Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

This year should be crucial for the prevention of thefts of railway equipment. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Anton Ginev during the discussion today, organized by "24 Hours" newspaper entitled "Terror on the tracks". Deputy Minister Anton Ginev also said that the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications has proposed amendments to the Penal Code, not only for offences towards the railway infrastructure and the rolling stock but also towards all the types of transport including bus transport. In his words, the proposals require precision in the texts so that in similar cases of theft the value of the stolen equipment shall be reported as well as the social danger calculated.

During the discussion, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Svetlozar Lazarov announced that the most regular crimes are thefts of fasteners, rail tracks, contact conductors and different types of cables. He explained that the tendency in the thefts from 2012 was maintained during the last year. In his words if a solution is to be found it is necessary to make an analysis so as to improve the coordination between the competent authorities and to consider amendments to the Penal Code.

The offences on the railway infrastructure are part of our daily life and if the sanctions are bigger, these bad practices will be prevented, said Milcho Lambrev, Director General of National Railway Infrastructure Company. In view of the fact that the company does not have the necessary human resources and powers it ability to prevent attacks are limited. The total area of ​​the railway infrastructure is about 6000 km and it is located throughout the country, so it is impossible to be fully guarded, said engineer Lambrev.

During the debates, the Deputy Executive Director of BDZ Chavdar Trendafilov said that last year there were encroachments on trains carrying scrap even though coaches are with special equipment. In his words preventing thefts depends on the location of the train. Despite the security and the video observation that we have, the attacks are huge - around one million levs for passenger and freight transportation, said Trendafilov.