The European Investment Bank has under appraisal two railway projects in Slovenia, with a total value of EUR 308 million, of which EIB’s proposed total financing is EUR 135 million.
The first project envisages the modernisation of Poljcane-Slovenska Bistrica double-track section with the main objective of increasing the load capacity and improving the interoperability of the railway line. The project concerns construction works in the Poljcane station, the Poljcane–Slovenska Bistrica section and the Slovenska Bistrica station. The works cover reconstruction of substructure and superstructure, construction of platforms, grade-separated crossings, underpasses, as well as adjustments of energy, signalling-safety and telecommunication devices.
The section is part of Celje-Pragersko railway line located on the Baltic-Adriatic and Mediterranean Core Network Corridors. The line currently represents a bottleneck in passenger and freight transport due to insufficient load capacity and limited interoperability.
The total value of this project is EUR 68 million, of which, EIB is proposing a EUR 18 million financing.
The second project involves the upgrade of Celje-Lasko-Rimske Toplice-Zidani Most including the modernisation of three railway stations at Celje, Lasko and Rimske Toplice. The value of the project is EUR 240 million, with an EIB proposed financing of EUR 117 million. within this project, European Union has contributed with a EUR 90.6 million co-financing.
The Zidani Most-Celje railway section, which is part of a Global Project to upgrade the Slovenian railway line no. 30 between Zidani Most and the Slovenian/Austrian border, is located on both the Baltic-Adriatic and the Mediterranean Core Network Corridors. The section represents a major bottleneck because of its limited capacity. It is problematic particularly from the viewpoint of throughput capacity, insufficient axle load, poor condition of super- and substructure, low speed and unsecured level crossings. Some stations along the line do not enable the stopping of freight trains of 740 m of length, and have level accesses to platforms, which further hinder the traffic flow. The project will contribute to removing this major bottleneck affecting two core network corridors, and therefore reduce congestion and have a positive effect on modal split and the environment. It will also contribute to the interoperability of the corridors, consequently increasing service quality and safety.
In February, Slovenian Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, has launched the construction works on the 26 km rail section. The line will be resignalled and level crossings will be eliminated, and the maximum axleload will be increased to 22.5 tonnes. The project will increase the capacity from 328 to 354 trains per day and the annual volume of transported goods will increase to 24.4 million tonnes, from 20.5 million.
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