site.btaBulgaria Must Subsidize Rail Transport to Keep Fares Affordable, Says Transport Minister

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov underscored here Friday that if Bulgaria is to have railway transport at affordable prices, the State must subsidize the sector. The Minister was speaking during Question Time in Parliament.

Minister Karadzhov was responding to a question from MP Pavlin Naydenov of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, who pointed out that in recent months tenders worth BGN 3–4 billion have been committed for purchase of trainsets and investment in rail infrastructure. Naydenov requested information on how these plans would improve rail transport in Bulgaria.

"If you look more closely at the timelines for these projects, you’ll see that the contract for public passenger services worth BGN 1.4 billion is actually over a period of 12 years," Karadjov clarified. "It is essentially equal to the subsidy we currently pay to BDZ Passenger Services, multiplied by 12."

Regarding the purchase of new rolling stock, he emphasized that the current fleet is in very poor condition. "We have trains that are more than 40 years old. Under normal circumstances, these shouldn’t even be running, but they are still being repaired and kept in service simply because we don’t have enough train cars," he explained.

According to him, there is currently a shortage of around 36–37 cars needed to maintain the regular train schedule. "By the end of the year, however, the shortage will reach 70 cars, which is already a massive deficit," the Minister said.

He went on to enlist the steps that have been taken and said that on September 8, the Deputy Minister in charge of railway transport will hold meetings in Austria to explore ways to address this serious shortfall.

Due to the lack of train cars, over 36 trains have been suspended in three regions of Bulgaria, so that trainsets can be redirected to destinations with busier traffic, he explained.

He stressed that although tenders have been announced, new rolling stock will not be delivered for another three to four years at the earliest. He assured MPs that the ministry is actively working to improve this mode of transport.