The first 19 modernized passenger cars that BDZ bought from the German company Deutsche Bahn arrived in Bulgaria today. They are expected to be operational on the country's rail network by mid-June.
‘This deal, which we implemented with the assistance of the German Embassy in Bulgaria, is the first important step towards the modernization of the railway transport’, Minister Gvozdeykov said upon the arrival of the rolling stock. He explained that the wagons will run on the longest routes in the country between Sofia and Burgas, and Sofia and Varna, and each train will have a restaurant car.
The cost of the whole project is just over BGN 30 mln for 76 wagons, which makes BGN 400,000 per wagon. ‘It is much more expensive for BDZ to repair one wagon from its existing fleet. But the most important thing is that with the money invested in the repair of such a wagon, we cannot achieve the quality of the rolling stock that comes from Germany’, Gvozdeykov added.
BDZ said that it expects the remaining 57 wagons to be delivered in June so that they can be put into operation for the upcoming summer season.
Each of the carriages has 80 seats, a maximum running speed of up to 200 km/h and meets all modern comfort standards. The rolling stock has no compartments, open space type and is equipped with an air-conditioning system as well as an information system to inform passengers about the stations and stops along the train route. Six of the carriages are adapted for the disabled and all 76 carriages have ergonomic seating. They also have sockets for charging mobile phones and individual reading lights above each seat.
