The construction of the longest two-pipe railway tunnel, built so far in Bulgaria and at the Balkans, has started today. The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Georgi Todorov launched the construction works for a project for the modernisation of the railway section Elin Pelin-Vakarel. The site is part of the main railway highway in the direction East - West and is one of the extremely important for Bulgaria and neighboring countries European Corridor No. 8 and the passing TEN-T Network in our country.
The route is 20 km long and is part of the project "Modernization of the railway section Elin Pelin - Kostenets". The amount of BGN 498 million will be invested in the reconstruction of the 20 km long section under two Operational Programs "Transport and Transport Infrastructure" 2014-2020 and "Transport Connectivity", Minister Todorov said. Activities include the construction of a 7-kilometer two-pipe tunnel. The design speed for passenger transport is 160 km/h and for freight 120 km/h.
The technical and operational challenges for the builder are extreme, as this lot is the most difficult of the whole section". From here begins the challenge for the company performing the construction activities as well as the implementation of continuous joint control over the entire process by the construction supervision company, the Minister added.
The construction of the railway section Elin Pelin-Kostenets, part of the project "Modernisation of the railway line Sofia-Plovdiv: railway sections Sofia — Elin Pelin and Elin Pelin — Septemvri are implemented with co-financing from the Cohesion Fund through Operational Programme “Transport and Transport Infrastructure” 2014-2020. The value of the construction contract is BGN 498 800 012 excluding VAT and its contractor is DZZD “Chen-Douy Railway Elin Pelin”, which includes the companies: “Jengiz Inshaat Sanayi Ve Tigeret Anonym Shiketti” JSC, “Duigu MUCHENDISLIK Inshaat Tourism Dish Tijared Ve Sanayi Limited Shiketti” Ltd.
More information about the project “Modernisation of railway section Elin Pelin — Kostenets”, you can find here.
