site.btaConference Discusses Feasibility of High-speed Rail Transport in Bulgaria

High-speed railways should become a government policy as society needs this mode of transport, according to participants in a BTA-hosted news conference in Sofia Thursday, which focused on the feasibility of high-speed rail transport in Bulgaria.

The private sector wants to build a high-speed railway under a concession contract for the construction phase and for long-term operation afterwards, said Rumen Markov, CEO of Sofia-based Large Infrastructure Projects OOD. Markov noted that a maximum train speed of 160 km/h is not "high speed", as the government authorities suggest in their policy plans.

He said the absence of medium- and long-term programmes for railway transport puts passenger train services at a huge risk. He urged Bulgarian political parties to adopt the EU policies on high-speed railways and arrive at a common decision on their development, as is the case in other countries.

The government needs a 10-year programme for the development of high-speed railway transport, Markov said, adding that Bulgaria lags behind its neighbours in this domain. He predicted that high-speed train fares will be competitive, perhaps higher than bus fares but lower than the prices of air tickets.

A high-speed train could take you from Sofia to Varna in about 2 hours, to Bucharest in 2:15 hours, and to Thessaloniki in 1:30 hours, a speaker said.

Expert Simeon Eftimov said high-speed railways should be a top priority for the government because they are becoming a geostrategic factor.