site.btaBulgarian Railways, Deutsche Bahn in Final Phase of Negotiations for Purchase of Up to 70 Wagons

The Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) and Deutsche Bahn are in the final phase of negotiations for the purchase of up to 70 wagons from the rolling stock of the German railways, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said. With them, BDZ will modernize more than 20% of the rolling stock currently in use, which is over 40 years old. The topic was discussed during a meeting between Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeikov, Ambassador of Germany to Bulgaria Irene Plank, and representatives of Deutsche Bahn.

"During the past six months, I held a series of meetings with ambassadors from various European countries and we sent inquiries to all major manufacturers of rolling stock in Europe, with only one goal - quick steps towards the reform of the BDZ," stated Minister Gvozdeikov. He added that thanks to the active support of the German embassy, in less than 3 months, a modernized European-level rolling stock was provided, which is available and will be delivered in a short time. "This is an excellent chance for Bulgarian society to finally receive the long-awaited reform in railway transport, which has not been done for more than 30 years," Gvozdeikov noted.

The Minister pointed out that between 50 and 70 modernized passenger cars, which until the previous month were in operation by Deutsche Bahn on intercity lines, will be purchased. "The rolling stock will have a speed of up to 200 km per hour, air-conditioning, no compartments, open space-type, with all the comforts available for passengers," added Gvozdeikov.

A Bulgarian team is due to visit Germany by mid-February to specify and finalize the delivery and acquisition procedures.

Ambassador Plank said that she was impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of  Ministry and BDZ team regarding this project. "In less than three months, with very focused work, you were able to turn an idea into real results," she added.