The Sofia metro: four lines, 47 stations, how to read it

Transport · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

The four lines in one table

The most important row is the last one: M4 is the line to Sofia Airport, and it shares 13 stations with M1. In the city centre, in other words, trains of both lines pass through the same platform. That is the source of the commonest mistake a first-time passenger makes — the right platform, the wrong train.

The shared trunk: why two lines run in one tunnel

The Sofia metro was historically built around a single spine; the airport and the western end were attached to it later. The result is a long central section where two lines run on the same tracks and separate only near the ends. Three practical consequences follow:

• •Direction is read from the terminus. The platform board and the train's own display carry not the line number but the FINAL STATION. A train marked „Sofia Airport“ is M4; a train marked „Business Park“ is M1.
• •Waits are shorter on the shared section, because trains of both lines use the same platform. Past the split, only your own line's services remain.
• •Boarding the wrong train is not a disaster. Along the shared section both lines call at the same stations; get off before the split and change.
• •Memorise the interchange station, not the line. Moving around the city, „which station do I get off at?“ works better than „which line is this?“

What each line is for

The lines are easier to remember through their role in the city than as abstract numbers.

• •M1 links the western district of Lyulin through the centre to Mladost and the business zone in the south-east. This is the office-to-housing axis, and the densest flow of the morning and evening peaks.
• •M2 carries the northern side from Nadezhda through the centre southwards, towards Lozenets and Vitosha. Access to the central rail and coach terminals runs along this line.
• •M3 connects Hadzhi Dimitar in the east with Gorna Banya in the west, cutting across the other two lines. It is the newer line and follows a separate corridor through the centre.
• •M4 is the airport line: it begins at Obelya in the west, uses the shared central trunk, and ends at Sofia Airport in the east.

How to use the metro in practice

1. 1

   Decide which station you are travelling to

   Think in station names rather than addresses. In Sofia, district names and station names often coincide, which makes orientation easier.
2. 2

   Read the direction before you go down to the platform

   The terminus is displayed at the entrance and on the platform. On the shared trunk, trains to two different termini leave from the same platform.
3. 3

   Have your ticket or card ready in advance

   The metro is entered through a gate; on surface vehicles you validate on board. Ticket types and where to buy them are covered in a separate article.
4. 4

   If you are changing lines, plan for Serdika

   The central interchange shapes your route regardless of line numbers. There is a walk between the lines — leave a few minutes of slack on tight connections.
5. 5

   Combine it with the surface network

   The metro is a spine, not a capillary. Buses, trams and trolleybuses sit in the same ticketing system and cover what the metro does not reach.

Reading station names: a short Cyrillic drill

What makes finding your way on the Sofia metro hard is not the complexity of the network but the alphabet. Station names are written in Cyrillic, and many signs carry a Latin version too, but the announcements on the train and some of the wayfinding are Cyrillic only. The good news: you do not need the whole alphabet to travel, only a handful of words. „Летище“ means airport, „гара“ means railway station, „площад“ means square, „бул.“ means boulevard. Anyone who recognises those four decodes most of the signage.

• •Memorise the terminus visually. Remembering the shape of the letters works faster on a crowded platform than trying to read the word.
• •District name = station name. Many Sofia stations carry the name of the district they sit in; when you note an address, note the district too and the station follows.
• •One name can sound different. In speech names are shortened while signs carry them in full; what you hear in directions may be shorter than what is written.
• •Listen to the announcement, but trust the screen. The display inside the train shows the next station; following it is safer than counting stops.

After the metro: the last kilometre

The metro takes you to a point, not to your door. In Sofia that „last kilometre“ is usually covered one of three ways: on foot, on a surface line, or by bike or scooter. Each relates to the metro differently, and knowing which in advance helps most in winter and on wet days.

1. 1

   Measure the walk on a map

   If the walk from station to destination is under 10 minutes, do not look for a transfer; above that, a surface line is worth checking.
2. 2

   Plan the transfer inside the same ticketing system

   Buses, trams and trolleybuses share the system; with a transfer document you can build the whole chain on one ticket.
3. 3

   Choose the right station exit

   Large stations have several exits, and the wrong one leaves you across the boulevard. Read the exit numbers while you are still on the platform.
4. 4

   If you are driving, think about an end station

   Rather than taking a car into the centre, leave it at a terminus and continue by metro; the central parking problem disappears entirely.

The network keeps growing

The Sofia metro is not a fixed network; the municipality continues to develop new stations and extensions. Sofia Municipality's own announcements report, for instance, progress on the construction of the „Bulgaria Boulevard“ metro station. The practical consequence for the reader: the station count and termini on this page are a snapshot, not a permanent table. When making a long-term decision about a flat or an office, look not only at today's network but also at the projects the municipality has announced.

What the metro changes about living in the city

When looking for a home in Sofia, walking distance to a metro station is a more telling criterion than the name of the district. A flat far from the centre but five minutes from a station is often more usable than a flat near the centre with no connection to the network — particularly in winter and at the height of traffic. That is why „close to the metro“ appears so often in listings; check on a map what stands behind the phrase, because „close“ means different things to different advertisers.

How to verify this today

The termini, station counts and network length here were taken from Sofia Municipality's own sources on 23 August 2026. Because the network keeps expanding, confirm the current value on the official page: the municipality's metro page for lines and stations, its transport pages for the general picture, and its announcements for new stations and extensions.

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