site.btaEU Provides Nearly Half Billion Euro for Railway Line Modernization in Western Bulgaria

Brussels, February 1 (BTA Correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The European Commission (EC) Thursday reported that 471.5 million euro from the Cohesion Fund is invested in the development of the railway section between the towns of Elin Pelin and Kostenets in Western Bulgaria.

The section is part of the high-speed railway line between the capital and Plovdiv, on the Orient/East Med corridor of the trans-European transport network. This corridor crosses eight EU countries to link Berlin and Athens.

European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu said, as quoted by the EC, that seamless railway connections for passengers and freight will boost regional development in Bulgaria, and contribute to building a competitive and low-carbon economy in the country.

Over 100 million euro from the Cohesion Fund was invested in the Sofia-Plovdiv line in the 2007-2013 funding period, to build the section between the cities of Septemvri and Plovdiv.

The Kostenets-Septemvri section is currently being financed by up to 151.5 million euro from the Connecting Europe Facility. Once works are completed on the Sofia-Plovdiv line, passengers will be able to travel between the two cities in less than 80 minutes at speeds of up to 160 km/h, the EC said.