The capital of Bulgaria refused to purchase Russian metro trains for “Russian lines”

The Sofia metro has decided to abandon Russian-made trains in connection with European sanctions against the Russian Federation, Railway Supply magazine reports, citing the Bulgarian edition of Dnevnik. To work on the so-called “Russian lines”, fully equipped with Metrovagonmash automation and control systems, the future rolling stock supplier will need to develop a special control unit.

In December, a public order was placed for the purchase of 16 new trains, eight of which are intended for “Russian lines”. The tender amount is 250 million leva ($140 million), and the application deadline is March 23. “Russian companies will not participate in this tender because there is a European regulation that requires that more than 50% of goods be produced in the EU, and due to sanctions against Russia, they cannot submit their candidacies,” said Stoyan Bratoev, the chief executive of the Sofia metro.

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At the request of the customer, new trains for the “Russian lines” must be compatible with the existing automation without installing additional stationary equipment. “On this route, the movement of trains of non-Russian production is possible. It is only necessary to develop a special control unit … and this will be the obligation of the manufacturer who won the contract,” Stoyan Bratoev concluded, noting that the Rusich trains operating in the Sofia metro have many imported components, in particular, Japanese electronics and Hitachi engines.

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