Plovdiv - Transport

Transport

Plovdiv has a geographical position which makes it an international transport hub. Three of the ten Pan-European corridors run into or near the city: Corridor IV (Dresden–Bucharest–Sofia-Plovdiv- Istanbul), Corridor VIII (Durrës-Sofia-Plovdiv-Varna/Burgas) and Corridor X (Salzburg–Belgrade-Plovdiv-Istanbul). A major tourist center, Plovdiv lies at the foot of the Rhodope Mountains, and most people wishing to explore the mountains choose it as their trip's starting point.

The city is a major road and railway hub in southern Bulgaria: the Trakia motorway (A1) is only at 5 km (3 mi) to the north. It lies on the important national route from Sofia to Burgas via Stara Zagora. First-class roads lead to Sofia to the west, Karlovo to the north, Asenovgrad and Kardzhali to the south, Stara Zagora and Haskovo to the east. There are intercity buses which link Plovdiv with cities and towns all over the country and many European countries. They are based in three bus stations: South, Rodopi and North.

Railway transport in the city dates back to 1872 when it became a station on the Lyubimets–Belovo railway line. There are railway lines to Sofia, Panagyurishte, Karlovo, Peshtera, Stara Zagora, Dimitrovgrad and Asenovgrad. There are three railway stations – Plovdiv Central, Trakia and Filipovo – as well as a freight station.

Plovdiv has an extensive public transport system, including around 40 bus and trolleybus lines. Six bridges span the Maritsa river including a railroad bridge and a covered bridge. There are important road junctions to the south, southwest and north.

The number of registered private automobiles in the city increased from 178,104 in 2005 to 234,298 in 2009. or some 658 cars per 1,000 inhabitants

The Plovdiv International Airport is near the village of Krumovo, 5 km (3 mi) southeast of the city. It takes charter flights from Europe and has scheduled services with Ryanair to London and Frankfurt-Hahn and S7 to Moscow. Many small airports are in the city's surroundings, including the Graf Ignatievo Air Base in Graf Ignatievo to the north of Plovdiv.

The BIAF Airshow is held every two years on the Krumovo airbase, one of the biggest airshows in the Balkans.