The European Union will allocate to Bulgaria EUR 471.5 million from the Cohesion Fund for the development of the railway section between the towns of Elin Pelin and Kostenets, in the west of the country. This section is part of the railway line between the two largest Bulgarian cities: Sofia, the capital, and Plovdiv, on the Orient/East Med corridor of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). 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.
Under the Sofia-Plovdiv line project, investment in the 2007-2013 funding period to build the Septemvri-Plovdiv section amounted to over EUR 100 million from the Cohesion Fund. The Kostenets-Septemvri section is currently being financed by up to EUR 151.5 million from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
“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 for the next generations. I’m glad that the EU Cohesion Fund can be a part of it,” Commissioner for Regional policy, Corina Cretu, said.
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