European investments in railway infrastructure

Contracts for the modernisation of the Voluyak-Dragoman railway division have been signed

Two contracts have been signed for construction and modernisation of the railway section Voluyak-Dragoman, with total amount of more than BGN 360 million excluding VAT. The route is  part of the project “Modernisation of the Sofia-Dragoman-Serbian border railway line” with two subdivisions: Volujak-Peterch and Peterch-Dragoman. Before the start of the physical implementation of the sections, contractors must prepare technical and work projects for the sites.

Approximately 12 km of railway line will be doubled in the Volujak-Peterch section, as well as a new railway station and a new rail stop Kostinbrod. Urban development, contact network and platforms will also be fully modernised and will provide an accessible environment for the passengers. A new pipe network will be built for the needs of the signalling systems, and the SCADA system will be upgraded. Safety will be ensured by building new pedestrian underpasses/overpasses and road overpasses which do not allow crossing of a railway in the section at one level. Noise protection facilities and protection fences for the areas around the stations will be built in the urban areas. The value of the construction contract for this separate position is BGN 91 999 000 excluding VAT and the contractor is “Vistra” DZZD, including the companies: VDH AD and “Lantania” AD. The working period  is 40 months.

The construction of the section Petarch-Dragoman includes modernisation with doubling of a railway section of approximately 17 km and 6.5 km of modernisation of a single railway line. Activities for the modernisation of track development, platforms and contact network as well as construction of a new railway station Slivnitsa and a new reception building in Petarch are also included within the site. In Aldomirovtsi a reconstruction of the reception buildings is planned, and along the whole railway section will be modernised all facilities of the railway infrastructure

Within the project will be built 5 road overpasses, 2 railway overpasses, 1 railway trestle and a new water system for the whole section. In order to minimize noise for the residents of the nearby residential districts around the railway stations noise protection facilities with a length of approximately 3864 m will be built.

The construction of new en route computer centralisations for stations in the Kostinbrod-Dragoman section, new telecommunications systems is also envisaged: operational and dispatching communications, automatic telephones, watches, passenger information system, power supply and video surveillance. There will be established separate operating and technical spaces for the personnel supporting the signalling and telecommunications equipment.

The amount of the construction contract is BGN 275 000 000, 00 excluding VAT and its contractor is “Terna” AD, with the following subcontractors “PORR Bau” GmbH, “AZD Prague” Ltd. and “Balkantel” Ltd. The deadline for completion is 48 months.

The signing of these two contracts ensures the completion of the railway highway from the Serbian border to Burgas, Svilengrad and the Turkish border, which will improve the quality of the railway service for passenger and freight transport.

The project “Modernisation of the railway line Sofia-Dragoman-Serbian border, Voluyak-Dragoman section” is implemented with co-financing by the Cohesion Fund through Operational Programme “Transport and Transport Infrastructure” 2014-2020. National Railway Infrastructure Company is a beneficiary.