News

Bulgaria and Serbia will work together to guarantee their energy resources in view of the upcoming cold season. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications, Hristo Alexiev, after speaking with the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia, Tomislav Momirovich.

The necessary measures for introducing a new organization of heavy goods traffic at the Danube Bridge in Ruse were discussed during the meeting held today in the city. The Interdepartmental Working Group established between MTC, MRDPW and the Ministry of the Interior identified four points allowing the parking of heavy goods vehicles - Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo, Razgrad and Byala in order to ease the traffic in the city of Ruse, as well as the construction of buffer parking.

The State is mobilized the gas connection to be completed before the beginning of the cold season. This is what was the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Crisis Group, Hristo Alexiev, said after an inspection with the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Ivan Shishkov, of the route in the Bulgarian section of the Intersystem Gas Connection Greece-Bulgaria.

By order of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev, Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov checked the organization of work at Danube Bridge 2 border crossing point. The reason for the inspection was the kilometer-long queue of heavy-weight vehicles at the exit of the country.

Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov announced that a Framework document had been prepared between Bulgaria and Romania to ease the procedures for crossing the border checkpoint. An official opinion of the Romanian side on the document is expected.

The evacuation of all passengers from the bus that crashed in the night on Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo road was successful. This became a reality after the immediate action taken by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev.

Dialogue with the road transport industry has been restored. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev after a meeting with representatives of branch organizations in the field of road transport of passengers and goods. He added that taking urgent measures to achieve sustainability in the road transport sector is one of the important steps to guarantee the country's economic stability.

I am thoroughly acquainted with the transport system, my main task will be to reduce the tension in the sector. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications in the Caretaker Government, Hristo Alexiev, upon assuming the post today.

One hundred and seventy-four municipalities receive an additional subsidy for the transport of passengers on bus lines for 2022. The funds, in the amount of BGN 36.5 million, were allocated by a Decree of the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The Ministry requested up-to-date information from the Mayors of all municipalities on whether they have commissioned transport on bus lines and whether they have valid contracts with carriers, regardless of the type of transport scheme (republican, regional or municipal).

The Bulgarian side highly appreciates Austria's achievements in the International Civil Aviation Organization and will support its candidacy for the ICAO Council in the upcoming elections in the period 27 September - 7 October 2022. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov during a Meeting with the Ambassadors of Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and the Chargés d'аffaires of the Embassies of Portugal and Belgium, to present the Austrian candidacy.

"BDZ- Freight Transport" EOOD initiates talks with the World Bank for the implementation of its investment program for the period until 2024. The company will negotiate for attracting up to 400 million BGN capital. The funds are needed for the acquisition of 5 new electric and 15 diesel locomotives, as well as 600 specialized freight cars. Investments in rolling stock and railway infrastructure are a top priority of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The program envisages major repairs of 10 units of locomotives and 250 units of freight cars.

At the initiative of the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev, at the beginning of the year, negotiations were launched with the French Republic to send to Bulgaria a high-level international expert to advise and support the reforms carried out in the national railway undertaking.

The Bulgarian side is ready to provide airport fee incentives and suitable time slots for landing and take-off for air carriers to carry out regular flights between Sofia and Riyadh and Varna - Dammam. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov during a meeting today with the Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Minister Plenipotentiary H.E. Naif bin Asai.

In a joint operation by the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency , the Ministry of the Interior and the National Revenue Agency, two cars were taken off the road for one year for carrying out unregulated passenger transport through the "Maxim" application. The registration plates of the vehicles were removed, the documents of the cars and the drivers were seized. The imposed sanction for this type of violation is BGN 2,000. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated for the cases.

For the second consecutive quarter, the national railway carrier reported an increase in its revenues. For the first 6 months of the year, the accounting profit of the entire BDZ Holding EAD group is BGN 13,256,000. The group, which includes " BDZ Passenger Services“ EOOD ",  "BDZ Cargo” EOOD and "BDZ Holding" EAD, is making a profit for the first time in 10 years.

Civil Aviation Administration Directorate General allowed aerial photography flights in Bulgarian airspace to update the Google database. The flights will start on July 23 in the Plovdiv region. They will continue until September 30, 2022, covering the cities of Sofia and Varna. The planes are scheduled to fly at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, depending on weather conditions. This type of flight is specific and requires multiple overflights over the specified settlements.

The European Commission approved the project for the modernization of the Voluyak-Dragoman railway line, which is part of the Railway Corridor to the border with Serbia. The project has a total value of BGN 166.2 million, which will be provided by OPTTI 2014-2020. Of these, BGN 130.2 million are European funds.

In May of this year the Government allowed the conclusion of a Financing Contract between MTC and the beneficiary National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), before the final approval of the project by the EC, which is already a fact.

The Minister of Transport and Communications signed a Decision on conversion and approved the Contract for the creation of "National Company Bulgarian State Railways" EAD. The transformation was implemented by merging "BDZ-Passenger Transport" EOOD and "BDZ-Freight Transport " EOOD into "Holding Bulgarian State Railways" EAD and renaming it.

In February, Minister Nikolay Sabev presented the future restructuring, part of the large-scale change in Bulgaria's transport system.

National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) has announced market consultations for the implementation of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) - level 2, in the Ruse-Kaspichan railway section. The project includes the activities of design, supply, construction and commissioning of new systems for ERTMS level 2, dispatch management, security equipment, telecommunications, GSM-R/FRMCS, passenger announcement systems and information electronic boards, clock system, video surveillance of stations and railway crossings, etc.

Bulgaria and Romania will work together to ensure the necessary navigability of the Danube River, it became clear during the meeting today in Ruse. The host of the meeting, on the initiative of the European Commission and the Danube Commission, was the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov.

The Government adopted a decision to terminate Plovdiv Railway Station Concession Contract. The proposal to terminate the contract was made by the concessionaire. Plovdiv Railway Station Concession Contract was concluded in 2013 and entered into force in 2015. The reason for the termination of the Concession Contract was the construction activities started by the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC)on the territory of the station under the Plovdiv Railway Junction Development Project, which is financed with funds from the EU.