“We have a long-term plan for improving rail transport and railway infrastructure. Our goal is to implement real projects that have secured funding and are carried out efficiently, so that tangible results can be seen, rather than having projects remain unfinished for decades.” This was stated by Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev during a meeting with Stanislav Koev, Representative for Bulgaria of the Škoda Transportation and Škoda Vagonka Consortium. The discussion focused on the progress made under the contract for the delivery of new Škoda trains and the remaining steps required for its implementation.
Minister Peev noted that Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) currently operates only around 300 of its total fleet of 600 passenger coaches manufactured in the 1970s. According to him, this is entirely unacceptable in the XXI century, which is why the Ministry of Transport and Communications is working on the gradual renewal of the rolling stock.
The consortium’s representative assured the Minister that all commitments and deadlines related both to the delivery of the trains and to the required procedures would be met. By 19 June, all documentation will be submitted for review by the Executive Agency “Railway Administration”. Type approval for the train is expected to be issued by the end of July, and once the trainsets have been certified and registered, they will be able to enter service.
Regarding the issue of graffiti, Minister Georgi Peev noted that this is a social problem for which a long-term solution must be found. “Legislation is needed that is sufficiently robust and acts as an effective deterrent. BDZ spends millions of leva on removing graffiti from trains. These are financial resources that could instead be directed towards other important activities,” the Minister added.