Bulgaria's MPs have turned a cold shoulder to the invitation of leading media to travel aboard the train from the capital city of Sofia to the northern town of Kardam, a trip that claimed the lives of nine people at the end of February.

No more than a dozen out of the thirty-two invited officials have confirmed they will join the initiative, which aims to identify the flaws in the railway system and help boost its safety.

The private Darik Radio, the TV channel BTV, and the 24 Chasa Daily, came up with the idea as part of their efforts to launch a public discussion about the modernization of the State Railway Company (BDZ).

The media invited the MPs to travel from the capital Sofia to the town of Cherven Bryag, which is where the train fire tragedy took place. The distance is 141 km, which takes the train in question two hours and twenty minutes.

The invitation was destined to 32 MPs in particular - the representatives of the northern Bulgarian districts of Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Shumen, and Dobrich, through which the Sofia-Kardam railway line passes.

The three leading Bulgarian media also have also invited key representatives of the BDZ management to the public debate, as well as Transport Minsiter Petar Mutafchiev, but to no avail.

The trip is scheduled to take place in the morning of March 17.

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