After the entire year 2024 has been missed and the construction in this section has been frozen, we can already see the results of the work resumed in March this year. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov during an inspection of construction work on the railway line between Kostenets and Septemvri.
"We did a symbolic demolition of the last centimeters of the stone wall that separated the two parts of the tunnel. It has a total length of nearly 2.5 km, and was dug at the same time on both sides. These two and a half kilometres under the mountain are not just an engineering facility, but a symbol of Bulgaria's will and ability to build a modern infrastructure, "Deputy Prime Minister Karadzhov explained.
According to him, the 25-kilometer section is of extreme importance for the Bulgarian transport scheme, because it is an element of the modernization of the railway route from Sofia to Burgas. This is one of the most complex and difficult sections to implement along the entire strategic direction from Sofia to Plovdiv. It includes 23 bridges and viaducts with a total length of 2.3 km and over 4.5 km of tunnels.
"There is good mobilization in the other two tunnels of this lot, the railway station in Belovo is almost completed, and the one in Kostenets is 70%, telecommunications and the contact network in places are 85% complete," Mr Karadzhov further explained. "This gives me confidence that despite the delays until 2029, the railway will be built for speeds of 160 km/h," he added.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Bulgaria His Excellency Mehmet Sait Uyanık took part in the inspection, as well as representatives of the National Railway Infrastructure Company and the contractors.
