The government is providing national co-financing for the project “Modernization of the railway line Vidin - Sofia: Medkovets - Sratsimir section”, approved under the Connecting Europe Facility. This was announced by the government press service.

The funds amount to 569,227,578 leva and will be provided to the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) within three years.

The section, with a length of 45 km, is divided into two lots - Medkovets - Dabova Mahala and Dabova Mahala - Sratsimir. The project foresees the modernization of a single electrified railway line, the construction of one new tunnel, five bridges, 11 underpasses, 12 overpasses, as well as three new stations - Dabova Mahala, Vodnyantsi and Sratsimir.

The NRIC has already signed a contract with the selected contractor for the Dabova Mahala - Sratsimir section, and a contract for the Medkovets - Dabova Mahala section is pending. By securing national co-financing, the timely commencement of construction activities should be guaranteed.

The modernization is expected to improve the conditions for passenger and freight transport on the Vidin - Sofia railway line, which is part of the main TEN-T network and the “Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Aegean Sea” corridor.

With the construction of this section, the distance between Medkovets and Sratsimir will be reduced by 14 km. As a result of the project's implementation, the route is expected to be fully electrified, interoperable, and with improved parameters in terms of speed and safety in the transportation of passengers and goods.