Bulgarian Railways Resort to GPS to Combat Fuel Theft

Dozens of railway workers get fired in Bulgaria each year for stealing diesel from BDZ locomotives to supplant their income. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Transport Ministry has resorted to installing GPS devices on locomotives to counter the theft of diesel by railway workers, which traditionally incurs substantial losses to the state-owned company BDZ.

Bulgarian Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov presented Thursday the GPS system installed on all 138 diesel locomotives in Bulgaria.

While the major railway routes in the country are electrified, many of the routes of secondary importance are not, and a number of underpaid railway workers resort to stealing diesel from the locomotives that they then sell to make additional income.

The precise losses incurred to state-owned railway company BDZ from fuel theft in 2010 are unknown but estimates show that between 200 and 500 liters of diesel are stolen each month.

The BDZ company supplies about 1400 tons of diesel monthly to its locomotives; in 2010 alone it paid BGN 26 M for diesel.

A total of 29 railway workers were fired in 2010 for stealing diesel from locomotives, and 37 others received disciplinary punishments. Five other workers have been sacked for the same crime since the start of 2011.

The GPS system for diesel locomotives will cost BDZ a total of BGN 229 000, which will be paid in 12 equal installments without additional charges. It will provide information to a control center every 30 seconds about the movement of the locomotives, their fuel consumption, and the amount of fuel in each locomotive tank.

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