Rail transport in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's interim Transport Minister Nikolina Angelkova has replaced members of Holding BDZ and Sofia Airport, her ministry has announced.

The statement [BG] reads that Filip Aleksiev, Financial Director of Holding BDZ, has been appointed member of the Board of Directors, while Orlin Dinev has been dismissed.

The European Commission has authorized state aid for the restructuring of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) company, according to a letter of the Directorate-General for Competition to the caretaker Transport Minister Nikolina Angelkova.

Bulgaria’s caretaker transport and communications minister Nikolina Angelkova has replaced the CEO of the state-run postal service and the board chairman of railway company BDZ.

Stanislav Dochev, who has been with Bulgarian Posts since 2010, was appointed as the company's CEO, the ministry said in a statement.

Bulgarian caretaker Transport Minister Nikolina Angelkova has vowed to fast-track work on the Parvomai-Svilengrad railway line.

Bulgaria may lose EU funding of BGN 24M under the "Transport" Operational Program, according to Nikolina Angelkova, caretaker Transport Minister.

Angelkova announced that she had received a preliminary audit report from the European Commission on Friday and that her team had two months to correct the errors in infrastructure projects to reduce the amount which EC could cut.

Creditors of national carrier Bulgarian State Raliways (BDZ) are due to meet Deputy Prime Minister Daniela Bobeva on Tuesday to discuss the fate of the company.

International lenders are expected to elaborate on their refusal to slash Holding BDZ's debt by 30%, Bulgarian daily Standart reports.

Transport Minister Danail Papazov announced German railway company Deutsche Bahn could step in the management of troubled Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ).

A train went off the tracks between the Chumerna and Gavrailovo stations in Sliven Municipality, in the east of Bulgaria.

There were only goods wagons in the composition, and nobody was left injured, national carrier Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) announced in a message.

The incident at 14:15 EEST (12:15 GMT) is the second in which a train derails in less than 24 hours.

Transport Minister Danail Papazov has said it will take five to seven years to raise the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) "back on their feet".

He added the state was waiting for approval from Brussels to grant some BGN 170 M (EUR 85 M) to the cash-stripped railway company, which is still struggling to deliver on its debts accumulated prior to Bulgaria's accession into the EU.

Bulgaria's State Railways company (BDZ) has recorded losses of BGN 21,279,000 for the first half of 2014 only.

In 2013, the holding saw losses of nearly BGN 9M, and in 2012 – some BGN 29,576,000, the Minister of Transport Danail Papazov announced at a press conference on Thursday, BGNES informs.