End of the line? The beloved Rhodope railway in Bulgaria is one of the few existing narrow-gauge lines in Europe. Photo / Getty Images
End of the line? The beloved Rhodope railway in Bulgaria is one of the few existing narrow-gauge lines in Europe. Photo / Getty Images
The Rhodope Narrow-Gauge Railway would seem like an esoteric tourist attraction.
Winding between 27 stations between Bulgaria and the borders of the Greek Hinterland, it is one of a kind.
Rolling on narrow-gauge 760 mm, it's even a peculiarity among railways. The thin gauge allow the carriages to take narrowturns and steep mountain tracks, more like a rollercoaster than a passenger train.
Or at least it would be, if it weren't in such bad need of repair.
In sections of the ride you can walk faster, reported a recent review in The New York Times.
At the time it was constructed in the early 1920s the train line was a source of pride for the region. It was intended to run as far as the Aegean, connecting Bulgaria to the Mediterranean.
However, as time rolled on, communism came and went, and so did many of the hardy mountain communities it served. Since the 1990s the country's main rail arteries were ripped out and replaced with the European standard of 1435 mm. With direct train links through to Turkey and Serbia, such as the Istanbul-Sofia Express, the mountain trains are a bit of an oddity.
16km of the Varvara-Pazardhik branch was closed in 2002.
Like a rollercoaster: The Rhodope narrow-gauge railway in Bulgaria. Photo / Getty Images
Now Septemvri to Dobrinishte is the last hold out of 760 mm gauge. But it is in terrible condition.
There are still four passenger locomotives on the Septemvri–Dobrinishte, taking tourists and the last few hangers on to traverse the mountains.
A charity named Za Tesnolineikata - or "for the narrow way" - has been set up to save the train and the unique perspective it provides on the Balkan mountain range.
Passing mosques, Greek and Bulgarian orthodox temples, like the slow moving train, the unique mountain landscape has allowed small idiosyncratic ways of life to continue as they have done for the past hundred years.
It's in mountainous Southern Bulgaria and the Macedonian highlands the Pomak and Slavic Muslim traditions continue.
Za Tesnolineikata: Kristian Vaklinov chairman of the civil association to preserve the Narrow-Gauge Railway. Photo / Getty Images
A surprising stop on the winter route, the narrow gauge also provides a link to the ski resort of Bansko.
Marking its centenary the Rhodope is a lifeline to the tiny tourist businesses and towns it runs through, but the future is
Partially because the fares and ridership remain low, while the upkeep of the bespoke rail network is extremely high.
Za Tesnolineikata hopes that by encouraging more tourists onto the tracks they may help keep the region moving. Perhaps even introducing different fares for visitors. However, for now, the locals and out-of-towners pay the same ludicrously low fares.
It is $9.65 for a return ticket along all 124km of the train line.
