Derailed Sofia-Varna Train Traveled 60 Km/H Above Limit

The train from Sofia to Varna which went off the tracks on Saturday at the Kaloyanovets station was moving at a speed of 100 km/h at the time of the incident, authorities say.

The speed limit in the section of the railroad it was crossing was 40 km/h.

Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) CEO Hristiyan Krastev also reported the vehicle was operated by the assistant train driver, and not my the motorman himself, when the engine left the rails.

Krastev told private channel NOVA TV that the crash, which left the motorman dead and at least 12 people injured, is most likely to have been caused by unsafe speed.

He added damages caused by the accident amounted to BGN 2 M (EUR 1 M).

The state-owned company's chief executive also explained the aftermath could have been far more disastrous as a river was near the place of the event.

Transport Minister Danail Papazov later announced the railroad leading to Varna, which has been out of service since the train derailed, was to be opened until Monday evening.

Rails leading to Burgas from Stara Zagora, a city near Kaloyanovets, were also blocked for traffic, but trains are to start operating late on Sunday.

Commenting on the reasons for the incident, Papazov said the assistant train driver had taken the position just weeks before and was only authorized to work under the motorman's oversight.

The main driver Venko Todorov, 38, died as a result of his injuries after the locomotive went spinning into the field and hit four out of the six carriages of the train.