Scientific paper ID 1755 : 2019/2

The passenger railway transport crisis in Bulgaria can be overcome only through significant improvement in the quality of service. Said improvement is measured by various indicators such as: security and safety, travel time, regularity and observation of schedules, culture of service. Although railway transport is one of the safest ways for transporting passengers, in recent years Bulgaria has allowed this indicator to worsen to a certain degree. In terms of regularity, there has been an improvement, however, schedules still remain inconvenient for passengers. Travel times are pretty lengthy mainly due to the condition of the infrastructure and the rolling stock. On the whole, low-speed ranges are predominant along most lines. The culture of transport service has dropped significantly in recent years, as shown by the analysis of its various components: coordination of schedules, option for online reservations, convenient access to stations and stops, access for people with impeded mobility, service in stations and stops, comfort in trains. According to polls, passengers are especially sensitive in terms of comfort and hygiene in trains, the low levels of which have been indicated as the primary reason for the non-use of railway transport in recent years.