The National Railway Infrastructure Company (, Natsionalna kompaniya Zhelezopatna infrastruktura, abbreviated as НКЖИ or NRIC) is Bulgaria's state railway infrastructure company, established as an entity on 1 January 2002. The company's headquarters are located in the capital city Sofia near Sofia Central Station. It is the owner and operator of most of the country's rail lines.
Bulgaria is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Bulgaria is 52.
History
On 1 January 2002, National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) was established as a state-owned entity upon the enactment of previously approved legislation. It was created for the purpose of maintaining the condition of the railway infrastructure for the use of licensed operators (including its repair, operation, and development), collect infrastructure access charges as defined by the Bulgarian government, define timetables in coordination with train operators, conform with all relevant safety, reliability, and security requirements in its management of the railways, fulfil all public service obligations, and to keep detailed, accurate, and up-to-date records on all objects pertaining to the railway infrastructure and associated land.
By the arrival of the twenty-first century, Bulgaria's railway network was amongst the most dense of all Eastern European nations, having a total track length of 6,938km, 148 tunnels, 483 level crossings, and 1,016 bridges. Roughly 67% of all track in Bulgaria was electrified. However, connections with neighbouring nations were limited; only two cross-border lines into Greece and Romania were operational, along with one line for Serbia and Turkey, while no lines connected to