Bulgaria buys trains while the EU investigates
BULGARIA: All twelve EU-funded Alstom Coradia Stream trains have arrived in Bulgaria, with the first two set to enter service in early September. Funding for the remaining 23 sets is not secured.
Transport Minister Georgi Peev presented the first set at Sofia Central Station on 25 August. All twelve sets financed by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) have been delivered and certification procedures are under way, he said.
The first two trains will run on Pernik–Sofia–Plovdiv–Svilengrad. The minister wants the remaining 23 financed through Bulgaria’s plan under the EU Social Climate Fund, a plan he says is not yet finalised. In the meantime the 2026 state budget holds a temporary interest-free loan of EUR 92.88m to cover payments to Alstom.
Full story: Twelve Alstom trains have arrived. Funds are lacking for the last 23.
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Sixty new trains. Nineteen old cases.
Bulgaria is buying 60 new trains in under two years, with two suppliers and EU money on a deadline, while EU investigators are looking into 19 of the same ministry’s earlier rail contracts.
On 25 August a six-car Alstom Coradia Stream stood at Sofia Central Station, one of twelve financed by the RRF, all of them now in the country six days before the 31 August deadline for the milestones in Bulgaria’s recovery plan. A further 20 Škoda Group RegioPanter sets are entering service, five more are on order, and 23 more Alstom sets are on order.
The ministry buys the trains, owns them and decides which operator runs them. It is the same ministry whose earlier contracts the investigators are examining.
Full story: New trains on the way, old contracts under investigation
Stadler sells 40% more and earns the same
SWITZERLAND: Stadler Rail grew first-half revenue by 40% to CHF 2.0bn (EUR 2.1bn) and more than doubled operating profit, while its order backlog reached a record CHF 33.3bn (EUR 35.6bn). Net profit stayed flat at CHF 31.2m (EUR 33.4m).
The Bussnang-based manufacturer published its half-year results on 26 August. EBIT rose to CHF 79.5m (EUR 85.1m) from CHF 36.9m (EUR 39.5m) a year earlier, lifting the margin from 2.6% to 4.0%.
Stadler books revenue only on delivery, which means orders won up to ten years earlier are now reaching the income statement.
Full story: Stadler grows revenue 40% in first half
Wilma is through: first Brenner bore complete
CROSS-BORDER: The western bore of the Brenner Base Tunnel now runs unbroken over 55 km from Innsbruck to Franzensfeste after tunnel boring machine Wilma broke through on 25 August. It is the first of the two main bores to be excavated end to end.
Wilma reached its end point in the Pfons–Brenner contract section after 706 days of driving. The machine bored just under 7.5 km and installed more than 22,000 concrete lining segments, according to project company BBT SE.
The eastern bore, the interior fit-out and the railway systems remain to be built before trains can run.
Full story: First Brenner Base Tunnel bore is complete over 55 km
Ukraine sets out to repair 70% of 492 war-damaged locomotives
UKRAINE: Russian strikes have damaged 492 locomotives and 249 wagons since February 2022, according to Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport Mykola Kalashnyk. The government’s 2026–2027 programme sets a target of returning 70% of the damaged locomotives to service.
He published the figures on 23 August after a drone hit a Lozova–Kharkiv electric train at Lymanivka station, killing one passenger and wounding four. The railway has been attacked 1,534 times since 1 January, the minister said.
Srbijavoz signs Siemens deal for six Vectron locomotives
SERBIA: State passenger operator Srbijavoz has signed a EUR 35.35m contract with Siemens Mobility Austria for six Vectron multi-system electric locomotives, due for delivery in June and July 2027 for services to Budapest.
The order is part of a fleet renewal timed for EXPO 2027 in Belgrade and replaces traction the operator’s acting director describes as more than 40 years old and neither reliable nor of good quality.
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