Bulgaria can use and borrow from the successful Czech experience in the liberalization of railway services. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov after his meeting with the Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic Martin Kupka in Prague. The two ministers discussed the development of the railway sector, modernization and future reforms in the public transport systems of both countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Karadzhov emphasized the excellent partnership of the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport with the company “Škoda”. “We are completely satisfied with what we saw yesterday at the production facilities. We expect the new 25 trains to arrive in Bulgaria on time - in stages from January to August this year. They are extremely necessary, because our country is currently experiencing a serious shortage of rolling stock“, he noted.
For his part, Minister Kupka stated that the Czech Republic attaches strategic importance to railway transport and has companies and technologies that can offer the highest quality to its partners, including Bulgaria.
Deputy Prime Minister Karadzhov emphasized the fact that opening the railway sector in our country to competition is key to improving the quality of passenger service. “In two days, the deadline for submitting proposals for the procedure for awarding railway transport for the next 12 years expires. By mid-December, we will know who the selected operators are. We have one year until the new contracts enter into force, and during this period it is important to prepare for competition and the challenges that will arise from liberalization“, said Karadzhov. He stressed that over the next 12 months, Bulgaria must develop and implement effective mechanisms for controlling the quality of railway services in an open market, including clear indicators of efficiency and passenger comfort.
Minister Kupka also presented the Czech model of train management. In the Czech Republic, regional railway services are commissioned and controlled by regional authorities, while the Ministry of Transport is responsible for long-distance trains. Among the key quality indicators, he said, are the reduction of delays and the provision of good connections between different modes of transport.
Minister Kupka welcomed Bulgaria's active policy in the field of transport. The two ministers discussed the Czech experience in opening the railway market, including in terms of regulation, control and organization of services.
Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov paid special attention to the need for good synchronization between different modes of transport. “Our goal is to achieve excellent coordination between all transport services,“ he pointed out. Karadjov also presented the Bulgarian model for a unified ticketing system, enshrined in the new Public Transport Act. “We will create unified legislation for all modes of transport, operating under a common national transport scheme, which is the basis for a fairer and more sustainable public transport“, he added. The minister stressed that as a result of fragmented or non-working legislation, over 700 settlements in Bulgaria have been left without public transport to date.
For his part, Minister Kupka explained that the Czech Republic has a unified ticketing system for all railway operators, but the different organization of bus transport remains a challenge — the country operates 13 separate ticketing systems in 14 regions. He added that the Czech Republic is second in Europe in terms of investments in transport infrastructure relative to GDP and continues to work for integration between all modes of transport.
During his visit to the Czech Republic, Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadzhov held meetings with the national railway carrier “České dráhy”, as well as with representatives of Leo Expess and Arriva - private companies that perform public railway service contracts in the Czech Republic.