2024-03-28 10:33:53
The Cabinet assigned the Minister of Transport to carry out the procedure for public transport by rail
The Council of Ministers adopted a decision on Wednesday to conduct a procedure for selecting a carrier for public rail transport, including passenger transport throughout the country.
The Government assigns the Minister of Transport and Communications to conduct the procedure in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement and in compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2007, the government press release states.
It is planned that the contract for the performance of passenger transport will be concluded for a period of 15 years, starting from January 1, 2025. In the event that the conclusion of the public service contract leads to a change of the operator, the transfer of the rights and obligations of the workers and the employees employed by the current operator and compliance with certain social standards for all personnel involved in the provision of the public transport service.
The terms of the order will include requirements for duration, regularity, capacity and quality of the offered service, as well as the order for their reporting. The execution of the order will be carried out with rolling stock provided by the state, as well as with its own trains, under the conditions and order specified in the documentation for the public order.
The current contract for public transport of passengers by train was won by BDZ in 2009. Under it, the state railway carrier received a subsidy of BGN 170 million. It expired at the end of the year.
Months ago “24 Chasa” asked railway experts about the procedure and they admitted that for the first time in 135 years a competitor of BDZ could appear.
On October 25 last year, Plovdiv’s PIMK Rail received the first license for a private passenger rail carrier from the Railway Administration. Then one of the owners of PIMK, Penko Nestorov, told “24 Chasa” that they had one year to launch the project and the business plan.
“We are looking at the possibilities for a route on which to launch trains. The main one is Sofia-Burgas, where higher speeds are allowed on completed sections of the railway line, as well as automated train traffic control, which gives greater throughput. Only then it makes sense to invest in new rolling stock,” he added.
Whether PIMK Rail will participate in the competition for a railway passenger carrier depends on what the order will be. Then the company commented that if it is for the entire network, then hardly anyone can compete with BDZ.
Railway specialists commented that foreign companies may also be included in the competition.