BULGARIA: Minister of Transport & Communications Grozdan Karadzhov has ordered urgent action to enhance railway safety within six months, following the receipt of a report commissioned from an industry working group.
The minister met with railway organisations on March 6 to discuss the measures. He has since instructed each company involved to provide a detailed implementation plan along with weekly progress reports.
Cameras are to be installed in every locomotive, multiple-unit and at every station. Functionality will be added to a GPS train speed control system to notify operating and dispatchers of any over-speeding. Mobile GSM network operators will be required to increase transmitter coverage in areas with weak signals.
A transport safety database will be created to record incidents and help prevent repeats.
There will be a ban on train movements in sections where there is no working signalling equipment.
Employee safety breaks will be ‘strictly observed’, and there will be a complete ban on secondary employment for employees responsible for safety.
All modernisation and rehabilitation projects will be required to include a safety report, and infrastructure manager NKZI is required to develop a two-year plan to replace the oldest train control systems to prevent interference and data manipulation.
Longer-term measures are planned to address enhance the educational and qualification level of personnel in key roles.
