Bulgaria's State Railways begin renewal of the train fleet

All 20 Škoda electric multiple units purchased under Bulgaria's Recovery and Resilience Plan have now arrived in the country. They are expected to be officially handed over to the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) on August 5, ahead of schedule, and will enter regular service in Western Bulgaria from August 10, replacing the oldest trains currently in operation, built between 1969 and 1980.

The announcement was made on social media by Simeon Stavrev, a member of the Transport Committee at the Sofia Municipal Council.

The introduction of the new rolling stock will lead to a nationwide redistribution of trains. Siemens electric multiple units, delivered in 2007 and 2008, are expected to be reassigned to Northern Bulgaria after nearly two decades of service in the southern part of the country, Stavrev wrote.

Over the coming months, the Bulgarian Railways Company also expected to receive five additional Škoda electric multiple units under the Transport Connectivity Programme.

At the same time, Alstom trainsets will gradually be introduced for longer-distance services linking Sofia with Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Burgas and Vidin.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov