The Bulgarian state rail company (BDZ) is launching effective strike action on March 10, as all train services will be shut for an hour from 10am until 11am, the Sofia Echo reported.

The strike decision is triggered by planned job cuts at the railways, which was one of the conditions for obtaining a 600 million leva loan from the World Bank, aimed at overhauling the sector.

The decision for the walkout was taken on March 9, after negotiations between the unions and management failed to reach a compromise.

The unions are upset because BDZ management failed to table a plan which guarantees that stringent measures of restructuring and staff trimming would be significantly trimmed down.

BDZ and the National Railroad Infrastructure Company (NRIC) will stage sustained walkouts starting March 11, if no agreement is reached by the end of today. They have vowed that the strikes will be "indefinite", lasting from 8am until 4pm.

Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov said on March 9 that should BDZ walk out, extra coaches will be made available to facilitate the passengers, and that in the end, the strike will only hurt the unions.