The Škoda Group has once again been successful in winning an order for the Bulgarian capital Sofia to supply eight metro trains to the city's transport company Metropoliten EAD for more than CZK 1.6 billion. The trains will be manufactured by the Group's plants in Ostrava and Plzeň, and are expected to be in operation in 2026. The trains are conceptually related to the vehicles that the Škoda Group supplies to Warsaw, but unlike them, those for the Sofia metro will be equipped with air conditioning and will meet other customer requirements. They will be equipped with a signalling system with automatic speed control for operational safety, and the trains will use regenerative braking, i.e. returning electricity back to the grid. This will also make the new trains more economical and their operation more efficient, with lower maintenance and spare parts costs over their entire lifetime.

"We are very proud to deliver new, modern and spacious metro trains to the people of Sofia. After Warsaw in Poland, the Bulgarian capital is the next destination for our metro. We have extensive experience with the metro, having previously modernised the Prague metro and supplied complete traction equipment for the subways in Kiev, Budapest and also in South Korea," says Zdeněk Svata, President Region Central East at Škoda Group. "This success underlines our expertise in the field of public transport. We offer a complete portfolio of environmentally friendly vehicles for public transport. I am confident that, based on this cooperation, we will establish a strong relationship with Metropoliten EAD that will support the future development of Sofia's public transport system. I am confident that the Sofia Metro sets will exceed expectations and further strengthen our reputation as a reliable partner in urban mobility solutions," he adds.

"Thanks to the efforts of Metropoliten EAD's management and experts, as well as the support of the Sofia City Council and funding from EU funds and the state budget, we have implemented 80% of the metro development plan over 14 years. I am happy to say that after the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of public transport has already returned to 95% of its previous level. We are very satisfied that also thanks to the cooperation with Skoda Group, Sofia has managed to develop electromobility in urban transport to such a level that our city is among the top five in Europe," said Mayor Jordanka Fandakova.

"The opening of the new metro station, located between Slivnica and Obelia stations, will shorten the interval of trains on the second metro line, which is necessary due to the increased flow of passengers during peak hours. This, together with the necessary partial reduction of peak intervals on lines 1 and 4, will be made possible thanks to the eight new trains," said Metropolitan EAD Executive Director Stojan Bratoev.

"On behalf of the Embassy, I would like to thank the City Council and the Metropoliten management for a professionally prepared and transparent tender procedure, which to our delight turned out positively for the Skoda Group. We believe that the signing of this contract will be the beginning of a broader cooperation, for example, in the modernization of other Sofia metro trains, but also in the delivery of trams, trolleybuses or electric buses," added Ambassador Kaucký.

This once again confirms what the Embassy in Sofia has long advocated, i.e. the inclusion of the transport industry among the key sectors in which Czech exporters can succeed on the Bulgarian market. This was demonstrated by the presentation of railway and rolling stock in Sofia in April, which was prepared by the Embassy together with the ACRI association and attended by top representatives of institutions and companies from the Bulgarian side.