Balkan Express (train)


The Balkan Express is an overnight train operating between İstanbul and Belgrade, calling at Edirne, Plovdiv and Sofia. The train connects with the Bosphorus Express at Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria and continues to İstanbul.

History

The Balkan Express was launched on 1 January 1916 as a sleeping car service between Berlin and Istanbul. The twice weekly service had a schedule of 58 hours for the, and it ran through Dresden, Vienna, Belgrade and Sofia. Departures were from Berlin on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Istanbul on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The train was discontinued in October 1918.
From 1927 the name was given to a train service between the Hook of Holland and Istanbul. With a connecting London and North Eastern Railway service from London Liverpool Street to boat train at Harwich, the journey time from London to Constantinople was 70 hours and 8 minutes. In 1935, the service was accelerated and three hours was cut from the schedule.
In May 1955 a new Balkan Express was launched from Vienna via Graz and Belgrade to Athens and Istanbul.
The current Balkan Express between İstanbul and Belgrade, calling at Edirne, Plovdiv and Sofia was launched in 1971.

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