Council of Ministers Signed the Contract for Purchase of 35 Electric Trains for Bulgarian State Railways

The Council of Ministers signed the contract for the purchase of 35 electric trains for BDZ (Bulgarian State Railways). The agreement was signed on behalf of the government by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadzhov.

The contract was awarded to the "BULEMU" Consortium, which includes the French company Alstom. The project is part of the investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

"Each train consists of six carriages and has a capacity of 351 seats. This is the largest order in the last 20 years and the biggest investment in railway rolling stock. Bulgaria hasn't renewed its rolling stock in a long time; there have been numerous complaints and issues with overcrowding. We are working to make rail transport more attractive and safer. Just three months ago, this investment seemed impossible. I want to thank the European Commission for showing flexibility and making it possible for Bulgaria to acquire the first 12 trains with 100% funding from EU resources," said Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Grozdan Karadzhov.

"I don't know whether this marks the end of a long and complex process, or the beginning of another one. We just caught the last train—not to miss out on Recovery and Resilience Plan funds and to secure 35 trains, 12 of which are financed through the Plan. The pressure now lies on the operational capacity of Bulgarian institutions. The Ministry of Transport has demonstrated that it has this capacity. What was missing until now was political will. Difficult tasks lie ahead—related to the beneficiaries, restructuring the railway system, and ensuring the timely delivery of the trains. This will require strong cooperation with social partners, and we are committed to reforming the process and meeting public expectations. We now have a real chance to modernise the country’s railway infrastructure, but this also requires a clear, new business model. We should not rest on the laurels of a signed contract," stated Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

"I should first mention that we are the largest company in Europe and the world. No one has pre-produced units available. These trains have not yet been manufactured," said Gabriel Stancu, Managing Director of Alstom Transport for Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova.

"The penalties under this contract are severe—up to 40%. To convince such a giant to make this kind of gesture for Bulgaria, and for the European Commission to follow suit and agree to pay for the portion that will be implemented—was like threading a needle. That’s why I say this was an impossible investment. We gave clear guarantees for reforms. We provided a strict timeline for implementation. We’ll be sending them the concept for the public service contract," added Grozdan Karadzhov.

Photos by Dessislava Kulelieva