site.btaTransport Minister Expects Rail Companies to Identify Urgent and Long-term Measures in Order to Improve Safety

 “I expect rail companies to identify two types of measures - urgent and others that require more substantial funding,” Transport Minister Grozdan Karadzhov said during Question Time in Parliament.

Minister Karadzhov described as "deplorable" the state of Bulgarian passenger trains and said that a zero-tolerance policy for safety rule violations has already been introduced. The Minister also said that after a series of incidents over the past few months, which resulted in loss of human lives, a review and audit of the activities of the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) and of the two companies BDZ Freight and BDZ Passenger Transport is being carried out.

Developments clearly show that something in the security and safety system is not working and urgent measures must be taken to eliminate the risks of human error, the Minister said.

Also, the Minister said that by the order of NRIC’s Director General all maintenance work on railway infrastructure when the railway lines are open for train movement has been banned. Karadzhov also added that a ban has been introduced on  running a red signal, which, according to him, has occurred in the past.

Minister Karadzhov answered questions by Vazrazhdane MPs Petar Petrov and Dimo Drenchev, who asked for information on what measures are being taken to ensure safe rail transport.