Modernisation of major railway lines

 

Prof. Dr. Iordan TASEV, Technical University, Sofia

Dr. Dimitar DICHEV, Technical University, Sofia

Associated Prof. Dr. Milcho LEPOEV, University of Architecture

 

The accession of Bulgaria as a full member of the European Union was welcomed with much joy, and hopes for a better future for the country, including the better future for transport. The fact that railway transport in many European countries is undergoing rapid modernisation gives us the justification to believe that there will be more options for the enhancement of the situation in our national railways. Their future development is the subject of a strategy, but the papers elaborated hitherto do not outline clearly the prospects for the reconstruction of the major railway lines, radiating from Sofia, such as the Sofia-Plovdiv, Sofia-Mezdra and Sofia-Radomir lines. Along these there are a number of speed-restrictive sections with unfavourable parameters in terms of design and profile. Fortunately, these sections lie along international railway corridors, a fact which would facilitate the allocation of funding for their reconstruction.

What has been done hitherto with a view to finding solutions for the problems in the three above-said directions is absolutely insufficient.

A number of foreign companies conducted studies for the reconstruction of Sofia-Plovdiv railway line. None of these studies, though, presents a clear-cut proposal for the solution of the technical problems in the two sections where track parameters are the most unfavourable – namely, Pobit kamak-Vakarel-Verinsko and Kostenets-Belovo.

No significant studies were made on the northbound direction via Mezdra. Currently, attention is re-focused upon the Mezdra-Vidin line, where no transit passenger traffic is expected. Some experts are considering the option of a tunnel under the Petrohan pass, which would reduce the distance from Sofia to Vidin by rail. Their publications, though, do not contain any analyses of the main disadvantage of such a labour- and fund-consuming measure – namely, the fact that the problem with transport services to the cities of Pleven, Rousse, Shoumen and Varna is not solved.

No studies were conducted on the reconstruction of the Sofia-Pernik line either.

Costly reconstruction efforts for the enhancement of speeds along the Plovdiv-Svilengrad, Mezdra-Vidin and Rousse-Kaspichan lines will improve the railway network neither in Northern, not in Southern Bulgaria.

The efforts of our experts should be directed to the solving of technical problems concerning the main railway lines. The topmost problems which demand solution are:

-      conduct a study on the possible higher speed operation of express trains along the gradient of access lines to Vakarel station by means of increasing the line curve radius. To prove unnecessary the boring of a tunnel under the Vakarel hills;

-      which more favourable track parameters, in comparison with the current ones, could be achieved after reconstruction works on the Nemirovo-Kostenets-Belovo section without the necessity of the construction of long tunnels and trestle-bridges?

-      which should be the parameters of a new track alignment via Iskar Gorge so that it could go through tunnels and trestle-bridges of minimum length?

-      which is the maximum speed to be achieved with the reconstruction of the Sofia-Pernik-Radomir railway line, while the track alignment should by all means go via Zaharna fabrika, Gorna banya and the whole of the Pernik agglomeration without the need for a tunnel under the Vladaya elevation?

If there are viable solutions which can be implemented in the foreseeable future for the above problems, it would be much easier to find the financial means for the implementation and proceed with phase-by-phase reconstruction works.

The problems are mainly related to the design alignment of railway track. These are exceedingly serious problems, especially if we bear in mind the hilly and mountainous relief of our country. The steep gradients along our lines take up short sections and are easily overcome with electric traction.

The studies should not imply any restrictions upon design parameters, and the latter should be considered in the broadest possible range. Of course, options which do not envisage the achievement of speeds under 130 km/h should not be considered.

The new solution options should be compared to the so called ‘zero option’, which does not envisage any reconstruction. This particular option could be recommended only if it turns out that all realistic possibilities for the finding of an expedient solution and for the funding of its practical implementation have been exhausted.

 

 

In Brief

 

Tender for the overhaul of 1200 freight wagons

BDZ EAD opened a public procurement procedure for the selection of a contractor to overhaul 1 200 freight wagons owned by the national railway carrier. The term for the submission of bids is 13th July. The overhaul and modernisation of the freight wagons should be implemented within ten months of the selection of the contractor.

 

BGN36 000 for a railway section clean-up

The municipal council of Sofia has allocated BGN36 000 for the cleaning of illegal garbage tips along the section of the international railway line from Sofia to Koulata, located at the Fakulteta residential area in the capital city. The tip area extends over 0.9 hectare and the volume of the garbage is about 1 500 cubic metres. The cleaning up will be implemented jointly by the Municipality and NRIC.

 

Additional trains for the summer season

As of 15th June 2007, Bulgarian State Railways EAD launched additional trains along some routes to the seaside port of Bourgas. Two additional night trains will operate between Sofia and Bourgas with the following times: fast train 8687 will depart from Sofia at 23:00 and will arrive in Bourgas at 06:58; and fast train 8686 will depart from Bourgas at 22:35 and will arrive in Sofia at 06:28.

There will be additional passenger coaches on the Plovdiv Bourgas Plovdiv route. BDZ provided an additional couchette coach to Bourgas for customers from South-Eastern Bulgaria. The coach will depart from Petrich at 16:43 and will arrive in Bourgas at 06:58. In the return direction the coach will depart from Bourgas at 22:35 and will arrive in Petrich at 12:17. The additional trains and coaches will operate till 30th September.

 

Minister Mutachiev meets Minister Wittke

On 4th June, the Minister of Transport, Petar Mutafchiev, received the Minister of Construction and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Oliver Wittke. The two ministers discussed the Bulgarian Governmental programme for infrastructure, as well as the progress of some transport projects of common interest, the possible Bulgarian-German joint participation in bidding procedures and the development of railway transport in general. Minister Wittke also met the top managers of BDZ EAD and NRIC, Oleg Petkov and Anton Ginev. Among the members of the German delegation were representatives of the business sector in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, who intend to submit bids to the tenders for the renovation of the Bulgarian railway network. During the meetings, the two parties discussed the possible procurement of “second-hand” German coaches for the needs of BDZ, as well as future cooperation in the spheres of telecommunications and energy.

 

Trainee railwaymen win Internet competition

The Nikola Vaptsarov railway transport secondary school in Gorna Oryahovitsa is the first Bulgarian school to win an international Internet competition. The railway secondary school came first in the category “Personal Space Protection”. The award-winning project of the young trainee railwaymen was titled “Modern means of communication and our personal space”. Two hundred schools from over 40 countries took part in the competition.

 

Temporary suspension of couchettes to and from Rousse

As of 14th June, the couchettes included in train compositions between Rousse and Sodia and Rousse and Momchilgrad have been temporarily suspended. These couchettes were reallocated to the train compositions to Varna and Bourgas to cope with the higher passenger flow to the Black Sea coast during the summer season.

 

Minister Mutafchiev takes part in CMT meeting

The Minister of Transport, Petar Mutafchiev, took part in the meeting of the Council of EU Ministers of Transport, Telecommunications and Energy. The meeting was held on 7th and 8th June in Luxembourg. At the time of the forum, Minister Mutafchiev held a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

 

BDZ-DB joint venture

BDZ EAD and the German railways (DB AG) are discussing the possible establishment of a joint venture for passenger coaches, and plan the joint operations of passenger services. It is common knowledge that in April 2006 BDZ EAD and DB AG signed a memorandum for cooperation. Modern automatics at Gorna Oryahovitsa station, the installation of a modern automatic system at Gorna Oryahovitsa railway station are planned to take place by end-2007. The project will be implemented by Balkan SAST Ltd. and according to the company’s Executive Director, Ivan Kovachev, the project costs amount to about EUR5 million. This is the last phase of the modernisation of the large railway junctions in Northern Bulgaria.

 

Direct coaches from Bourgas to Europe

BDZ EAD has launched direct passenger coaches from Bourgas to various European destinations such as Thessalonica, Athens, Bucharest, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Kiev, Moscow, Lvov, Vienna and Ljubljana. Passengers travelling in groups of five or more will benefit from a 20% discount. Children between 4 and 12 years old travel with 50% discount.

 

NASRTE Conference in Rousse

The National Association “Society of Railway track engineers” (NASRTE) has held a conference in Rousse on 7th-9th June on “Railway Infrastructure Projects – problems and implementation”. There were three main sections: the regulatory basis for the implementation of railway infrastructure projects; project progress with a view to the utilisation of EU Cohesion Funds, and large infrastructure projects. Within these sections, the conference participants discussed the reconstruction of Plovdiv-Svilengrad line, the construction of Danube Bridge 2, the construction of an intermodal terminal in Sofia, etc. The forum was organised with the support of NRIC, Transstroi Rousse, Evrotransproekt Ltd, FCC Constructions SA, SE TCR, etc. In their presentations during the sessions and discussions, NASRTE members expressed their concerns about the tendency for delays in the preparation and implementation of railway infrastructure projects. They formulated several major problems, such as the inadequate legislative framework and the lack of provisions on certain cases in the technical regulatory documents; the clumsy procedures under the Public Procurement Law and those for land alienation; the lack of commitment on the part of local authorities; the low motivation of personnel and the lack of qualified staff in the spheres of project design, management and implementation; the ambiguous and incomplete terms of reference; the risk of insufficient financial means for the thorough and high-quality implementation of the projects. It was decided that NASRTE will come up with a proposal for legislative changes, the elaboration of new, as well as the updating of the existing specialised technical documents, the provision of relevant technical and administrative information for the enhancement of qualification and commitment of NASRTE members to enable the association to unite their efforts in the sphere of design, construction and operations with a view to the successful implementation of the infrastructure strategy.

 

A new level-crossing in Graf Ignatievo

A new level-crossing, equipped with a modern warning system, has been built in front of the airbase in Graf Ignatievo. The project costs amount to BGN300 000. The new level-crossing, which will facilitate the traffic to all settlements on the municipal territory, was opened by the Mayor of Maritsa Municipality, Zapryan Dachev, and the Commander-in-Chief of the airbase, General Rumen Radev.

 

Measures to curtail theft of railway elements

According to the Minister of Transport, Petar Mutafchiev, it is necessary that his ministry, in conjunction with the Ministries of the Interior and of Finance, should elaborate a package of measures to solve the problem of the theft of railway elements. The Minister considers that one of the possible solutions is to terminate the contracts with the scrap-metal trading companies whose premises are on the territory of the railway infrastructure.

 

Landslide between Radevtsi and Krustets

On 19th June, rail traffic along the line section between Radevtsi and Krustets was temporarily cancelled due to a landslide over the track. The landslide also tore the catenary wire. The emergency teams of NRIC undertook emergency action to restore train traffic. Meanwhile, Bulgarian State Railways provided a diesel locomotive to haul trains on this line section until the catenary wire was repaired.

 

Dismantling of obsolete track

The Municipality of Plovdiv and the NRIC have signed a protocol for the dismantling of obsolete track, which had been laid parallel to road infrastructure. Among the track sections to be dismantled are the section between Todor Kableshkov and the control point att Krastovishte, as well as the line between Skutare and Graf Ignatievo. The 400-metre-long line section between Trakiya and Krumovo will also be dismantled. Initial forecasts show that BGN60 000 will be necessary for the execution of the relevant works. The funds will be allocated by the Municipal Council of Plovidv.

 

BDZ EAD signs Collective Labour Agreement

On 19th June, the Executive Director of BDZ EAD, Oleg Petkov, signed the new Collective Labour Agreement with the trade unions. The signing of the agreement was preceded by difficult negotiations, which had lasted for three months. Finally, the parties reached a common position on the ratio between the lowest and the highest salary in the company, the initial salary for operational staff, the food allowances which are already included in the remuneration, as well as on the introduction of a system for the assessment of positions and work places, and a strategy for HR management. It was decided that when the financial forecasts and plans for each new fiscal year are elaborated, provision should be made for an increase in the remuneration of the company’s personnel in relation to the inflation rate, the increase of insurance charges and the enhancement of labour productivity.

 

Plovdiv wants ownership of Plovdiv Freight Yard

The municipal authorities in Plovdiv have put forward the concept that it should acquire for free the ownership rights of Plovdiv Freight Yard. The land lot covers an area of about 6 hectares and is currently owned by NRIC. The Municipality has proposed the construction of a business centre there. If the Government validates the proposal for the transfer of ownership rights, the land lot will be sold, and one of the obligatory conditions to be imposed before the future investor will be the covering of a part of NRIC’s financial liabilities.

 

Passenger bridge over the railway line in Lovech

The Mayor of Lovech, Milcho Kazandjiev, proposed the construction of a passenger bridge over the railway line at the railway station. Currently, the residents of the neighbouring Mladost residential area pass directly across the lines as the existing underpass is practically unfit to use. The Mayor issued an order for the cleaning and reconstruction of the underpass.

 

Direct trains between Varna and Moscow

BDZ EAD has launched supplementary trains between Varna and Moscow to cope with the higher tourist flow during the summer season. The trains from Moscow run every day (except Monday and Saturday) and arrive at 06:15 and depart from Varna in the return direction at 22:40. The return ticket costs BGN350.

 

Minister Mutafchiev congratulates transport workers

On the occasion of the professional holiday of the transport workers, which is marked on 24th June, the Minister of Transport, Petar Mutafchiev, sent a congratulatory address to all workers in the transport sector. In his address the Minister highlighted the fact that in 2007, the reform was launched in Bulgarian railways which had been postponed on a number of occasions over the last 15 years. The implementation of the difficult task of restructuring the two railway companies and attracting investors to the railway sector had also started. According to Minister Mutafchiev, the recent period will be remembered for the launching of construction work on Danube Bridge 2 , as well as for the launching of the other large infrastructure projects of national importance: Plovdiv-Svilengrad; six projects for the modernisation of the railway infrastructure and port terminals in Varna and Bourgas.

 

Railway projects in Pernik region

According to the Governor of the Pernik region, Ivan Dimitrov, the region had already started the implementation of the REVITA project, which is part of an EU programme. Under this project, twelve railway stations from the South-Western part of the country were studied, and, on the basis of particular market criteria, it was decided that Pernik station was the most suited for transformation into a multifunctional information and trade centre. The study was conducted jointly by the National association of small- and medium-sized businesses and NRIC.

 

A new railway halt near Bansko

A new railway halt will be constructed several metres distance from the newly-built St. George’s church in Bansko, thus serving the pilgrims travelling by train along the Septemvri-Dobrinishte line. It is expected that the new railway halt will be inaugurated on 15th July.

 

On the watch for heated infrastructure

Due to the exceptionally high ambient temperatures, some of NRIC personnel responsible for the status monitoring of the railway infrastructure have to work extra time. They are making additional controls over the railway sections subjected to direct sunlight. It is common knowledge that when the temperature of the railway track exceeds 55°C, it is necessary to reduce train operation speeds.

 

Fire extinguished in locomotive

On 19th June, in the region of Staliiska mahala station, fire broke out in the engine department of the locomotive of regional train No 72 205, running between Brusartsi and Lom. The drivers immediately detached the locomotive from the train composition and started extinguishing the fire with the relevant equipment. No passengers or personnel of Bulgarian State Railways EAD were injured during the incident. The railway operator provided a shunting locomotive to haul the train composition to Lom.

 

Infrastructure projects in Pleven region

On 26th June in Cherven Briag, the Minister of the Interior, Rumen Petkov, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Georgi Petarneichev and the Governor of Pleven region, Tsviatko Tsvetkov, discussed the progress of the key infrastructure projects in Pleven region. During the discussions it was pointed out that Pleven station is pending reconstruction, which will last for a couple of years and be fully funded by NRIC. The locomotive depot in Cherven Briag will also be reconstructed within a public-private partnership scheme. Before the implementation of this scheme, though, the relevant parties will review the offer of a Czech company, a potential investor in the depot, for the overhaul of locomotives. According to the Deputy Minister Petarneichev, within the context of the construction of Belene nuclear power plant, it is planned to rehabilitate the Oresh-Belene railway line. The rehabilitation of Cherven Briag station is also under consideration.

 

Open bidding procedure of NRIC

NRIC has announced an open bidding procedure under the provisions of the Regulation for the assignment of small-scale procurement of design and construction services, which includes the procurement and assembly of cables, facilities and technological equipment, the training of operational personnel and the commissioning of signalling and telecommunication equipment along the Verinsko-Kostenets railway line. The term for the purchase of the tender documentation is 10th July.

 

Retro train in Chepino gorge

At the end of June, the attractive retro train of BDZ made its second journey of the year with a group of railway enthusiasts from the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Japan along the Septemvri-Dobrinishte line. The composition was hauled by narrow-gauge steam locomotive No 609, which was restored at end-2004. It is envisaged that for the next journeys of the train a dining-car will be attached to its composition.

 

Renovation of Ognianovo

The Ognianovo station building, located between Pazardjik and Plovdiv, is being renovated. The offices are being repainted and the passenger waiting room is also being spruced up. With a view to the expansion of freight business at this station, the position of Ognianovo Station Master has been reinstituted. Hitherto the responsibilities of this position were carried out by the Stamboliiski Station Master.

 

Thefts cause losses to the railways

According to the Director of BDZ EAD Freight Services, Pencho Popov, it is necessary to introduce heavier punishment to offenders who steal elements from the braking system of the trains during train halts at the stations. He stressed that such thefts can result in serious accidents and pointed out that it is practically impossible to provide guards on each train transporting scrap metal, in order to prevent thefts. Meanwhile, at the press conference of the Bulgarian Recycling Association, held at the end of June, it was announced that the thefts of NRIC-owned rails in 2006 caused losses of BGN3 million. In this context, the participants insisted upon the tightening of control over scrap-metal trading and processing.