site.btaContract on Delivery of 35 New Electric Trains Signed Between Transport Ministry, Consortium BUL20EMU

A contract on the delivery of 35 electric multiple unit trains was signed at the Council of Ministers on Friday. This is the largest order in the last 20 years to be made by the Bulgarian State and the largest investment in terms of monetary value in rolling stock ever made, said Transport and Communications Minister Grozdan Karadjov, who signed the contract.

The contracting parties are the Transport Ministry and the consortium BUL20EMU (Alstom Transport SA, Romania, Alstom Ferroviaria SpA and RVP Invest).

The locomotives will have six carriages and 351 seats - 51 in first class and 301 in second class. Karadjov said that with this investment, the Transport Ministry hopes to solve almost two-thirds of Bulgarians' needs for new rolling stock to make rail transport more attractive and citizens more satisfied with comfort and safety. The first 12 trains will arrive within August 2025, he specified, adding that three months ago this investment seemed impossible but, thanks to the team of the Ministry of Transport, it happened.

The project is part of investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). In order to absorb to the maximum of resources under the NRRP and to minimize state budget expenditures, the sides also signed an additional agreement approved by the European Commission, specifying that 12 of the trains, worth BGN 363,314,981, will be funded under the NRRP. The remaining 23 trains, worth BGN 696,400,000, will be included in the Social Climate Plan of Bulgaria. Under the government's decision, the Council of Ministers provides BGN 278,600,000 in an interest-free loan to the Transport Ministry for an advance payment under the contract.

The signing was attended by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, Deputy Prime Minister and Innovation and Growth Minister Tomislav Donchev, and Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. 

The Prime Minister commented that Bulgaria managed to "catch the last train" to not lose resources under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and to secure the complex financing that would allow to acquire 35 trains, 12 of which financed under the Plan. He stressed that there is a lot of work to be done from now on, with the burden falling on the operational capabilities of institutions and on the organisational capacity of the administration. The Ministry of Transport has shown that it has this capacity, the Prime Minister said. He stressed that there are complex tasks ahead related to the beneficiaries, the restructuring of Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), ensuring the necessary repair capacity and the timely delivery of trains, because there are deadlines.

Alstom CEO Gabriel Stanciu said at the signing that this is a historic contract for 35 locomotives, 15 years of maintenance and with an option to extend the contract to 40 years. The project is extremely important for Bulgaria and for Alstom, because it provides sustainable connectivity. The company has been operating in Europe for the last 35 years and has sold 4,000 trains of this model, which have proven their efficiency, Stanciu said. The trains offer comfort and reduce the carbon footprint, which contributes to environmental protection. Alstom is present on the Bulgarian market, the company is involved in a number of projects and will continue its expansion in Bulgaria, he assured.