Three new railway connections through the Balkan Mountains are set to transform the transport landscape of Northern Bulgaria. The proposed routes – Stolnik–Mezdra, Hristo Danovo–Troyan, and a passage through the Hainboaz Pass – will be proposed for development under the provisions of the Concessions Act. This was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Communications, Mr Grozdan Karadjov, during the forum “Northern Bulgaria – Restart and Achievable Goals”, held today in Veliko Tarnovo and organised by “24 Chasa” newspaper.
“We have specifically selected these three routes due to their gentle gradients – no more than 2% – which allow freight operators to use a single locomotive per train. This results in significantly greater efficiency for freight transport. Our goal is to achieve effective transport integration between Southern and Northern Bulgaria. The future transport map of Bulgaria will be structured around three key road and rail corridors running south to north,” Karadjov emphasised.
The first corridor is the connection with Greece via Kulata, passing through Sofia and reaching Vidin. It is expected to handle the growing freight traffic from the Port of Thessaloniki, the largest in the region. “Currently, the railway line from Kulata to Sofia is in a satisfactory condition, though operational speeds remain low. A similar situation exists along the line towards Vidin,” Grozdan Karadjov noted.
The second corridor, he explained, originates in Svilengrad, where both rail and road traffic enter simultaneously from Turkey and Greece. The Maritsa Motorway and the modernised Plovdiv–Svilengrad railway line are of key importance here. The long-term goal is to establish a direct connection across the Balkan Mountains to Veliko Tarnovo, and from there to the Romanian border. This will be made possible through the construction of the Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo motorway and a tunnel beneath the Balkan range.
The third corridor will consist of a four-lane road from Malko Tarnovo to Burgas, continuing along the Black Sea Motorway to Varna, and then via another four-lane road to Silistra..
The Deputy Prime Minister further explained that, with the support of the European Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Bulgaria is working jointly with Greece and Romania to secure funding for parts of these corridors, as well as to open two additional crossing points over the Danube River – at Svishtov and Nikopol – where new bridge infrastructure is envisaged..
