Bulgaria's Energoremont signs 2.6 mln euro deal to revamp railway section A consortium led by Bulgaria's Energoremont Holding signed a BGN 5 million contract with state-owned National Railway Infrastructure Company for the reconstruction of a railway section. The section between the villages of Straldja and Tserovski is part of the railway linking Bulgaria's second-biggest city of Plovdiv with the Black Sea port of Burgas. The consortium includes two other companies, Italy's Salcef and Sofia-based Transgeo. The project, financed under the EU's Operational Programme Transport 2014-2020, should be completed within two years. Energoremont Holding shares rose 10.63% to BGN 3.54 as of 11:47 CET on Monday on the Sofia bourse.
Source: Capital (31.01.2017)

Four Projects Worth EUR 207 Mln Submitted for Approval under Connecting Europe Facility Four project proposals have been submitted after the third notice of invitation to tender under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Two projects were sent by the Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority, one was submitted by the Road Infrastructure Agency and one by the National Railway Infrastructure Company. Their total investment value is 207 million euro and the requested European funding amounts to 85 per cent, the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications said Wednesday. The National Railway Infrastructure Company has submitted a project for the development of Plovdiv railway juncture which includes rehabilitation and upgrading of railway infrastructure in the sections Plovdiv- Plovdiv yard - Kroumovo and Plovdiv yard - Skoutare. The project also provides for a road to be developed passing under Plovdiv Station, development of the tracks at the stations included in the project, removal of existing crossings and their replacement with overpasses. The total value of the project proposal is 115 million euro, with European funding amounting to 98 million euro. In the road sector, one project has been submitted for the development of a section of Kalotina - Sofia Ring Road motorway. The project is worth a total of 90 million euro and the requested European co-funding slightly exceeds 40 million euro. The project proposal includes the development of 15 km of the motorway from Kalotina border checkpoint to Dragoman. The existing route will be widened and corrected at places to allow a speed of 100 km/h. The project provides for two lanes on each side of the road and an emergency lane. Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority has submitted two projects related to streamlining air traffic services. Their total value is about 1.2 million euro and requested European co-funding is about 1.0 million euro. The first project is aimed to create a local information security operational centre to provide effective protection against cyber attacks. Its development will guarantee security of data and infrastructure of the air traffic authority, as well as 24/7 regime of provided services. The second project proposal is aimed to introduce air space for free flight over the countries participating in the Gate One regional initiative. This is the third notice for tenders in the transport sector of CEF that guarantee the country a budget under the Cohesion Package amounting to 406 million euro. Seven transport projects worth 294 million euro have been approved. The free resources at the disposal of Bulgaria is 111 million euro. The results of the evaluation of the projects will be announced in the middle of this year.
Source: mediapool.bg (09.02.2017)

Industrial zones in Bulgaria will be connected by railways The National Company "Railway Infrastructure" (NRIC) has planned in its five-year investment plan the construction of rail connections to industrial areas in the country. The project envisages nearly BGN 40 million for the construction of industrial tracks to production facilities, this was discussed between the Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Hristo Alexiev and Economy Minister Teodor Sedlarski. Experts from the NRIC will make analyzes for the return on investment and how much cargo can be transported to the industrial zones. According to the investment plan the construction of new railway connections to production facilities will lead to economic benefits for the rail infrastructure and rail carriers and the businesses.
Source: Capital (16.03.2017)

The Bright Future of BDZ Would Cost BGN 1.3 Billion BDZ can become a modern and competitive enterprise, but at the cost of huge investments - between BGN 800 million and BGN 1.3 billion. This was announced by the director of Bulgarian State Railways Vladimir Vladimirov, who yesterday presented a project for the procurement of new modular trains. They will have a speed of 160 km/h, they will have WiFi, will offer comfortable first class and will save 15% of the current expenses of BDZ, or BGN 35 million annually", Vladimirov said. The trouble is that the state-owned holding is mired in debt and the treasury has to constantly help it financially. The next state support scheme provides for BDZ to receive hundreds of millions of concessions at Sofia Airport. The forecast for the necessary investments is part of a BDZ technological update report, developed by 3 universities - UNWE, the Technical Uni and Higher Transport School, together with experts from the Ministry of Transport, BDZ and NRIC. "This document has looked at all possible aspects of what the BDZ train fleet should look like in the next few years, what should be its common technical parameters, what kind of passenger traffic BDZ can win after improving its competitiveness on the market and what comfort it needs "On this basis, the collegues from" Passenger Transport "are ready to launch a public procurement for the supply of new modular trains," Vladimirov told Focus. The project for the technological renovation of the railway has two stages. During the first phase it is planned to buy 41 modular trains, which will cost at least BGN 380 mln. During the second stage, 44 more compositions have to be delivered. It is expected that the first new trains will be on the rails of Bulgaria by 2020. "It is necessary to take decisions at the government level in order to provide funds for the second stage," said BDZ chief. He noted that BDZ is confidently on the way to clearing debts, a very heavy burden on the railway, and more than BGN 600 million have been deducted to date to cover these debts and any additional costs associated with them. By the end of 2018 the debt crisis of the railroads will end, Vladimirov is convinced.
Source: Dnevnik (04.09.2017)

KCM railroad to go underground The railway line that serves KCM will be brought underground in the area of the crossroad of Okolovrastno Shose and the Plovdiv - Asenovgrad road. This option was discussed by the experts at a meeting, organized by the regional governor Zdravko Dimitrov. The solution is proposed by the specialist of the National Railway Infrastructure Company, and how it will be realized will become clear after designing. The reason for the relocation of the railway line is the construction of a circular junction. The new roadway closes near the railroad and large traffic jams will occur if the traffic is regulated by a barrier, explained the regional administration architect Valentin Marinov. There are two options: to get the railroad line up or down the ground, which will cost cheaper, and it will be safer. The new Plovdiv - Asenovgrad route will be asphalted until the end of November.
Source: Maritsa (09.11.2017)

Bulgaria opens tender for overhaul of railway signaling, telecommunication systems Bulgaria's National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) said it has opened 195.4 million levs ($117.8 million/99.9 million euro) tender for modernisation of the signaling and telecommunication systems along the railway section between the cities of Plovdiv and Bourgas. The tender includes the design and construction of signaling and telecommunication equipment at the train stations, built-in passenger information systems and control points along the 293 km-long railway section linking Bulgaria's second biggest city of Plovdiv with the Black Sea port of Burgas, according to a NRIC notice posted on the website of the Public Procurement Agency. The works on the project, which is part of an overhaul of Plovdiv-Burgas railway section should be completed in 48 months. The deadline for submitting bids in the tender is March 1, 2018.
Source: Capital (20.12.2017)