Promontory Point Bulgaria: Connecting Sofia's Metro

Actually, the Sofia Metro isn't quite there yet. It hasn't really had its Promontory Summit, and the Golden Spike hasn't been driven yet to mark its epochal completion.

But the impact and the dates are so similar, in their historical and national context, of course, that I could not help but make this comparison...

On May 10, 1869, exactly 140 years (minus two days) ago, the US tycoon Leland Stanford drew in the Golden Spike that joined the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America. Thus, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific finally met at Promontory Summit in Utah.

The event was in fact scheduled for May 8 (!), 1869, but was put off for two days over bad weather and labor unrest. Nonetheless, its significance in American history is unmatched...

On May 8, 2009, 140 years later (minus two days), the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, and the Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov opened the extension of the first line of the Sofia Metro...

The day finally came after years and years of delay caused by whatever factors one can imagine in a post-socialist state - a rough financial crisis in much of the 1990s, combined with incompetence, mismanagement, and God knows what sort of corruption schemes, which all kept the rising population of the Bulgarian capital stuck in monstrous traffic jams all around the city...

As I mentioned, there was no Golden Spike to be drawn by President Parvanov and Mayor Borisov, when the extension of the Sofia Metro line was opened Friday. That is because the two ends of the first line are not even connected yet...

The first part running from the Obelya and Lyulin Quarters to the downtown at Serdica Station (opened in 1998 and extended in 1999 and 2000), and the new part running from the Mladost 1 Quarter to the downtown at Vasil Levski Stadium Station are still far away from meeting...

The final stretch connecting these two ends of the first subway line in Sofia is supposed to be completed by the end of September 2009, if we are to believe the Sofia Metropolitan company... In other words, this is when the real Promontory Point ceremony of the Sofia Metro will take place.

One thing to note about Friday's opening of the subway extension - it is certainly serving to help Sofia Mayor Borisov and his opposition GERB party - as it is happening a month before the European Parliament Elections and two months between Bulgaria's Parliamentary Elections.

And probably that is why it was "rushed" again - all the six stations weren't ready so the residents of that part of Sofia now have to settle for five stations, barely making it to the downtown; the cement of the Vasil Levski Stadium station hasn't dried yet as I am writing these lines...

But the important thing is the miracle did happen. I personally did come to work by subway today avoiding stupefying traffic jams and the respective delays.

One had to see the faces of the people inside the metro train - everyone was smiling and talking about it still in a little timid way; there were grandparents explaining to their grandchildren about the subway...

Despite the incomplete job, and the years and years of delay, this very first subway ride in that part of Sofia really made my day and the days of thousands of others, and will be making our days from now on...

Sofia is not that large a city in terms of territory despite its population of almost three million people. Build several metro lines as soon as possible, and actually it might become a rather wonderful place to live in, much cleaner and much faster to get around...

Unfortunately, keeping in mind the grave issues that Sofia subway construction has seen so far, this doesn't seem like a very likely perspective. Yet, we are all looking forward to the real Promontory Point events of the Sofia Metro still to come...

Photo story of the launch of Sofia's newest metro line view here:

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