Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

I hope that in the future a lot more bridges will be built that will improve our economic and social relations, said the Deputy Minister of Transport, information Technology and Communications Anton Ginev during the ceremony on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the Romanian Railway Museum, which was held today at the railway station in Giurgiu, Romania.

At the event the Deputy Minister said that the day also marks the 70^th anniversary of the construction of the railway line that connects Bucharest to Giurgiu. Ten years later Danube Bridge was constructed. Back then the politicians in Bulgaria and Romania realized that the development of social and economic relations lies in transport, said Deputy Minister Ginev. As a result of the good collaboration between the two countries a regular passenger train has connected Bulgaria to Romania for a month now. Just a few days ago the first cargo train passed along the New Europe Bridge. The opening of the railway traffic on the line is yet another step towards the modernization and development of the railway transport between the two countries, added Mr. Ginev.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport of Romania Julian Matache, who headed the Romanian delegation, noted that the relationships between the two countries have been developing in a very positive way and the results achieved only come to serve as an example of that progress.

On the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the Romanian Railway Museum Mr. Ginev presented as a gift to Mr. Matache the bridge fasteners used during the construction of Danube Bridge. The Railway Museum organized a photo exhibition at the station in Giurgiu as well as a presentation entitled “70 years of the construction of the line Bucharest – Giurgiu”. Following the ceremony the official delegations of the two countries crossed Danube Bridge by the Romanian Royal Train.

At the railway station in Russe Deputy Minister Ginev said that the Transport Museum was established on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the commissioning of the first railway line that connected the Danube town with the city of Varna. He added that the museum is located in the premises of the first railway station in Bulgaria, which is part of the cultural heritage. There people can see original exhibits related to the history of the Bulgarian railways among which there is the oldest steam-power engine manufactured in 1848 in Manchester, England, as well as Sultanie lounge car manufactured in 1866 in Brussels. The Deputy Minister highlighted the importance of the railway station in the town, which was constructed in 1955 and is one of the symbols of the Danube port.

The two delegations are to make a tour of the exhibits at the Bulgarian Transport Museum and after that the Romanian delegation will return to Romania.