site.btaRepairs of Rail Road Near Village of Pyasachevo to Continue Until Tuesday After Train Derailment

Repairs on the railway near the village of Pyasachevo, Simeonovgrad municipality, will continue until Tuesday, following Friday's derailment of a freight train carrying diesel fuel, which caused a fire. The incident occurred at 5:25 am and involved a train with 34 tank cars. Train traffic is expected to resume on Tuesday, Emil Simeonov, safety inspector at the National Railway Infrastructure Company, told journalists at the site.

He said that the damage to the railway is more extensive than initially estimated, with approximately 100 meters of track missing, and the overhead contact line was also destroyed in the fire.

Work on clearing and repairing the track has continued throughout the night, said Haskovo Regional Governor Stefka Zdravkova. This was also confirmed on Friday by Transport Minister Grozdan Karadzhov. All tank cars have now been removed from the site.

On Friday, Simeonovgrad Mayor Milena Rangelova declared a partial state of disaster for the village of Pyasachevo, which will be lifted in a few hours, added Regional Governor Stefka Zdravkova. Power supply to the village was briefly interrupted yesterday.

Two firefighting teams are still guarding the scene of the incident, said Mitko Chakalov, director of the Regional Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection in Haskovo. There is still spilled fuel near the tracks, which poses a risk of further incidents. The fire service vehicles will remain on site until all tank cars are removed and the fuel spills are fully cleaned up, Chakalov added.

All eight derailed cars, which have now been pulled off the tracks, will be loaded using mobile cranes, said Emil Simeonov. In response to a question, he assured reporters that the railway line at the site of the incident was in proper working condition.

The Simeonovgrad–Nova Zagora railway line serves only freight transport. Between six and seven freight trains run along it every 24 hours.