Digital signals will be installed on the 35 km Volojak-Draguman line.
HITACHI Rail, in cooperation with Bulgarian electrical engineering company Cerb, was awarded a contract by Bulgarian infrastructure manager NRIC to install ERTMS on a 35 km section of the main line.
The double-track section extends from Volojak on the outskirts of the capital, Sofia, to Dragoman on the border with Serbia. The contract includes deployment of track-side ETCS Level 1 technology and GSM-R communications. The project will be delivered over 34 months, and is expected to be completed at the same time as NRIC’s wider upgrade of the line.
Hitachi will lead the consortium and will be responsible for the design, delivery, installation and operation of the ETCS system. It will also coordinate with Cerb to manage local installation activities and supervise the turnkey implementation of the GSM-R system.
The upgrade strengthens an important cross-border section west of Sofia, improving speed and interoperability on the route to Serbia. As part of the EU’s strategic TEN-T project for the Western Balkans – Eastern Mediterranean Corridor, the project strengthens Bulgaria’s role as a key transit country between Central and South-Eastern Europe.
“Combined with our previous ERTMS deployments, the Voluyak – Dragoman division helps complete a modern, interoperable railway corridor linking the Serbian border, Sofia, the Black Sea and the Turkish border, supporting more efficient freight flows and reliable international passenger services across the region,” says Manfred Zickel, Head of Bulgaria Branch at Hitachi Railway.
To date, Hitachi, including companies that are now part of the group, such as Ansaldo and Thales, has delivered more than 250 kilometers of Tier 1 trackside ETCS systems, more than 100 on-board ETCS units, electronic interlocking, a central traffic control center (CTC) and multiple field elements throughout Bulgaria.
