EU funds for the upgrade of the railway line in the section Dolga gora – Poljčane
Ljubljana, 4 June 2012 – Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, as the Managing Authority for the EU structural funds and the Cohesion Fund, issued a decision awarding EU funds for the project of the upgrade of the double track railway line in the section Dolga gora – Poljčane, which is worth 45.4 million Euros out of which 28.1 million Euros is the EU Cohesion Fund contribution. The investment will improve the transportation-technical safety on the railway line, enhance the transport capacity and interoperability. The investment will also shorten the travelling times of trains and increase the permeable capacity to 169 trains per day as well as decrease the operating costs.
The above-mentioned railway line section goes through dynamic slopes of Dolga gora and Zbelovska gora and the flat area of the valley of the Dravinja river. The section is warn-out and its maintenance is economically irrational, technically inefficient and conditioned only with ensuring safety parameters for the railway transport. In the framework of the project, which is foreseen to be realised by December 2014, 15 kilometres of railway will be upgraded, seven supporting walls will be upgraded, 16 bridging facilities, two platforms and four level crossings will be upgraded (Dolga Gora, Spodnje Laže, Lušečka vas and Čadramska vas).
The railway line facilitates freight transport as well as passenger transport between the capital and the settlements of the regions Podravje and Savinjska regija. The line is also important for the international freight transport as it is part of the railway line Zidani Most–Šentilj–state border. Part of the line (from Zidani Most to Pragersko) is situated at the V and X Pan-European Corridor and the priority project No 6 TEN-T which partially coincides with corridor V.
The project is part of the Operational Programme of Environmental and Transport Infrastructure Development, which is worth 1.57 billion Euros. The funds of the operational programme are primarily intended for the modernisation or new infrastructural constructions in the area of environment and transport, and, to a lesser extent, also for sustainable energy projects.
