site.btaBulgaria, North Macedonia to Sign Agreement on Corridor VIII Cross-Border Tunnel on Nov. 4

An agreement with the Republic of North Macedonia on the joint cross-border tunnel, part of Corridor VIII, will be signed on November 4, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov announced at a briefing here Monday.

The railway sections of Corridor VIII from the western town of Radomir to the nearby city of Pernik and from Pernik to Sofia have been reinstated in the investment programme of the National Railway Infrastructure Company. “The tender for one section has already been announced, and the tender for the second section will be announced by the end of the year,” Karadjov said.

For the Radomir–Gyueshevo (on the border with North Macedonia) route, a new project for an almost entirely new track will be approved by the end of the year, allowing trains to travel at speeds of up to 160 km/h. “The most likely timeframe for announcing the tender for its construction is mid-next year,” Karadjov added, noting that the tender for the construction of the last 2.4 km of Corridor VIII on Bulgarian territory has already been announced.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the new high-speed railway line will connect central Sofia with the border at Gyueshevo, running outside populated areas. Depending on the distance to nearby settlements, connecting transport will be organized.