German mobility solutions provider Bombardier Transportation said that it has set up a 100%-owned subsidiary in Bulgaria in order to help the company expand its presence on the local market.

“With substantial rail modernization underway in Bulgaria, this new office marks a significant milestone in Bombardier’s commitment to this growing market,” Richard Hunter, president rail control solutions at Bombardier Transportation, said in a statement on Friday.

“We already have a strong working relationship with Bulgarian Railways through our ongoing signalling projects and, with our wide portfolio of products and services, we look forward to further contributing to the development of rail transportation and supporting capabilities in Bulgaria,” Hunter added.

Bombardier entered the Bulgarian market in 2017, when it installed its INTERFLO 200 mainline signalling solution on the Skutare-Orizovo and Sofia-Elin Pelin railway lines. In 2019, Bombardier won another major contract to design and install an INTERFLO 250 ERTMS Level 1 signalling and telecommunication system along 300 km of the Plovdiv-Burgas railway line, the company said.

Bulgaria has been heavily investing in railway infrastructure over the past years with the support of EU funds under operational programme Transport and Transport Infrastructure, as well as the Connecting Europe Facility. 

Bombardier Transportation is a unit of Canada-headquartered transportation industry giant Bombardier.