Just days after the new electric trains began carrying passengers across Bulgaria, one of them was scratched with spray paint at the Blagoevgrad station, Nova TV reports.
Even when the railcars were launched, the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev called on people to protect them. The department has already filed a report with the competent authorities to identify the perpetrators.
The railcar, which was the subject of the vandalism, has already been taken out of service and will be handed over to "Skoda" for cleaning. It is not yet clear how much this will cost.
“The incident occurred on the night of August 18-19. We have currently held working meetings and talks with representatives of the Ministry of Interior. Patrols will be positioned in the area of the stations, where trains remain in the dark part of the day, and BDZ employees will also conduct patrols,” said the director of the Bulgarian Railways and "Operational Activities" Anatoly Atanasov.
There is video surveillance in the trains themselves and in the event of vandalism, the law enforcement agencies are immediately informed.
For NOVA, the Ministry of Interior-Blagoevgrad stated that no signal has been submitted to start an investigation to identify the perpetrator. And there is no video surveillance installed at the Blagoevgrad station. Nevertheless, BDZ is taking measures to protect the new locomotives.