Škoda Group has completed the delivery of twenty four-car electric multiple units, which are entering service in Bulgaria.

The units are based on the RegioPanter platform, and are designed for the modern suburban and regional services which operate on Bulgaria’s railway network.

Škoda handed the units over to the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria on Wednesday 5 August.

The units were tested on the local railway infrastructure, and Bulgaria’s Railway Administration Executive Agency (IAJA) gave vehicle type authorisation and authorisation for placing on the Bulgarian market.

Last Friday (7 August), all twenty units were entered in the European Vehicle Register (EVR), which cleared them for operation in Bulgaria.

On Monday 10 August, the operator began preparing some of the units for the start of operations, which included running the units without passengers on selected routes.

Each train has more than three hundred seats, a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h, and gets its power from the 25 kV AC / 50 Hz alternating-current traction system.

The vehicles are equipped with the ETCS Level 2 signalling system, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, interior and exterior CCTV systems, ergonomic seats, and space for passengers with reduced mobility, pushchairs and/or bicycles.

The contract, which was signed in 2024, includes the delivery of 20 electric multiple units and an option for five additional units.

Škoda Group will also provide maintenance services for the units for fifteen years in Bulgaria. Škoda presented the first two trains in Sofia in March this year.

The units have been delivered in less than two years since the signing of the contract.

Škoda Group has also supplied Metro trains for operation in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city.

The new electric trains represent a significant step in the modernisation of the Bulgarian railway fleet. They will offer passengers a higher level of comfort, safety and accessibility, while also creating the conditions for more reliable and attractive regional and suburban services.

At the same time, Škoda Group is not only the manufacturer and supplier of the trains, but also a partner that will provide the maintenance for 15 years. This long-term maintenance partnership will ensure a high level of operational reliability for the vehicles, as well as stable and predictable maintenance costs.

Olesea Lachi, Vice President South & East Europe, Škoda Group