site.btaUPDATED Ways to Improve Railway System Discussed at Transport Ministry-Hosted Meeting

Railway transport issues and measures to improve the system were discussed by experts, politicians and trade unions at a meeting on Friday hosted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The discussion was held on the initiative of caretaker Minister of Transport and Communications Krasimira Stoyanova.

Stoyanova vowed: "I will be uncompromising and unyielding about any act of neglect in the Bulgarian railway system. It is a shame that, for so many years, passengers have had to travel on trains that not only have not been cleaned but are also unsafe."

The state of the national railways is not good, the minister said. "We cannot cope unless we pool our efforts. It obviously takes more determination and initiative from the people engaged in the operative management of the railways and related infrastructure," she said.

The discussion was attended by representatives of Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) and trade unions, as well as independent experts.

Petar Bunev, who heads the Railway Workers' Union with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, said that BDZ has two main problems: train fires and traffic delays. He attributed delays to the old rolling stock and track repairs, which are one of the most serious problems affecting passengers.

NRIC Director General Stoyan Stoyanov said an action plan until the end of September sets out the most urgent measures which need to be taken to improve railway infrastructure. He noted that carriers need railway infrastructure to be in a better state to enable them to provide quality services in a timely manner. Their expectations are not met at present, Stoyanov said.

He argued: "We should not build infrastructure for its own sake. We should build it for business, for the railway carriers and their customers. It is important to place a priority on the carriage of passengers, because it is the face of railway transport, though I would not underestimate cargo operators, whose business is quite substantial. When a taxpayer gets on a train, he identifies railway transport with the carriage of passengers. When we provide infrastructure for the carriage of passengers, there will be infrastructure for the carriage of goods as well."

Stoyanov pointed to the need for frequent meetings with railway carriers in view of satisfying their needs when developing infrastructure.