TCDD Tasimacilik AS and Bulgarian State Railways Administrations met on 28 March 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria. TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. The delegation headed by General Manager Hasan Pezük and Bulgarian infrastructure manager SE NRIC, BDZ Holding responsible for freight and passenger transportation and its subsidiaries BDZ Cargo and BDZ Passengers General Managers and relevant officials attended.
During the meeting, freight and passenger transport and towing and towing vehicles were discussed, while future cooperation opportunities between Turkey and Bulgaria on rail transport, future joint projects, international freight operations, the launch of international passenger trains and other issues were discussed.
Hasan Pezük, General Manager of TCDD Transportation, and Krumov, General Manager of SE NRIC- State Enterprise National Railway Infrastructure Company, will be used in the transportation of materials and personnel in the railway construction works of SE NRIC, with the projects carried out and planned on the Turkish side and the Bulgarian side, especially at the Kapıkule border crossing. exchanged information about the need for a vehicle.
“In 2021, a 15 percent increase was achieved in our transportation to Europe.”
General Manager Pezük: “Bulgarian railways, as one of our exits to Europe, is a very important stakeholder in both freight and passenger transportation. We cooperate very well in truck bed transportation. In order to meet the increasing demand with the pandemic, the number of weekly reciprocal 5 voyages of the truck box block trains operated between our country and Bulgaria has been increased to 10. In 2021, a 15 percent increase was achieved in our transportation to Europe.” said.
Pointing out that with the Edirne-Istanbul high-speed train line project carried out by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Europe will be reached more quickly and easily, Pezük said, “Istanbul (Halkalı) and Kapıkule border gate, when a new high-speed train line is built, where passenger and freight transportation will be carried out together, apart from the existing conventional line, there will be great reductions in transportation times and the line capacity will increase. Thus, a great advantage will be provided not only in transportation between Turkey and Europe, but also in transportation from China to Europe. Both freight and passenger transport between Turkey and Bulgaria will gain momentum,” he said.
Reminding that the Bulgarian railways are very important in transporting the cargo coming from the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line and the Middle Corridor to the interior of Europe, Pezuk said, "We will do much better things with our Bulgarian friends in the construction of the railway of the future."
Finally, General Manager Hasan Pezük drew attention to the importance of making contacts with Bulgaria periodically in the future for a healthier, more effective and more efficient business.
At the meeting, views were exchanged on the devices used at border crossings and the associated time-saving measures.
A Passenger Train Demanded from Plovdiv, Bulgaria to Istanbul
At the meeting, where the Sofia Express, which worked before the pandemic, was brought to the agenda again, the issue of restarting the Istanbul-Sofia train as soon as possible was discussed by BDZ Passengers General Manager Ivaylo Georgiev in order to meet the increasing passenger demand from Bulgaria to Istanbul. In addition, it was stated that putting a passenger train from Plovdiv in Bulgaria to Edirne first and then to Istanbul would be beneficial in terms of meeting the passenger demand.
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