Plovdiv Bulgaria with the Trakia motorway (A1) only to the north. It lies on the important national route from Sofia to Burgas via Stara Zagora. First-class roads lead to Sofia to the west, Karlovo to the north, Asenovgrad, Kardzhali to the south, and Stara Zagora and Haskovo to the east. There are intercity buses which link Plovdiv with cities and towns all over the country and many European countries. They are based in three bus stations: South, Rodopi, and North. Railway transport in the city dates back to 1872 when it became a station on the Lyubimets–Belovo railway line. There are
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv Another merger follows in 1945 with the "Catholic" club "Parchevich". After this wave of mergers, like many others in the country, the club is renamed to an abbreviation of the biggest clubs merged - the new name is "S.P.-45", meaning "Sportclub Parchevich - 1945". However, because of the "Western" phrasing ("sport" and "club" are non-Slavic words) the team is renamed again before the start of the season - the name of the club becomes ""Slavia" Plovdiv". In 1947 a new wave of consolidations of the sport organisations in the country sees Slavia Plovdiv merge with the team of the cooperative