Summer 2012 closure of the Septemvri-Bansko railway (UPDATED)

UPDATE June 24, 2012: it seems that the construction work referred to below has been deferred until 2013, so services on this route will run normally in 2012 ... probably.

A reader has alerted me to some news about Bulgaria's narrow gauge mountain railway from Septemvri to Bansko and Dobrinishte. It seems that the line will be closed for construction works between June and September 2012, with the trains being replaced by buses for that period. There are more details (in English) at the Hiking Guide Bulgaria website, which also has other useful information such as the summer opening hours of various gondolas and chair lifts in the Bulgarian mountains.

A honeymoon on rails in the Western Balkans

In today's Independent Adrian Phillips describes his slightly unconventional honeymoon: a journey by train (mostly) from Hungary to the Croatian coast, calling at Budapest, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Mostar, and Ploče before a final leg by road to Dubrovnik. Unluckily, the couple missed out on the scenic trip by rail between Sarajevo and Mostar. The conclusion: "Dubrovnik fits the classic honeymoon mould. But we'd found romance too in the other stage posts on our Balkan journey: not frilly, chocolate-box prettiness but the hardier stuff of Shakespeare, tales of spirit forged in adversity's fire."

The Sarajevo-Mostar line