site.btaNew Yambol-Lesovo Rail Line Project Moves Forward with EU TEN-T Backing

National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) completed a feasibility study for the construction of a new railway line from Yambol to the border crossing at Lesovo, NRIC said on Tuesday. The project is part of the European Union’s comprehensive TEN-T network.

As part of the study, NRIC developed implementation plans, traffic forecasts, capacity assessment, financial, economic and environmental analysis, and options for potential developments.

The new railway line from Yambol to the border with Turkiye will have a total length of 71 km, running through two main sections: Yambol-Elhovo (around 39 km), mainly following the existing route, and Elhovo-Lesovo-border (around 32 km), which will be entirely new, passing through more complex terrain and bypassing settlements. The planned design speed is 160 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight trains.

The line will feature six stops and three stations, continuing after Lesovo border station towards Turkiye. The indicative timeframe for building the route is six years.

NRIC noted that the project holds strategic importance for Bulgaria as a key transport link between the EU and Turkiye, providing faster, safer and more environmentally friendly movement of passengers and freight.

The feasibility studies are valued at BGN 525,814, funded under the 2021-2027 Transport Connectivity Programme, with 85% of the financing contributed by the EU, NRIC added.

At the end of June, Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov, along with Turkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu, discussed increasing the capacity of rail and road links between Bulgaria and Turkiye during the Global Transport Connectivity Forum in Istanbul. Their talks focused on making travel easier and quicker for people, as well as easing heavy goods traffic from Istanbul.