Bulgaria Launches Two of 12 Delivered Coradia Stream EMUs Into Service

Bulgarian State Railways began regular operation with its first two Coradia Stream EMUs on 1 September 2026, after 12 of the 35 ordered units had reached Bulgaria.

BDZ assigned the two units mainly to four routes at launch: Plovdiv–Svilengrad, Plovdiv–Asenovgrad, Svilengrad–Sofia and Sofia–Pernik. The operator scheduled the first journey to leave Plovdiv at 05:30 for Svilengrad. Further routes will be added as more units are delivered and enter service.

Service began with two of 12 delivered units

The delivery figure dates from 25 August, when the ministry presented the first unit from the new Bulgarian fleet at Sofia Central station. Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Peev said twelve trains had reached Bulgaria and that the remaining 23 would be ready for delivery by April 2027. The ministry and BDZ announcements did not give a date for putting the other ten delivered units into passenger service.

Meanwhile, eight Škoda RegioPanter EMUs entered regular service on 14 August. The ministry said the operating fleet was expected to reach 20 units by 20 August and credited the launch to accelerated administrative, certification and training work. Bulgaria’s full Škoda programme covers 25 trains: an initial 20-unit order and five additional units. Together with the 35 Alstom units, the two programmes cover 60 trainsets. Peev separately said that 280 to 300 passenger carriages were strategically required, a figure that is not directly comparable with the number of trainsets.

What the BULEMU contract covers

Alstom leads the BULEMU consortium. Its Bulgarian partner RVP Invest provides the maintenance facility. The consortium signed the contract with the Ministry of Transport and Communications in April 2025. The package is worth €720 million in total, and Alstom itself takes €600 million. Specifically, the rolling stock accounts for €452 million and the 15-year maintenance package for €268 million.

Each trainset has six cars and runs at up to 160 km/h. The operator lists 325 first- and second-class seats and a fully low-floor layout. Ramps serve passengers with reduced mobility. Air conditioning, power sockets, USB ports, video surveillance and digital passenger counting also feature. The operator lists provision for wireless internet as well. Alstom in addition specified the units for ERTMS Level 2 and for journeys of up to four or five hours.

Recovery funding supports the service-entry units

BDZ says the first Coradia Stream units placed in service were delivered under a contract financed through Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. At the August presentation, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov said work on Bulgaria’s Social Climate Plan would continue over the following three months. He said the country expected around €3 billion under the plan, with a significant share intended for transport and energy efficiency. The ministry’s announcement did not explicitly link that funding to the remaining 23 Coradia Stream units.

Alstom Europe Region President Andrew DeLeone described the maintenance arrangement. The consortium will work from a depot built for the purpose in Bulgaria. Roughly 50 engineers and other Bulgarian staff will run it. Peev, for his part, wants the fleet on longer corridors as well, including the line to Burgas. BDZ says it will deploy the trains on more routes as further units arrive and enter service.