Railways - support in traditions and the will for change

 

On the morning of 24th November in front of the Transport Museum in Rousse, the Transport Minister, Petar Mutafchiev, opened the celebration of the 140th anniversary of the commissioning of the Rousse - Varna railway line and the 40th anniversary of the Museum itself. During the ceremony, Minister Mutafchiev presented awards to 14 railway veterans, who have made a particular contribution towards the development of railway museum activities. A working meeting dedicated to the forthcoming restructuring of BDZ EAD and NRIC commenced immediately after the celebration. The meeting was attended by the directors of the central and regional subdivisions, as well as the Chief Accountants of the two companies, representatives of the trade unions and the Scientific and Technical Transport Tnion. The top managers of BDZ EAD, Oleg Petkov, and of NRIC, Anton Ginev, presented their particular projects for the restructuring of the national railway system. The presentations highlighted such important aspects as market orientation, management streamlining, technological development, security and the enhancement of the quality of railway services. It is envisaged that within BDZ EAD there will be three main subdivisions: for freight and passenger services, as well as for traction rolling stock. The “Publications” subdivision and the Centre for Professional Training preserve their current status. The new subdivisions will be financially independent and will be provided with the necessary information and dispatching units. In its turn, the management of NRIC proposes to establish four central subdivisions for traffic management, permanent way and installations, energy and telecommunications. Further to that, on a central level there will be four blocks: operational, controlling, strategic and administrative. According to the Director General of the company, Anton Ginev, particular attention will be given to the activity of the strategic block, which will play a key role in the utilisation of European funds allocated for the implementation of infrastructure projects in our country. These changes will not result in any downsizing but should by all means lead to the optimisation of the administrative staff in the two companies.