Much Anticipated Sofia Metro Downtown Connection Starts Running

All residents and visitors of Bulgaria's capital Sofia will be able to use the subway free of charge Monday and Tuesday.

The people, who board the trains at the new station in front of the Sofia University, will not need to buy tickets on September 7 and 8, the cabinet's press center informed Sunday.

The much anticipated stretch of the metro that will connect two downtown locations - the "Sveta Nedelia" square and the National "Vasil Levski" Stadium via the Sofia University was scheduled to be officially inaugurated Monday. Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, canceled the event over the National Day of Mourning for the 15 Bulgarians, who drowned in a tragic boat accident Saturday in the Ohrid Lake in Macedonia.

Despite the ceremony's cancelation, the trains will begin running exactly at 5 am Monday morning.

The official ceremony is rescheduled for Tuesday at 11 am in the presence of the PM, the temporary Mayor of Sofia, Minko Gerdzhikov, the Japanese Ambassador to Bulgaria, Tsuneharu Takeda, Transport Minister, Aleksandar Tsvetkov, and the Minister of Regional Development, Rosen Plevneliev.