site.btaTransport Minister Demands Resignations of Railway Infrastructure

Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov has asked for the resignations of the director general and the chairman of the board of the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) due to an increased number of incidents on the railway network, the Transport Ministry said. The latest incident occurred on Thursday in a section between Mirkovo and Dolno Kamartsi, where five cars derailed. According to initial information this was caused by the poor condition of the railway infrastructure. An investigation is pending to establish the causes, the Ministry added.

"The current leadership has repeatedly shown that it cannot effectively manage the processes in one of the largest state-owned companies in Bulgaria," the Minister said. In his words, Thursday's situation once again proves that there is a problem with the management of rail safety systems.

"The employees who are in charge pf the operation of the railway and its condition should also bear responsibility," Gvozdeykov added.

The last five empty carriages of a private freight train derailed between Mirkovo and Dolno Kamartsi at 14:55 on Thursday.

There were no injured people and train operations were suspended.

All express trains had to be diverted through Plovdiv.