September 25 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's government said it can move ahead with its plans to build a second track of the Divaca–Koper railway following a weekend referendum, during which over 53% of voters pledged support for the project.
"After two decades and efforts by previous governments, the construction of the second track has now finally and definitely shifted from a dead end", the prime minister of Slovenia, Miro Cerar said in a statement on Sunday.
He noted that the project is necessary for the further development of the entire logistics industry and the economy.
"The second track opens up opportunities for new jobs and allows us to move away from the sidelines and become a logistics platform for Europe", Cerar said.
In March, Slovenia's government adopted a draft act on the construction and management of a second track of the Divaca–Koper railway line. The draft, approved by parliament in May, aims is to ensure an effective funding model for the construction of the second track, with the smallest possible burden on public finances and the fastest possible implementation, the government said at the time.
The call for a referendum was launched by locals who demand relocation of the existing track and construction of a new two-track line.
"We do not understand the narrow interests of those proposing this referendum, which clearly do not coincide with the interests of Slovenia and its citizens, since with this proposal they are directly putting at risk the possibility of drawing on European funds and, consequently, the possibility of obtaining an EIB loan and the cooperation of hinterland countries", infrastructure minister Peter Gaspersic said earlier. "All these are mechanisms that take the burden off Slovenian taxpayers".
The existing Divaca - Koper line does not meet the standards for the core network which were adopted by the Council of the EU in 2012 and are expected to be implemented by 2030.
When the second railway track becomes operational, the distance covered by freight will be reduced from 44.3 km to 27 km on the Divaca–Koper section, the journey time will decrease from 43–48 minutes to 15–21 minutes, train speed will increase to 100 km/h and the capacity of the railway connection will increase to some 220 trains per day, the government said earlier.