Bulgarian railway workers stage warning strike

* Workers protest against planned job cuts

* Trade unions say reduction unjustified, poses safety risks

* Sofia in talks on a 300 mln-euro World Bank railway loan

SOFIA, March 10 (Reuters) - Workers in Bulgaria's ailing state railways staged a one-hour warning strike on Thursday to protest against job cuts planned as part of a restructuring programme to secure a 300 million-euro World Bank loan.

The poorest European Union member hopes the loan will help bring its indebted railway operator BDZ back into the black and speed up modernisation of the rail infrastructure company NRIC.

The Balkan country needs to overhaul its decaying roads and railways to attract foreign investment and boost tourism as it tries to return to sustainable growth following deep recession.

The two companies, which employ around 27,000 people, plan to reduce their staff by 20 percent over the next three years. Trade unions say the cuts are unjustified and pose safety risks.

BDZ and NRIC say there will be no actual sackings and jobs will be gradually cut as workers leave or retire. Others will be re-appointed in other departments with BDZ and NRIC.

BDZ launched a long-delayed overhaul last year to meet the World Bank's requirements. The restructuring aims to turn it into a profitable operation by 2014.

If there is no agreement between the trade unions and the government, railway workers will strike indefinitely from Friday for eight hours each day, with minimum services running.

This will affect 80,000 to 100,000 passengers who travel by train daily, disrupt the operations of BDZ's cargo unit and cost the operator around 500,000 levs ($355,000) a day. (Reporting by Irina Ivanova; editing by Andrew Roche)