Transport Minister Peter Moutafchiev and his Greek counterpart Evripidis Stylianidis signed on Thursday a cross-border agreement between the governments of Bulgaria and Greece in the field of railway transport.

The signing of the agreement will open the opportunity for the development of two joint stations on the territory of Bulgaria and Greece. The railway station chosen for the Koulata-Promachon border crossing is that of Koulata, while that for the Svilengrad-Dikaia crossing will be Dikaia station. The agreement also provides for future border crossings.

This will make the crossing of passengers and loads between Bulgaria and Greece easier, and will also reduce stopovers and the duration of travel. The expected speed of commercial trains is to be at least 130 km/h and of passenger trains - 160 km/h, even reaching 220 km/h in certain sections, Stylianidis underscored.

There are provisions for representatives of the two transport ministries, the infrastructure companies and the railway companies to develop common rules of procedure for the application of the agreement.

The time for travelling from Sofia to Thessaloniki will be shortened by 45 minutes to one hour, Moutafchiev said. Reduction of stopovers at the borders will also shorten the time of travel, he added.

The agreement signed by the two ministers comes as a continuatioon of the agreement for developing a highly effective railway network between 11 countries in Southeast Europe, signed in Thessaloniki in 2006. To date the agreement has been ratified by seven countries and after the eighth one ratifies it investments will be launched, Moutafchiev said.

The railway lines subject to this agreement passing through Bulgaria include the classical Orient Express route (from Budapest to Ankara through Sofia), Corridor 8 which connects the Adriatic and the Black Sea, cross-border corridors 4 and 9 and the line connecting Greece with the Black Sea through North Bulgaria.

Source: BTA