Government Launches Competitive Procedure for Public Railway Service Operators

The Cabinet approved the launch of a procedure to select operators for public railway transport services, the government press service said on Wednesday. This measure is part of National Recovery and Resilience Plan reforms, which require future rail service contracts to be awarded through open competitive procedures. The service will be commissioned by the State under 12-year contracts with an advance mobilization period. Each contract starts on December 13, 2026 and ends on December 11, 2038. Awarding will be on a regional basis in three lots: western, northern and southern. Selected operators must provide a maintenance facility for rolling stock; if they do not have one, facilities owned by the existing rail operator will be made available at equal prices and on identical terms to all selected operators. Employment relationships will be preserved and will not be terminated upon selection of new public service operators. For the duration of the contracts, collective labour agreements will be maintained under the Labour Code. "The government’s goal is to make railway transport the backbone of public transportation in the country", Grozdan Karadjov said earlier on Wednesday.