Koper Second Track investment plan approved

SLOVENIA: The government has approved a new plan for the financing of the proposed new line from the port of Koper to Divača.

The financing programme was designed by Deloitte. ‘The Second Track project is economically viable, because the economic benefits are higher than the costs’, said Minister of Infrastructure Alenka Bratušek when it was approved on January 24. 

The planned single-track line from the port is branded the Second Track, as it will form a double-track route in conjunction with the existing steeply graded single-track line. Civil works including three new tunnels would make provision for the future double-tracking of the new alignment.

Construction is planned for 2019-25, with revenue service starting in 2026. The overall cost is estimated at €1·194bn, including €1·150bn for construction, €32m for interest and other financing costs and €12m for the operating costs of 2TDK, the state company set up to manage the project. State funding would cover €522m of this, with the remainder of the cost to be met from EU grants, loans from international financial institutions and national development bank SID Bank.

The investment would be recuperated through access charges paid by train operators on both the new line and the existing national rail network.