The Slovenian Government will launch the construction of a second track on the Divaca-Koper railway line before the end of the year, according to Infrastructure Minister Peter Gaspersic. The decision was reached despite calls for a referendum on the project. The call for a referendum was launched by locals who demand relocation of the existing track and construction of a new two-track line.
The project will be implemented through the awarding of a 45-year concession contract to project company 2TDK to build and manage the second track. The concessionaire will transfer ownership of the infrastructure to the state upon expiry of the concession period. The existing Divaca – Koper line does not meet the standards for the core network which were adopted by the Council of the EU in 2012 and are expected to be implemented by 2030. When the second railway track becomes operational, the distance covered by freight will be reduced from 44.3 km to 27 km on the Divaca-Koper section.
This spring, the Government adopted a draft bill on the construction and management of a second track of the Divaca-Koper railway.
The cost of the project was estimated at EUR 1 billion and consists in the construction of a 27 km double track between Divača and Koper, and because of the difficult terrain, environmental constraints and more than 400 meters of altitude difference, the so-called tunnel variant was considered the most appropriate. Thus, 75% of the line route will be tunnels, which means that 8 tunnels with a total length of 20.5 km, 2 viaducts with a total length of 1.1 km and 2 bridges with a total length of 170 m will be built.
The purpose of doubling the Divača—Koper track is to provide an efficient rail link for freight transport form the Port of Koper and the rest of the network and in particular to remove all limitations related to the capacity of the line from Koper to Divača junction. The line section is part of the TEN-T network and it has international importance to rail freight traffic due to the role of the Port of Koper in ensuring the connection between the Slovenian hinterland and the other countries.
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