Fri, Feb 10 2012
Photo: Julia Lazarova
Once the overhaul and reconstruction of the Sofia–Vidin line is complete, it will cut travel time to three hours, as the train will be able to reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, shortening the journey to three hours.
Bulgarian Trace and SK 13, Spanish OHL, Greek Terna and Czech Brno are all bidding for the construction of the railway.
Bulgaria's Cabinet approved a new strategy for the development of the country's railways, meant to improve the quality and safety of the service to European Union standards, but at the same time made a big cut in the funding allocated to reach those goals. The draft strategy was submitted by Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev for Cabinet approval in October 2008 and envisioned 6.5 billion leva being spent by 2013.
Another chilling breeze from the global crunch has reached Bulgaria, with the Minister of Transport Petar Moutafchiev announcing on November 20 that the Bulgarian state railways BDZ will make 1250 redundancies in order to unload some of the burden from the company and "optimise its expenses". As a paramount reason for thinning the ranks of BDZ's employees, Moutafchiev pointed out the recent predicament of Kremikovtzi steel plant, which has been declared bankrupt.
How many people are needed to change a 300kg railway track? The answer is six. This takes several hours and involves pickaxes and a great deal of physical exertion from the workers. In effect, this has always been the modus operandi within the Bulgarian railways sector - using working methods dating back to the beginning of the 20th century - as well as a highly inefficient allocation of resources.
Works will be reviewed by a group of judges, and winners will receive certificates and prizes.
Seven arrested, including ‘The Squirrel’ who was found in possession of 10 00 euro, Interior Ministry says. Mobile phones, computer equipment and drug paraphernalia seized.
Maximum temperatures across the country will remain mostly below zero.
The first tremor was at about 12.34am, followed by another three minutes later. Their epicentres were located between the towns of Radnevo and Topolovgrad.
There was no risk of blackouts caused by insufficient power supply, Economy Minister Traicho Traikov told Bulgarian National Radio.