Transport

National Railway Infrastructure Company is going to significantly upgrade the mechanisation for the maintenance of the railway with the aim to reduce the time for the restoration of traffic in emergency situations. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Biser Minchev at a seminar on technical innovations in rail transport, organized by Plasser & Theurer.

The Bulgarian Maritime Training Centre now has up-to-date equipment for the practical training of seafarers in firefighting. So far, such a system has not been used in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula. Its presentation today in Varna was attended by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Mihneva-Natova.

The important tasks for the rest of the year are the finalisation of the procurement of new rolling stock funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the construction of three operational bases for air ambulance. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during the government's report today in the Council of Ministers, where the ministers presented their top priorities for the next nine months.

‘A few days before Sofia Airport becomes an open door to the Schengen area, an automatic boarding pass checking system is introduced. This is very important in view of the approaching holidays and the summer season, when the number of travellers is growing,’ Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Mihneva-Natova said at the opening of the new smart counters at Terminal 2.

Bulgaria and Romania prepared a joint project to improve navigation on the Danube. The FAST Danube 2 project, which was submitted today for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, foresees the implementation of engineering measures in the common section of the river that will improve navigation conditions and traffic safety.

The salaries of BDZ and NRIC employees will be increased from 1 January 2024. For the employees of NRIC and BDZ-Passenger Transport the increase is 19.6%, while for the employees of BDZ-Freight Transport it will be 10% from January 2024 and another 9.6% from April 2024. This is made possible with additional funds provided in the Budget 2024.

From the beginning of 2027, the residents of four more districts will have a convenient and fast connection to the metro, and the construction of this section will relieve traffic in one of the busiest directions in Sofia. This was announced by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at the launch of the project for the extension of the third line of the Sofia metro.

In planning investments under the Transport Connectivity Programme 2021-2027, a balance will be sought between North and South Bulgaria. This became clear during a meeting between the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov and Agnes Monfre, Head of Unit "Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovenia" at DG Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission. They discussed the projects set for funding under the 2021-2027 TCP.

Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov inaugurated the modernised Stara Zagora railway station. "One of the main railway junctions in Bulgaria is located here, where the North-South and East-West lines cross and last year alone more than 412 000 passengers passed through it," Minister Gvozdeykov said during the ceremony.

We are going to buy on-board devices for safe control of 89 trains, 64 of which are for BDZ. The introduction of ERTMS on trains is an important step to ensure that rail transport is safer. This was announced by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at the opening of an international Bulgarian-Turkish business forum in the railway sector, which gathered today in Sofia more than 50 railway companies from Bulgaria and Turkey.

Bulgaria and Iran attach great importance to the implementation of transit transport corridors, which will help develop connectivity between the two countries and accelerate the transport of goods. This was confirmed at a meeting today by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H. E. Ali Reza Irvash. They stressed the importance of transport for cooperation between the countries.

The budget of OP "Transport and Transport Infrastructure" is BGN 4 billion and a little over BGN 1 billion of it should be absorbed in the remaining three months until the end of the year. This is what the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov said at an event on the operational programme, which took place in Sofia. The Minister stressed that this is a huge resource, but with a good mobilization of the Ministry and the beneficiaries the program will be successfully completed.

NC "Railway Infrastructure" has implemented a modern information system that will support the planning and management of train traffic in the country. The Train Operation Management System (TOMS) was developed under a European project and represents one of the most advanced software solutions in this field.

No serious violations have been found during school bus inspections. This is the conclusion from the results of a specialised inspection of more than 1,200 school buses that took place from 1 to 21 September 2023.

Almost twenty years after the announcement of the project, Bulgaria and Romania have started real actions for the construction of a third bridge over the Danube. The two countries submitted a joint project to the European Commission for a feasibility study on a second Ruse-Giurgiu bridge. With this, the two countries are actually starting the process of building a second combined road and rail bridge over the Danube at Ruse.

Together with the trade unions, we will work for real reforms in the sector that are not just on paper. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at today's founding congress of a new federation of transport trade unions at the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB).

At the very beginning of its mandate, the cabinet set itself a clear task and main priority - the introduction of green transport in Bulgaria. I believe that the staff who graduate from the Higher School of Transport contribute precisely to the integration of the most environmentally friendly transport in the country. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Bisser Minchev during the opening of the new academic year in the Higher School of Transport Todor Kableshkov.

By the end of the year, we will have a certified air ambulance operator in accordance with the requirements of EU Regulation 965/2012. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at a meeting today with the Board of Directors of Bulgaria Heli Med Service EAD. 

The Road Administration Executive Agency has started inspections of all buses transporting children and pupils before the start of the school year. This is part of measures to improve the safety and security of children and pupils.