News

The Bulgarian and Romanian authorities start an on-the-spot review of all procedures related to the crossing of the Danube Bridge in Ruse. A joint visit to the bridge is to be organised next week by all the institutions involved on both sides responsible for the crossing and traffic control.  This was agreed by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov and his Romanian counterpart Constantin Bunduk during a videoconference call.

With the positioning of the helicopter here, it will cover a wide perimeter in Eastern and Central Bulgaria, as well as part of the Trakia highway

By the end of the year, we will prepare for operation the third temporary operating base for the air emergency. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov, who together with the Mayor of Sliven Stefan Radev visited Burshen Airport today. The third temporary and later one of the six permanent HEMS bases will be located there.

Safe driving training should become part of driver training. We are starting studies to implement them in the training program. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at a meeting with parents of children killed in road accidents and representatives of the initiative comittee ‘Together against the madness on the roads’.

Bulgaria and Japan will cooperate in the field of transport security and high-tech development. This was discussed at a meeting of the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeikov with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Bulgaria H.E. Hisashi Michigami.

Two projects to improve young people's digital skills and prepare them for a career in technology will be funded under the Digital Europe programme. The European Commission's assessments have been sent to the Ministry of Transport and Communications as the national coordinator of the programme. The grant agreements are to be signed.

The salaries of BDZ and NRIC employees will be increased from 1 January 2024. For the employees of NRIC and BDZ-Passenger Transport the increase is 19.6%, while for the employees of BDZ-Freight Transport it will be 10% from January 2024 and another 9.6% from April 2024. This is made possible with additional funds provided in the Budget 2024.

In just two months National Railway Infrastructure Company managed to complete three important infrastructure projects — the railway stations of Stara Zagora and Iskar, as well as the connection between the port of Burgas and the interior of the country. This was said by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Biser Minchev during the opening of the reconstructed railway station Iskar in Sofia.

Deputy Minister Minchev stressed that the station is one of the main points that welcomes passengers and that is why their modernization is of such great importance.

Prime Minister Academic Nikolay Denkov, in the presence of the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov, handed over the certificates of airworthiness (brevets) to the first pilots who will perform emergency medical assistance operations by air — HEMS. The six pilots, who will operate the first two helicopters, have undergone theoretical and practical training and passed their exams.

Children up to 14 years will travel free on public transport. The measure shall enter into force on 1 February 2024. This is what Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov said at a briefing at the Council of Ministers today, after the government adopted changes to the legislation regulating subsidies and compensation in public transport.

The purchase of another 10 new electric locomotives will contribute to a more efficient train timetable. This was announced by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during the signing of a contract for the delivery of ten locomotives — the latest generation ‘Smartron’ by Siemens. Thus the total number of locomotives of this series in the country will reach 25.

Improving regional infrastructure connectivity along the North-South route will not only ensure an alternative and cheaper route for goods, but will also cater for the increasing travel and trade between Bulgaria, Romania and Greece following our country's entry into Schengen. This is what the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov said at a meeting with the US ambassadors in Athens George Tsunis and in Sofia Kenneth Merten. 

Purchase of 80 new vehicles and 10 new laboratories for the inspectors of the Exectuve Agency Road Transport Administration, equalisation and increase of salaries, as well as new clothing for all employees. These are some of the measures included in the proposed budget of the Ministry of Transport and Communications for next year.

It was discussed today during a meeting between the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov, Deputy Minister Dimitar Nedyalkov, the leadership of the EARTA and representatives of the trade unions of the KT ‘Podkrepa’ in the Agency.

The Exectuve Agency Road Transport Administration is stepping up its control of unauthorized passenger and cargo transport during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Together with the Ministry of the Interior and the NRA, inspections have been launched in different regions of the country and at border crossings.

Bulgaria supports the creation of clear rules for the rapid deployment of gigabit networks, to reduce construction costs and administrative burdens. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Grigori Grigorov during a meeting of the EU Council, format ‘Telecommunications’. He said this will contribute to the implementation of high-speed connectivity projects that are enshrined in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan.

The passage of freight trains from the port of Burgas to the internal railway connections of the country is now significantly facilitated. This was said by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Biser Minchev during the opening of the rehabilitated railway line between Port of Burgas and Vladimir Pavlov station.

5G connectivity along the trans-European transport corridor Orient/East-Mediterranean will be built with the implementation of two Bulgarian projects. They received funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, for which the Ministry of Transport and Communications is the coordinator for Bulgaria.

From the very first days of its mandate, the Bulgarian government put road safety among the important priorities of its work. This is what Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov said in Brussels during today's meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council of the European Union.

Almost 320 km of 4 motorways have been built with funds from the Operational Programmes Transport and Transport and Transport Infrastructure. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov at the ceremony for the start of the construction of the motorway ‘Ruse — Veliko Tarnovo’. In total, over BGN 2.5 billion have been allocated for road projects under the two programmes.

The construction of the Ruse — Veliko Tarnovo motorway is included in the Transport Connectivity Programme 2021 — 2027.

The control vehicles of the executive agency Road Transport Administration are now equipped with POS terminals. They are linked to the Agency's electronic control system where the penalty notices are generated.

The POS terminals enable the payment of the penalty notices by offenders who are foreign citizens without a permanent address on the territory of Bulgaria, as well as Bulgarian citizens.

By the end of 2025, 80% of the country's population will have access to 5G connectivity