The new railway line to Port Koper will be double-tracked
The Slovenian government has started preparations for the construction of a second track on the Divača – Koper railway line, which is currently under construction. The new line will replace the existing route between Kopr and Prešnica. The construction of this main line is of key importance for the further development of the Port of Koper.
The Slovenian authorities considered 3 variants of expanding the railway connection to the port. The first assumed the construction of a new single-track line and the preservation of the existing connection, the capacity of which is already used almost entirely. The second variant assumes the construction of a new double-track line and the liquidation of the Koper-Prešnica line. The third assumed the construction of a new double-track line and the preservation of the old one. The construction of the first track of the new Divača – Koper line started in 2021. It is a complex investment, as the tracks from sea level will rise to a height of 430 m, and 37 km of the line will run in tunnels.
January 24 this year the government in Ljubljana adopted amendments to the national location plan for the second Divača – Koper railway line, in which it was decided to implement the second variant. This means that a second track will be added to the new line, and the old railway connection will be removed and converted into a bicycle path.
The main objective of the investment is to transfer the transport of goods handled by Port Koper from roads to rail. The Slovenian port can already boast of a high, as for European conditions, share of rail in the delivery and export of goods from the land, amounting to over 60%. However, a further increase in the volume of cargo transported to and from Koper by trains requires the construction of a new railway line with greater capacity. This is necessary considering the ongoing and planned investments in the ports of Koper and Trieste located nearby, as well as the dynamic development of international intermodal connections between container terminals in the northern Adriatic and Central Europe.
The new line will be a modern main line meeting the criteria of the TEN-T network and enabling trains to travel at a speed of 160 km/h. The construction of the line is to be completed in 2025.