Bulgaria: Four trainsets have been carrying passengers on Lines 1, 2 and 4 since 26 May. Seven of these four-car trains have now reached the Bulgarian capital, and the eighth is due in June.
Each 80 m-long through-access train can accommodate up to 580 passengers, including 120 seated and two wheelchair spaces. Boarding and alighting are provided through four double-leaf doors on each side of the car. The train operates from a 750 V DC third rail and is equipped with three-phase asynchronous traction motors, regenerative braking, and automatic speed control.
The €68.5 mln contract for eight trains was signed in summer 2023, and Metropoliten EAD ordered a further, similar batch at the start of this year. These lines had previously run trains from TMH plant in Mytishchi, but the Russian manufacturer was barred from the tender under EU sanctions. That left the operator needing a supplier able to build rolling stock compatible with the Russian automation already in use — experience Škoda Group could offer from its metro projects for St. Petersburg and Warsaw.
Meanwhile, Inspiro platform trains from a consortium of Germany’s Siemens Mobility and Poland’s Newag are being run in on Line 3. That order, also placed in summer 2023, covers eight trainsets for the line’s extension, with the final vehicles expected in February 2027.
