March 29 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian railway company BDZ Passengers, part of state-owned railway group BDZ Holding, has signed a contract worth 30.5 million levs ($16.9 million/15.6 million euro) with German peer Deutsche Bahn (DB) for the purchase of 76 modernised passenger railway cars, the transport ministry in Sofia said on Friday.
The first 19 carriages under the contract are expected to be delivered to Bulgaria in mid-April, with the remaining 57 to be supplied by the beginning of June, the transport ministry said in a statement.
The contract covers the purchase and delivery of 60 saloon-type passenger cars, six specialised wagons for disabled people and bicycles, along with ten bistro carriages, all set to be integrated into BDZ's fleet by the start of summer.
With the new additions, BDZ will upgrade over 20% of its rolling stock, serving key routes from the capital Sofia to the coastal cities of Varna and Burgas, as well as Ruse on the Danube river.
In December, BDZ Passengers signed a contract worth 91.2 million levs with the Siemens Tron consortium, led by Siemens Mobility, for the purchase and maintenance of ten Smartron electric locomotives.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)