The Bulgarian Minister of Transport and Communications, Georgi Gvozdeikov, has demanded the resignation of two top management officials of NKŽI, the country’s infrastructure manager. In particular, Gvozdeikov asked for the company’s general director and chairman of the management board to step down in response to safety concerns in the Bulgarian railway network following continuous accidents, including freight trains.
In his statements, Gvozdeikov did not hold back and highlighted that “the current management of NKŽI has repeatedly shown that it cannot effectively manage one of the largest state-owned companies in Bulgaria”.
Bulgarian railways have been plagued by continuous railway accidents, with the latest–the derailment of a freight train carrying tank containers–occurring yesterday, Monday, 1 August. There is an ongoing investigation for the specific accident to determine the causes, with the initial assessment indicating the poor track condition as the key perpetrator.
This latest derailment was the icing on the cake for the Bulgarian transport minister, who seems to be done with the situation. For him, this accident only highlighted the chronic pathologies and mismanagement of the country’s railway network. According to his words, the next step for everyone involved in this situation–from high-level managers to employees– is to finally “bear responsibility” for their decisions.