SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Track Access Charges for the Bulgarian Railways – Technical Assistance

MAIN CHALLENGES FOR THE BULGARIAN RAILWAY SECTOR

AND FOR NRIC

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Users’opinions and market shares

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

For Passenger services

Satisfaction with frequency of trainsSatisfaction with punctuality and reliability

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

For Passenger services

Satisfaction with cleanliness and good maintenance of stations

Satisfaction with cleanliness and good maintenance of rail cars

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

For Freight Difficulty to get the paths we ask for … and no place to complain

Time table for next year is unsure because of works

Extra costs for closure of lines or longer transit times are not compensated

Level of penalties for unused paths

Level of charges for access to electrical traction power

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Rail market share and Financial situation

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Road and railway market share development, period 2000 – 2013

Source: World Bank Report, Bulgaria Railway Policy Note, 2013

What happened ?

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Financial flows in the Bulgarian Railway sector

State money : 53% / Users : 47% (in million BGN) -

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Main challenges

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Main challenges for the rail sector Railway undertakings cannot provide quality and competitive transport services in a so uncertain

framework

hence less volumes, less revenues, less market share but more congestion in cities, more needs for imported energy but difficulties for logistics of some industrial sectors and less attractiveness for the country

Railway infrastructure manager has low revenues and needs more public resources to provide services with a minimum of quality

EU considers Bulgarian railway infrastructure as a key railway route to/from Greece, to /from Turkey and is providing funds to modernize it to develop market opportunities especially to/from Turkey

SEMINAR 21/01/2015 Railway infrastructure – key to achieve sustainable transport

Main challenges for NRIC Problem n° 1: The railway customers do not get the value for the quality they must pay

for

Planning uncertainty of paths for the railway undertakings No availability of paths due to maintenance and works Unreliability of paths due to works planning Low to average condition of the infrastructure Multimodal infrastructures to be improved for both passenger and freight

Problem n°2: Relationship with the State responsible for transport policy and its financing

Problem n°3: Absorption of EU funds is low, NRIC is more a company concerned with construction than a service provider concerned for transport services