Nearly 50% of the railway lines in the country are served by “Siemens“ trains, whose maintenance remains without a permanent solution due to a six-month-long appeal of the public procurement for the start of the selection of a contractor. The management of “BDZ Holding“ warned about the critical situation EAD and BDZ-Passenger Transportation during a meeting with the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev and Deputy Minister Tsveta Timeva.
Among the main topics of the conversation were the shortage of wagons, the poor condition of the rolling stock, the non-working air conditioners and the problems in passenger service.
“The situation is unacceptable. There can be no compromises with the safety and quality of the service“, said Minister Peev and insisted on urgent measures within a week, specific solutions and constant control over their implementation.
Immediately after the meeting, the Minister and the Deputy Minister conducted an on-site inspection by boarding a “Siemens“ train from Sofia Central Station as regular passengers. During the inspection, delays and difficulties in the modernization of the Sofia railway junction and the Sofia – Voluyak and Sofia – sections were reported. Elin Pelin.
A personal look at everyday life on the railways was also given by the conductor Petya, who talked about her work and shared that it was BDZ that met her with her husband - also a conductor. Georgi Peev and Tsveta Timeva also spoke with random passengers, who talked about the challenges they face traveling by train.
“One of the first things every transport minister does is to get on a train and see for himself what the conditions and problems of passengers and employees at BDZ are. Offices cannot show the real situation“, commented Peev.