North-south rail connectivity in Bulgaria is a complicated matter due to the presence of the Stara Planina mountain range, which divides the country in two. The Bulgarian government is now claiming it will build three railway tunnels to solve this problem, which would significantly benefit rail freight.
The projects, according to the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadjov, will be funded through public-private partnerships. The three routes announced for the future tunnels are Stolnik–Mezdra, Hristo Danovo–Troyan and a rail line through the Hainboaz Pass (also known as Pass of the Republic).
All the routes were chosen with rail freight in mind, as Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov stated. The gradients through these passages are never over 2‰, which means that freight trains can be pulled by one single locomotive, lowering costs and possibly increasing competitiveness. The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport was contacted for further information but no answer was received at time of publication.
The Stolnik–Mezdra tunnel, located in the west of Bulgaria, would create an additional route running northeast of Sofia along the corridor connecting Greece to Romania.
The one running from Hristo Danovo to Troyan would create a new north-south connection as the two locations are not currently connected due to the presence of the mountain range.
The tunnel crossing the Hainboaz Pass would provide an alternative to the mountainous route in the centre of the country.
Ramping up rail freight
Over the past few months, Bulgaria seems to have increased its interest in boosting rail freight. Other than the ambitious plan for these three new tunnels, the country is working on opening a new rail border crossing with Türkiye and investing in intermodal terminals as well as the port of Burgas.