BDZ PP News Round-Up

Preparations are being made for the implementation of a contract for the maintenance and overhauls of BDZ PP Desiros (24 EMUs and 22 DMUs) for a period of five years, which BDZ PP signed in December 2019 with Alstom. 

Despite the unexpected problems caused by coronavirus, the depots in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv were modernised between May and September 2020, with an investment of over 1 million BGN (around 511 million EUR). 

At present, only a total of 26 Desiros are in operation. In autumn 2020, Alstom at the Varna depot has already started repairing of four out of six DMUs, which have been out of service for a long time due to poor technical condition and which are to be put back into operation according to the contract.

In early 2021, batch overhauls of the other Desiros will begin. So far, more than 50 employees are involved in these activities and their number is expected to grow.

In addition to the acquisition of Smartrons, BDZ PP continues to acquire more new vehicles. On 20 December 2019, the operator announced tender for 40 long-distance carriages. H. Cegielski - FPS and Astra Vagoane Călători expressed interest, but then there was silence, and BDZ PP did not provide us with information about the status of this tender.

On 3 January 2020, BDZ PP announced tender for 16 intercity EMUs. Alstom Ferroviaria, the STB Trains consortium (members of Siemens Mobility Austria and Siemens Mobility) and the STADLER Consortium (members of Stadler Polska, Stadler Bussnang and Stadler Service) expressed interest in the latter competition. BDZ PP states that the process is now in the phase of direct negotiations with the participants.