ISTANBUL/EDIRNE 

The first express train from Istanbul arrived in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Tuesday morning after about a nine and a half hour journey.

Turkish State Railways (TCDD) Istanbul Passenger Services Manager Veysi Alcinsu told Anadolu Agency that the high-tech four-car express train would be running daily.

"A lot of tourists will be traveling to Edirne and Istanbul from Bulgaria. Of course this is not just limited to Bulgaria. The train has connections to Belgrade, Bucharest, and Budapest. Therefore it will contribute to tourism," he said.

The express train departed Istanbul's Halkali station at 10.40 p.m. local time (1940GMT) on Monday evening with 22 passengers and arrived in Sofia's central railway station at around 9 a.m. local time (0700GMT) on Tuesday.

The first train from Sofia to Istanbul also started its journey at 9 p.m. (1900GMT) on Monday, and arrived in Istanbul early Tuesday morning.

Reporting by Emrah Guney and Cihan Demirci:Writing by Fatih Hafız Mehmet