BMF Port Burgas launches block train routes to its intermodal terminal in Sofia

BMF Port Burgas AD, the private operator which has concessions for the Bulgarian port terminals Burgas East-2 and Burgas West, launched a block train from the port of Burgas to Dry Port Sofia – an intermodal terminal in the Bojurishte Industrial Zone of the country’s capital.

The project is a joint development between BMF Port Burgas, Maersk and PIMK Rail AD and provides for the transportation of goods for the furniture chain Jysk, whose logistics centre is located only 2 kilometres from Dry Port Sofia.

The launch of the regular service was announced at an official event on the territory of Dry Port Sofia, where media representatives saw a presentation of the block train concept and plans for its future development.

It gives me great pleasure to announce this important step for Maersk. We are here today to open this rail intermodal service near Sofia. It would not be possible without our partners – BMF Port Burgas, PIMK and Jysk. We thank them for helping us build this business solution and provide value-added services for customers in Bulgaria," commented Dragos Dumitrescu, Maersk Romania and Bulgaria Manager.

He noted that the general partnership will allow Maersk to continue on the path of innovation and to be among those companies concerned not only about profit but also about the impact of their operations on the environment.

The block train has a capacity of 34 containers. One to two trains are organized every week from Burgas to Bozhurishte and back. This way of transporting the goods allows Jysk to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its deliveries and, respectively, of its overall activity.

We are always looking for new solutions to create value for our customers, evaluating the impact of our operations," Dumitrescu said to Economic.bg.

Cargo transportation by block train, offered by BMF Port Burgas, was found to be the best green solution on the market. It is for this reason that Maersk trusts the private port operator.

We are very careful when choosing our partners, not only here, but throughout Europe. We think their solution is the best on the market. We negotiated, we discussed it and we got to believe that we could do it," added the Maersk Manager for Bulgaria and Romania.

Mr Dumitrescu emphasized the environmental importance of the intermodal service, which will allow the company to transport goods directly from the port of Burgas to Sofia, where Maersk ultimately delivers 70% of its cargo. The company has committed to reaching net zero by 2035.

We are moving in the right direction and on the right track because we are transferring a large part of our cargo volumes from trucks to trains, not only in Bulgaria but also in Romania."

According to Mr Dumitrescu, a transformation towards intermodality is happening throughout Europe – a fact increasingly important for transport and logistics companies. Maersk follows this trend. When asked what the intermodality challenges in Bulgaria are, the Maersk Manager responded:

I think the infrastructure needs a bit of a... shall we say improvement and that's a soft term I'm using. The government needs to look at this solution a bit more and understand that the future of transport is not in clogging up the roads with trucks, but in using a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of doing business by using rail."

The event was attended by Boris Balev - executive director of BMF Port Burgas AD, Dragos Dumitrescu - Maersk Manager for Romania and Bulgaria, Vencislav Chavdarov - JYSK DCB logistics director for the Balkans, PIMK Rail AD representatives, as well as business partners.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov