During a meeting between Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Rosen Zhelyazkov and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria Grozdan Karadjov, and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey Abdulkadir Uraloglu, bilateral issues concerning transport cooperation between the two countries were discussed.
“We are currently preparing development options for the second railway border crossing between Bulgaria and Turkey, along the Yambol – Elhovo – Lesovo – Turkish border – Edirne line, and will submit them for discussion to the joint Bulgarian–Turkish working group.” This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov during a meeting with Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu In the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023 between Bulgaria and Turkey on cooperation in the field of rail transport, Karadjov emphasized that efforts to establish a new cross-border rail connection must be accelerated.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that preparatory activities have already been initiated on the Bulgarian side. Implementation plans have been developed, along with an assessment of the current infrastructure, traffic forecasts, and capacity analysis.
Both ministers agreed that the construction of a new railway line and border checkpoint would help ease congestion at one of the busiest crossings in Europe - Svilengrad - Kapikule.
By optimizing border procedures, train waiting times will be reduced, which in turn will enhance the competitiveness of rail transport compared to road transport.