Although it is a mountainous country, Bulgaria does not present natural difficulties in the internal communication routes. The Balkans and the Srednja Gora, passable in several points, were ab antiquo crossed by roads, with which the Romans left here too a reminder of their greatness. But at the time of the liberation the roads, apart from the lack of security, were, due to the poor Turkish maintenance, in a deplorable state: many roads were not even suitable for vehicles, and, since the bridges were almost completely missing, the rivers must have passed through wading rule. At the end of 1928 there were 14,752 km in Bulgaria. of national roads while in 1911 there were 8944 (another 6304 km. are under construction and 1773 are planned), which gives an average of 26.92 km. for every 10,000 residents and 14.31 km. for every 100 sq. km. of surface.
To the great Belgrade-Constantinople road, which passes through Sofia and Philippopolis, are connected those that from Sofia lead to Macedonia (Kjustendil and Petrič), to Plevna, Tărnovo, Rustciuck and Varna through the Iskăr gorge, to Pidrop, Karlovo, Kazanlăk, Slivno and Burgaz, and from Plovdiv to Stara Zagora, Jambol and Karnobat; from which trunks come off in several directions. However, these roads are not yet as numerous as would be desirable, nor well maintained, and the various mountainous districts of the S. remain isolated from the rest of the country and from the neighboring regions.
Fifty years ago on the Bulgarian territory there were just over 400 kilometers of railways. The oldest, from Rustciuk to Varna, was opened for business in 1866. In 1888, Bulgaria came to connect with Western Europe and two years later the railway went as far as Burgaz. In 1908, the year of national independence, the state took over the operation of the entire network, which then measured 1589 km. In the pre-war period (1914) this had risen to 2108 km., At the end of 1928 to 2417, plus 477 km. narrow gauge. While the international Dragoman-Sofia-Costrengrad line, crossed by the Orient Express (353 km.), Links the capital to the provinces of the S., also by means of the section that goes from Philippopoli to Burgaz (259 km.), Another line, crossing the Balkans along the Iskăr furrow, leads to Plevna and Sciumla (km. 541) in Varna. Various branches are then grafted onto this (Vidin, Lom, Orehovo, Somovit, Svištov, Berkovica, Loveč). The Balkans are crossed by the Tărnovo-Stara Zagora line (with branch to Gabrovo and Kazanlǎk), and will soon also be crossed between Sciumla and Karnobat. The Struma valley is followed by a line leading up to Petrič (narrow gauge after Radomir); the Macedonian border is reached in Giueševo via Kjustendil.
However, the network is still unevenly dense in S. and N. of the Balkans; the lines have too steep slopes (about 30% higher than 10 ‰), the maintenance leaves something to be desired, and the traffic capacity is generally insufficient for the needs. However, this is on the rise. Travelers grew from 3.5 million in 1911 to over 9 in 1922-3 (8 in 1927-8); the goods of 2.3 million tons. from 1911 to 4 in 1927-8. A large number of lines are under construction or planned (1044 km.); with them, the desires of many areas will be listened to, which can no longer remain excluded from the benefits of rail traffic (the whole pre-California valley is in these conditions). It is noteworthy that Bulgaria has remained and remains in a kind of isolation from some of the finite states,
In 1927 the Sofia-Varna airlines (biweekly) were inaugurated, which is operated by a Bulgarian company Bounavad, and Dragoman Sofia-Costrengrad, the latter as a trunk of the great international Belgrade-Constantinople artery; and those that will join Sofia with Burgaz, Sofia with Lom and Vidin with Rustciuk are already organized.
The importance of the Danube in Bulgarian trade grew after the war. Although half of the exports move from M. Nero, imports take place mainly by river, in the Danube ports, Rustciuk holds the first place (21% of the traffic, the million tons in the period 1924-7, roughly as in 1911), followed by the ports of Lom (17%), Somovit (13%), Svištov, Orehovo and Vidin. The participation of the Bulgarian shipping in this traffic is weak, which is mainly exercised under the Austrian, Hungarian and Romanian flags. For Bulgaria travel information, please check zipcodesexplorer.com.
Of the ports of M. Nero, Burgaz and Varna absorb over 92% of the Bulgarian maritime traffic, which has not yet reached the pre-war figures. With an annual tonnage of 1.6 million (1925-6, equally distributed between arrivals and departures), Burgaz has passed Varna (1.3 million): both ports are mainly for export, but neither is equipped with modern systems. In the same period, Italy held the first place in this traffic, since the Italian tonnage represents 24% of the total tonnage. The figures of the other ports are insignificant: Bela, Mesemvrija, Anhiolo, Sozopol, Vasiliko and Anthopol.
