ll probably have to spend the journey standing in the carriage corridor. In many large towns, it’s possible to buy tickets and make advance reservations from railway bookings offices. Tickets can also be bought at the station just before travel (in out-of-the-way places, a ticket window will only open a few minutes before the train is due). If you arrive at a station too late to queue up and buy a ticket, you can pay on the train itself – with a surcharge of thirty to forty percent.
 
     International Tickets
     International tickets are handled by a separate organization, the Rila Agency. Although cities like Sofia and Ruse have international ticket counters in the stations – so you can buy a ticket immediately before travel if you’re pressed for time – more often, Rila offices are located some distance away from stations, and you’ll need to make sure you buy your ticket well in advance. Generally speaking, prices of tickets to Romania, Hungary and other former Eastern block countries are quite reasonable, but increase significantly if travelling to hard currency countries like Greece or Turkey, where fares are comparable with those in the West.