First 19 modernised railway carriages from Deutsche Bahn arrive in Bulgaria

Sofia: The first 19 modernised railway carriages that Bulgarian state railways BDZ had bought from Germany’s Deutsche Bahn arrived in Bulgaria on May 23, the Transport Ministry said.

They are expected to be put into operation on the country’s railway network by mid-June.

“This transaction, which we carried out with the assistance of the German embassy in our country, is the first important step towards the modernization of railway transport,” caretaker Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov said.

Gvozdeikov said that the carriagess will run along the longest routes in the country, between Sofia and Bourgas, and Sofia and Varna, and each train will have a restaurant carriage.

The value of the entire project is slightly more than 30 million leva for 76 carriages, which comes to about 400 000 leva for one carriage, the statement said.

“It is much more expensive for BDZ to repair one carriage from its available rolling stock,” Gvozdeikov said.

BDZ said that it expects the remaining 57 carriages to be delivered within the month of June so that they can be put into operation for the upcoming summer season.

Each of the carriages has 80 seats, a maximum speed of up to 200 km/h and meets all modern comfort standards, the Transport Ministry said.

The rolling stock is of the open space type, with no compartments, and is equipped with an air conditioning system as well as an information system for notifying passengers of the stations and stops along the train route.

Six of the carriages are adapted for people with reduced mobility, and all 76 carriages have ergonomic seats.

They also feature mobile phone charging sockets and individual reading lights above each seat.