Construction of the railway section from Petarch to Dragoman hasstarted The construction of the railway section from Putterch to Dragoman has started. It is part of the railway highway from Sofia to Serbia and the European corridor "East-West". The railway section is part of the large-scale project for the modernization of the railway line Sofia - Dragoman - the border with Serbia, which is financed by the operational program "Transport" 2014 - 2020. The entire project is worth BGN 304 million and must be completed by the end of 2023 - the last financial year for the expiring program period.
Source: mediapool.bg (23.01.2023)

CPC: For 10 years NRIC has abused - it gave more favourable conditions to BDZ Cargo The National Railway Infrastructure Company abused its dominant position and gave more favourable offers to BDZ Cargo. This is the accusation made by the Commission for Protection of Competition. NKRC has restricted or distorted competition in the national rail freight market and affected the interests of consumers. This has happened by implementing a comprehensive differential treatment strategy which has placed BDZ Cargo in a privileged position compared to other rail freight carriers. This has been the practice since 2010. BDZ Cargo has been granted different conditions of access to and use of the railway infrastructure and service facilities, which in practice has enabled the company to save charges that other carriers pay. In addition, BDZ Cargo has also received different conditions for the distribution of electricity through the distribution networks of NKRC, as a different methodology for calculating traction electricity consumption has been applied.
Source: 24 chasa (26.01.2023)

The activities on the complete rehabilitation of the railway line from "BMF Port Burgas" to "Vladimir Pavlov" railway station have begun The National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI) has started the activities for the complete rehabilitation of the route from the port of Burgas "BMF Port Burgas AD" to the railway station "Vladimir Pavlov". The activities in Burgas will be implemented within the framework of another project initiative - "From East to West - 2. Access to the OIS corridor from the central port of Burgas: Rehabilitation of the railway connections to the Trans-European transport network". Object "Rehabilitation of railway track from arrow No. 103 (Port of Burgas) to arrow No. 20 (Vladimir Pavlov station)" is part of the project "From East to West - 2. Access to OIS corridor from the central port of Burgas: Rehabilitation of railway connections to the Trans-European Transport Network", which is financed by the EU Cohesion Fund and OP "Transport and Transport Infrastructure" 2014-2020. The value of the construction contract is BGN 4.9 million without VAT, and its contractor is "VDH" JSC.
Source: BTA (03.02.2023)

The government has lifted the salary cap on the boards of 17 state-owned companies. Until now, the remuneration of executive directors in joint-stock companies was limited to a maximum of 18 minimum wages, and for board members of these enterprises - to 6 minimum wages. In the future, these limits are removed, and the respective principal ministries will decide what the bosses' remuneration will be. At the moment, there are 17 such enterprises - the totalizer, all forest enterprises, NK?I and "Port Infrastructure", RVD, "Radioactive waste", "Management and management of dams" and others. Even without the removal of the limits, the maximum remuneration in state-owned companies has risen sharply in addition to the increased minimum wage. With a limit of 18 MRZ for the salary of an executive director in a state AD, this is equivalent to a remuneration of BGN 14,040. Last year, the maximum was BGN 12,780. The amount of remuneration is updated every quarter depending on the company's results according to a formula, but is considered that there should also be a salary cap.
Source: Sega (08.02.2023)

The National Railway Infrastructure Company released the order for the Intermodal Terminal in Ruse for BGN 54 million The National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI) announced the order for the construction of the intermodal terminal at the railway junction in Ruse. The financing of the project is according to the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability, and the estimated value is BGN 54.1 million without VAT. The auction was announced on February 3, and until April 6 is the deadline for submitting offers. Currently, there is only one operating intermodal terminal in the country - near Plovdiv, whose operator is PIMK. After the construction is finished, a concessionaire of the terminal in Ruse will be chosen, and he will have to provide the necessary equipment - mobile equipment, cranes, computer and office equipment, etc. According to the plan, the design and construction of the terminal should take two years.
Source: Duma (09.02.2023)

Nearly BGN 250 million for the city railway of Plovdiv from European funds Nearly BGN 250 million have been provided by the Eurofunds for the implementation of the city railway project in Plovdiv. It must be completed by the end of 2030 at the latest. For this purpose, a working group must determine the railway stops on the existing railway in the city within a month. The procedure for the purchase of the trains is already underway. The conceptual project for the construction of the city railway of Plovdiv is ready. In it, the railway ring runs from the Central Railway Station through Koprivshtitsa Blvd. and Filipovo Station to Skutare Station. There, the circuit continues south to the Trakia railway station. It is planned that the city railway will have diversions to "Plovdiv" airport and that in Krumovo. The financing of the city railway is provided by the European funds. Over BGN 198 million have been pledged under the "Transport Connectivity" program 2021 - 2027. The funds are for the "Development of the Plovdiv Railway Junction, Phase 2" project, as is the official name of the city's urban railway. It will be implemented under priority 4 - "Intermodality of the urban environment".
Source: mediapool.bg (14.02.2023)

Plovdiv Municipality and NRIC sign for the Concrete bridge and the railway overpass on "Koprivshtitsa" Blvd. An additional agreement between the Municipality of Plovdiv and NRIC will be concluded for bilateral cooperation in connection with the implementation of the "Development of the Plovdiv Railway Junction" project. The document must be approved by the City Council. The agreement should settle the obligations of both parties on five sites implemented by NRIC and financed by European programs. The first is the modernization of the railway, contact network and signaling and telecommunications systems at Plovdiv station and construction of the tunnel under the Central station between "Vasil Aprilov" and "Macedonia" boulevards. The second object is the modernization of the railway Plovdiv - Krumovo, Plovdiv - Skutare, in the distribution stations, Krumovo, Skutare and the separated post "Trakia". The third is a communication-transport solution for a connection between "Hristo Botev" Blvd. and "Macedonia" at the site of the Concrete Bridge. The fourth object is the construction of a flyover on "Koprivshtitsa" Blvd. and a new railway bridge over Maritsa, and the fifth is related to the modernization of the railway section Filipovo - Skutare, including Filipovo station.plovdiv-press.bg
Source: Other (06.03.2023)

The city railway of Plovdiv and nearby settlements will have 14 stops The future city railway of Plovdiv will have fourteen stops. This was agreed upon by the members of the working group at a meeting that took place this week, announced the Asenovgrad municipality. Representatives of local authorities from the region and the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI) participate in the working group. The large-scale urban railway project for Plovdiv and nearby settlements will be implemented in two stages. One is the construction of the inner ring in and around Plovdiv, and the other - the outer ring foresees the inclusion of the industrial zones near the city. The implementation of the project has been assigned to NK?I. Funding will come from various sources, mainly from the "Transport Connectivity" program 2021 - 2027, the "Connected Europe" mechanism, the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, public and private funds. Currently, BGN 250 million have been secured from the European funds, but preliminary estimates show that they will not be enough.
Source: mediapool.bg (10.03.2023)

NRIC wants to restore the railway line from Yambol to the Turkish border The National Railway Infrastructure Company is taking the first step to improve the border railway crossing between Bulgaria and Turkey. For this purpose, the benefits and costs of the restoration of the Yambol-Elhovo railway line, as well as its extension to Lesovo and the Turkish border, will be studied. A public procurement has already been launched for the preparation of a pre-investment study, which should analyze different options for the route. The idea is that the railway line serves not only cargo but also passenger traffic. After the pre-investment study, a conceptual and technical project will be prepared, and only then will an order for future construction be approached.
Source: economic.bg (21.03.2023)

More intermodal terminals to be built in Bulgaria The intermodal terminal near Plovdiv is the first one built with European funding under OP Transport 2007-2013. "At the beginning of 2018, a rapid increase in cargo traffic through it began," said Eng. Georgi Uzunov - project manager, station complexes and terminal. Thus, within a year, 25,000 trailers were transported through the intermodal terminal. The aim of the project is to improve intermodality by creating conditions for optimal interaction and integration of different modes of transport. With funds from various European financial instruments, such as the Transport Connectivity Programme 2021-2027 and the Recovery and Development Plan, the construction of at least several more terminals is already planned. The next terminal for which funding has been approved is the one in Ruse. "There is a strategic location - the Danube. It also covers the North-South corridor, which will be promising in view of the war in Ukraine," Eng. Uzunov. A novelty in this programming period under the Transport Connectivity Programme 2021-2027 is that a scheme to support intermodal operators will be announced in autumn this year. National Railway Infrastructure Company plans the next terminals to be in Sofia, Vidin, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Varna and Burgas. The benefits of intermodal transport are dozens. "The idea is ship - train - truck, but truck to be used for the short distances," said the executive director of a freight transport company, Eng. Lyubomir Garchev. dnes.bg
Source: Other (23.03.2023)

NRIC will not give a concession to the central station in Plovdiv and will manage the hotel there From July 2022, NRIC also carries out tourist activities, managing the three-star hotel located at the central railway station in Plovdiv. It was built by the former concessionaire Mirolyub Stolarski and his "Karat-S" as part of the now terminated concession for the railway terminal. Pursuant to the agreement between the state and the company "Railway Station - Plovdiv", through which Stolarski managed the railway station, the hotel became state-owned, and compensation in the amount of BGN 12.88 million was paid to the former concessionaire. It is for "the improvements made by him in the object of the concession", is stated in decision 464 of July 11, 2022 of the Council of Ministers, by which the concession was terminated by mutual agreement, effective from July 1 of the same year. The fate of the building, whose idea was to be a passenger hotel for users of the bus station and railway station, remained unclear. NK?I reveals that the hotel has not stopped working, but its employees have been rehired by the state enterprise. The station in Plovdiv will no longer be granted a concession. The enterprise provided information that it "is not included as a potential object for awarding a concession in the action plan for state concessions".
Source: Capital (21.04.2023)

The salaries of the heads of the state forestry companies reached nearly 15,000 BGN Forest officials at the top of the state forest enterprises overshadowed the best IT specialists in the country in terms of salaries. The salaries of forest chiefs already reach BGN 15,000 and are nearly 20 percent higher than the average salaries paid in 2022. The increases come after at the beginning of February this year, the official authority of Rumen Radev removed the salary limit on the boards of 17 state-owned enterprises, among which are "Bulgarian Sports Totalizer", National Company "Railway Infrastructure", "Port Infrastructure", Air Traffic Management (RVD), "Radioactive waste", "Management and management of dams" and the forest enterprises in question and others.
Source: mediapool.bg (09.05.2023)

The government disposed of properties The government provided free of charge the management of 17 properties - public state property - to the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI). They are located on the territory of Hrabarsko village, Bozhurishte municipality, Sofia region. This will allow the implementation of the national object "Modernization of the railway line Sofia - Dragoman - Serbian border". With another decision, the government provided free of charge the management of 16 properties - public state property - to the National Railway Infrastructure Company. They are located on the territory of Belozem village, Rakovski municipality, Plovdiv region. The provision of the properties will enable the rehabilitation of the railway section Plovdiv - Burgas and the construction of new overpasses and underpasses.
Source: Black sea (12.05.2023)

OLAF: Bulgaria to return 38 million euros of European funding for a railway project The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) announced that it wants Bulgaria to return the 38 million euros granted to it for an approved railway project, for which the European funding is about 140 million euros. OLAF insists that the remaining EUR 92 million from the project should not be provided to the country. The reason is irregularities found during the procedure for awarding the public contract and during the implementation of the project. The project is for the modernization of the railway line between Kostenets and Septemvri, part of the railway line between Sofia and Plovdiv, which is partly financed by the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and the Environment. OLAF calls on the Agency to follow up and implement its recommendations for the return of the funds and the suspension of the rest of them. Another rail project worth an additional ˆ111 million is also under investigation. The second project is for the modernization of the railway section between Orizovo and Mihailovo - part of the rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure between Plovdiv and Burgas. The financing of 111 million euros is from the Cohesion Fund and the "Transport" and "Transport Infrastructure" operational programs. The beneficiary of both projects is the National Railway Infrastructure Company, and the construction contracts were awarded to two private companies with international participation.
Source: 24 chasa (24.08.2023)

Maria Genova is the new general director of NRIC Maria Genova replaces Zlatin Krumov as general director of the National Railway Infrastructure Company. Until now, she held the position of deputy. General Director "Strategy and Administration" in the state company. Kamen Dikov became the Chairman of the Board and an independent member, and Vasko Balabanov was appointed as a member of the Board. The reasons for the change of management are the huge delays in all railway infrastructure projects. The state-owned company employs 10,733 people. For the past year, the company had revenues in the amount of BGN 576.4 million, with 80% of them coming from state financing and the sale of assets.
Source: Capital (21.09.2023)

A system of the latest generation will plan the management of trains in the country A system of the latest generation will plan the management of trains in the country, reports the Ministry of Transport. The train operation management system (TMS) was implemented by the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI). The project for the design and implementation of a train operation management system at NK?I is financed by the Operational Program "Transport and Transport Infrastructure" 2014 - 2020. The value of the project is BGN 7,196,900. The executor of the activities is DZZD "RailTechnoIEMS". The merger includes "Innovative Maritime Solutions" (53.28%) and "TechnoLogica" (46.72%). They won the auction after remaining the only participant in it with a price of BGN 5,779,000 excluding VAT. The software is expected to be put into operation in December 2023 and will be of great benefit to both NRI employees and railway carriers, who will be able to easily plan their shipments and receive inquiries at any time. This will allow more efficient planning of railway infrastructure capacity and automated calculation of infrastructure charges, which is of great benefit to business.
Source: news.bg (02.10.2023)

Property expropriated for the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway, the state gives land for the Plovdiv-Burgas railway line Properties and parts of properties - private property, necessary for the construction of the highway "Ruse - Veliko Tarnovo" to be expropriated, the government decided. The properties to be expropriated are in the villages of Obretenik, Borovo municipality; Beltsov, Tsenovo municipality; Sturmen, Veliko Tarnovo municipality. Byala; Polsko Kosovo; and Peychinovo village, Byala municipality, Ruse region. The Road Infrastructure Agency is responsible for the compensation of the owners. The decision may be appealed before the administrative court at the location of the properties within 14 days of its notification to the interested parties in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Code. The Cabinet granted the National Railway Infrastructure Company the management of 36 properties - public state property. They are located on the territory of the village of. Bezmer, s. Kabile, s. Zavoj, Tundja municipality, Yambol region. This will allow the implementation of the national project "Removal of level crossings and construction of overpasses/underpasses for the railway section Plovdiv - Burgas", of the project "Rehabilitation of the railway line Plovdiv - Burgas, Phase 2".
Source: 24 chasa (19.10.2023)

The modernization of the Elin Pelin - Kostenets railway line is entering a new phase The modernization of the Elin Pelin - Kostenets railway line, which is part of the Sofia - Plovdiv route, reached another important moment with the foundation stone laying ceremony, which took place on October 30, 2023 in Ihtiman. The project will become part of the longest network of tunnels on the Balkan Peninsula. In September, the work on digging another tunnel along the route was completed. It is a tunnel with a length of 579 meters, which is located between Ikhtiman and Kostenets. In March of this year, a tunnel facility with a length of 1 kilometer was completely excavated from end to end in the section between Elin Pelin and Vaccarel. In total, 13 tunnels should be built along the entire line, with 8 of them being actively worked on. The value of the entire project is BGN 1.3 billion, and the funds are provided by OP "Transport and Transport Infrastructure" 2014-2020. The route is divided into several sections - lot 1 includes the section between Elin ?elin and Ba?apel, where the construction of the tunnels. The contractor is the Turkish company DZZD "Jen-Dui Railway Elin Pelin". The value of the contract is BGN 498.8 million excluding VAT. Lot 2, the modernization of which will cost over BGN 113.6 million excluding VAT, is between Ba?apel and Ixtiman. The third and last lot includes the plot between Ixtiman and Koctenets. Its construction began in September last year. The contractor is the "Strabag GP Rail 2017" consortium, including the companies "Strabag AG - branch Bulgaria", Strabag Sp.z.o.o. - Bulgaria branch, Strabak Rail GmbH and GP Group AD. The value of the construction contract is over BGN 394.5 million without VAT.
Source: economic.bg (07.11.2023)