site.btaBulgaria Is Preparing Plan for Railway Crossing at Lesovo - Transport Minister

Bulgaria is preparing plans for a second railway border crossing with Turkiye, along the Yambol – Elhovo – Lesovo – Turkish border – Edirne route. These proposals will soon be presented for discussion within the joint Bulgarian-Turkish working group, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov said, quoted by his Ministry's press office.

Karadzhov participated in a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Turkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu, where the parties discussed key issues concerning bilateral cooperation in the field of transport.

Referring to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Bulgaria and Turkiye in 2023 on cooperation in railway transport, Karadjov underscored the need to accelerate efforts by both countries toward a new cross-border rail link.

The Transport Minister noted that Bulgaria has already started preparations, including the development of plans, an analysis of the current situation, traffic forecasts, and a capacity assessment.

The two ministers rallied around the idea that the construction of a new railway line and border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Turkiye is expected to ease traffic at one of the busiest border crossings in Europe—Svilengrad–Kapıkule. Optimizing border procedures will reduce train waiting times, which in turn will enhance the competitiveness of rail transport compared to road transport.