Sofia City Launches EUR 16.7 M Underground Railway Extension

Bulgaria’s capital Sofia is launching on Friday the construction of a new stretch of its underground railway system that will cost nearly EUR 17 M.

The southward extension to the "Blue" line will be 1.3 km long and will link the existing James Bourchier Station with a new station at the Hladilnika neighborhood, extending the line southwards.

City authorities expect the new extension will draw an additional 28,000 passengers a day to the underground railway, easing car traffic jams and reducing pollution. Construction works are projected to cost EUR 16.7 M and should be completed on June 1 2016.

Financing for the new stretch will come from the municipality’s own funds and the Operational Programme Transport of the European Commission. The city authorities also plan to extend the "Blue" line from Hladilnika further south towards the Vitosha Mountain in the future.

Two extensions of the ‘Red’ line linking Sofia’s northwestern neighborhoods with the Sofia International Airport and the Business Park in the southeastern outskirts of the city are scheduled to enter service in April next year, bringing to 40 km the total length of the Sofia underground railway.

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova said construction works on these two extensions are nearly 70% complete. The new stretches are projected to add a total of 90,000 new passengers to the service.