BergerWorld: 3rd Quarter 2008

Bordering Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, serves as a major link between Europe and Asia. The country's first railway, the 223-kilometer-long Rousee-Varna Railway, was constructed in 1865 and opened the following year. Since then, Bulgaria has developed more than 6,000 kilometers of railway lines.

The existing 150-kilometer-long Plovdiv-Svilengrad Railway Line is in poor condition, as service is slow and unreliable. In response, Louis Berger SAS was retained as part of a consortium appointed by Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport and Communication to manage the $834 million electrification of the line. The new line will accommodate 160-kilometer-per-hour conventional trains and 200-kilometer-per-hour tilting trains on 20 kilometers of double track and include 27 stations, halts and bridges, significantly improving the speed, efficiency and reliability of rail passenger and freight services.

Following the service improvements, the line, which traverses a picturesque setting and crosses the Maritsa, Mechka, Kardjaliiska and Banska Rivers, will accommodate 13 to 20 additional passenger trains and from eight to 14 additional freight trains per day. As part of Transport Corridors IV and IX of the Trans-European Network, the line will serve as the main rail connection between Bulgaria, Turkey and the Middle East, as well as an important link for passenger and freight traffic to a number of Bulgaria's most important cities, including Plovdiv, Svilengrad, Haskovo and Dimitrovgrad. The project is expected to be completed by 2011.