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Article: Bulgarian Railway adapt to the market economy; the railways of Bulgaria are beginning the long haul back to transport preeminence following more than two decades of decline.
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- December 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BULGARIA's quest for membership of the European Union (EU) is the spur to its efforts to re-position its railways much more prominently in the economic life of the nation. The task started in earnest in 2002 when a new rail transport law separated operations from infrastructure with the creation of BDZ EAD as the operator and the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC).
In general terms, the objective is to increase rail's share of the transport market by matching western European standards so far as technology, equipment, and service quality are concerned. At the moment, road transport controls 70% of the passenger market and 55% of the freight market. ...