On the air of the program “Wake up” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport in resignation Grozdan Karadjov outlined a “road map” for the modernization of Bulgarian railways. According to him, the first tangible changes for passengers will begin in the spring of this year, with the ultimate goal being to turn the train into a preferred and punctual transport by 2029.
Karadzhov announced that the introduction of new rolling stock - trains - will begin in April. “By the end of the summer, we will have 34 new trains that will run to the main destinations in the country”, he pointed out. The full renovation, including a total of 60 new trains, is expected to be completed by June 2027.
Grozdan Karadjov signed the contracts for passenger rail transport in the country
The minister emphasized that in order for the trains to be punctual and fast, large-scale repairs on over 40 sections of the railway network must be completed. According to his forecasts, these activities will be completed in 2029.
The main emphasis of the conversation was the chronic underfunding of the sector. Karadjov presented graphs according to which the subsidy in Bulgaria is currently between 5 and 6 euros per train-kilometer, while in Austria it is 16.7 euros.
“The reform that we started with the signing of the new public service contracts envisages the subsidy increasing to 9 euros in 2027 - this is an increase of 50%”, he explained. According to him, this funding will allow not just survival, but investments in comfort, security and higher salaries for employees.
Regarding ticket prices, Karadjov assured that control remains with the ministry. “The price of the ticket will not rise sharply. The minister is the one who has the last word”, he added.
The resigning minister gave high marks to “Bulgarian Posts” for their handling of the currency exchange process. So far, over 186 million leva have passed through the post offices, and over 133,000 citizens have been served. “The post offices turned out to be soldiers. They managed without a single serious problem in a total of 2,300 stations”, Karadjov pointed out.
Asked about the tragedy in the “Petrohan” hut, Karadjov expressed shock at what had happened. He questioned how a private structure was allowed to perform “paramilitary functions” and how one person was issued permits for such a large number of weapons. “This is simply inexplicable to me and I hope the institutions will release all the information”, he said.
Grozdan Karadjov said that he expects the assessment of his work to be made by the people. He emphasized that the proposed changes will make the profession of a railway worker more attractive and will lead to a 25% increase in salaries in the sector.
Watch the entire conversation in the video.
Source: nova.bg