Currently, a major railway repair is being carried out in the Republic of Serbia on the line to Bulgaria. The rehabilitation covers the cities of Niš, Pirot and Tsaribrod, which is in close proximity to the border. The railway line in these sections was in extremely poor condition. It is not electrified, and only diesel-powered trains run on it.
A major repair of the lower and upper railway structure - the line - is being carried out. For this purpose, the railway infrastructure company of the Republic of Serbia uses 36-hour “windows”, in which train traffic is interrupted and construction work is carried out. After that, traffic is resumed, also for 36 hours. This is the system of work on the site.
However, the railway line in question passes through extremely complex terrain - the "Sycheva Gorge", which is about 17 kilometers long, which requires a complete interruption of the movement of all trains.
This is what will require a long temporary interruption of at least 200 days, the site writes E-80 NEWS.
For many years passenger fast trains between Bulgaria and Serbia are not running.
The huge disruption will also stop freight trains between the two countries for more than half a year. This will cause great damage to the Bulgarian state, for which the route is of exceptional importance.
The expected shutdown is currently announced for January 2027!