The Ministry of Transport and Communications has published for public discussion a draft framework for setting the terms and procedures for selecting operators to provide passenger rail transport services within the country.
The draft proposal envisages dividing Bulgaria's railway network into three regions – Western, Northern, and Southern – each of which will also include secondary railway lines. The possibility will be provided for each region to be serviced by a corresponding regional depot (Sofia, Gorna Oryahovitsa, and Plovdiv). In accordance with Article 123, paragraph 1, item 7 of the Labour Code, the employment relationships of workers and staff currently engaged by the existing operator will not be terminated but will instead transfer to the new operators of the public rail service.
The contracts will be executed using the operator’s own and/or leased rolling stock, as well as rolling stock provided by the state to the selected contractors. The state-supplied rolling stock will be allocated proportionally to the service volume of each respective region. Upon expiry of the contract period, the contractor will be required to return the rolling stock to its owner in the condition in which it was received.
The planned contract duration is 12 years, with a scheduled start date of 13 December 2026, coinciding with the entry into force of the 2027 Train Timetable. The contracts are expected to be signed by 31 December 2025, with the period between signature and the start date serving as a mobilisation phase for the operators.
Over the course of one month, the Ministry of Transport and Communications will hold discussions with all relevant stakeholders, including trade unions, non-governmental organisations, and others, for a detailed review of the terms of the upcoming procedure. According to the established schedule, the procedure is set to be officially announced by the end of July 2025.
The key elements of the procedure can be reviewed here.