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 trains Satisfaction 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