The subject of the agreement is the leasing of a railway depot, which will serve as a base for the maintenance and repair of trains delivered by the Škoda Group over the next 15 years—one of the key requirements set by the Bulgarian side. The agreement also represents a key step in Škoda Group’s expansion into the Balkans. As noted by the company’s CEO Petr Novotný: “The new depot will allow us to ensure high-quality maintenance and long service life of the trains we produce for Bulgaria. This is a significant success for this strategic project, which demonstrates our ambition to be a reliable partner in the development of modern rail transport in the region.”

To support this effort, the company plans to establish a subsidiary in Bulgaria in the near future, which will offer long-term employment opportunities with a reputable Czech manufacturer of rail vehicles to a wide range of skilled professionals from across the country. A broad scope of activities is planned for the new depot, ranging from routine daily maintenance to extensive service interventions and technical inspections.

To provide a complete picture, it is worth noting that the delivery of 20 electric train units -  the main component of the agreement - will be funded through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), while the remaining five units will be financed directly by the Bulgarian state budget. 

The delivered 18Ev electric train units, known under the commercial name RegioPanter, will be similar in specifications to those already successfully operated in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Each train set will have a capacity of over 300 passengers and will reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h. The Bulgarian State Railways plan to deploy the new trains on the busy routes connecting Sofia with the coastal cities of Burgas and Varna, as well as on the line to Ruse, near the border with Romania.

Prepared by: Jan Jindřich, Deputy Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Bulgaria