Adults in Plovdiv will no longer have to dust off the rust on their childhood memories when telling their children about the narrow gauge railway lines winding amid the greenery of Mladejki hulm (The youngsters’ hill). Since September 22 children have had the chance to experience  the Banner of Peace railway for themselves. 

On Bulgaria’s Independence Day, Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev and Plovdiv mayor Ivan Chomakov inaugurated the attraction that has stood idle since 1998 because of its dilapidated infrastructure.

The restoration was a result of the efforts of the Friends of Railway Transportation Association, with Vladimir Minevski as chief project co-ordinator.

The rail track is 890m long and has three railway stations. The train itself comprises of three railway carriages with a capacity for 24 children each. The carriages have been painted to represent well known characters from fairy tales. A return trip takes 20 minutes.

For a small fee, children can pretend they work on a railway. Under the supervision of on-site staff, children from nursery and primary school can take on the roles of machine operator, ticket collector or operate the points.

The train will run in the afternoons on weekdays and all day at weekends and holidays. Opening hours can be extended by prior arrangement. A ride costs just one lev.

The staff working at the facility include two shift operators, a railway manager, a train chief and two engine operators.

At the opening ceremony, Minevski said the railway, the only one of its kind in Bulgaria, is unique because of its artificial facilities. They include a bridge, a 50m tunnel and a flyrover, which is 125m long and is in the shape of the numeral six. The second ribbon-cutting ceremony of the attraction took place exactly four years after the Association launched the restoration initiative and 28 years after its first launch.

Plovdiv municipality was the sole financier of the 350 000 leva repair project and engineer Petko Palazov was the designer. The repair work was carried out by Plovdiv rail repair department. The transport construction department took on the railway and adjoining infrastructure repair. This included the replacement of gauges, road signs, redirecting and levelling elements. The Locomotive Depot refurbished the transformers, relays and switches on the engine.

The railway carriages underwent a full revamp at the carriage repair department, which included  replacing seats, repainting walls and the installation of safety and automatic door-locking systems, rail specialists attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony said.

The interior and exterior of the three railway stations were completed to the design of sculptor Nikolai Savov. The structures were strengthened, new doors, windows and electrics were installed, the inside and outside of the buildings were re-coated and the buildings were made waterproof, the press office of the Plovdiv municipality told The Sofia Echo.

The renovation was done in parallel to a full refurbishment of Mladejki Hulm. The hill was given a facelift with new benches, alleys and paths, along with some new landscape gardening. There are also plans to set up snack and refreshment pavilions.