Key Bulgarian Railroad Hubs Modernized with EU Funds

The central railroad station in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and those in the Black Sea city of Burgas and the southern city of Pazardzhik will be renovated with EU funds.

The news was reported by Transport Minister, Ivaylo Moskovski, who said that the public tenders will be announced within a month.

EUR 40 M from the European Union's operational program Transport will be used to repair and refurbish the buildings of railroad stations on the path of the so-called railway highway Trakiya in southern Bulgaria, which is in the stage of being modernized so that trains can move with a speed of 160 km/h.

If there is remaining money after the tenders, new ones will be launched and the next railroad station on the repair list will be the one in the southern city of Stara Zagora, according to Moskovski.

The initial announcement was that funding will be slated only for the Sofia railroad hub.

The addition of three more stations to the list became possible after Bulgaria managed to convince the European Commission that it is normal, when investing billions in the modernization of the tracks, to also modernize key stations for the benefit of passengers.

The State-owned Railway Company BDZ Holding has received notification from Brussels that it will be included as a beneficiary under the Transport program as early as the current planning period.

Moskovski says this will allow BDZ to also prepare a plan for the purchase of new trains in 2014.

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