BULGARIA: Serbia plans to close the Niš–Dimitrovgrad line for around 200 days from September 2026, and Romania foresees a full interruption of Giurgiu Nord–Ruse from April to December 2027. The two sections carry the rail freight route between Central Europe and Turkey.
Transport minister Georgi Peev convened an online meeting on 28 August over the closures with Radu Dinel Miruță, Romania’s deputy prime minister and acting transport minister, and Aleksandra Sofronijević, Serbia’s minister of construction, transport and infrastructure. The Bulgarian ministry warns that restricting both routes at the same time will severely affect freight flows between Central Europe, the Balkans and Turkey, and Bulgarian freight operators have already raised concerns.
The Bulgarian minister called preserving the connection a matter of strategic importance and proposed pre-allocated slots for freight trains instead of a full interruption.
The Serbian closure
The 200-day closure covers the reconstruction and electrification of the 86-kilometre Sićevo–Dimitrovgrad section, the only non-electrified stretch of Corridor X. A consortium led by the Bulgarian contractor Trace Group Hold holds the contract of approximately EUR 169.7 million; construction began in November 2023, financed by an EIB loan and EU grants.
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić has said the line will be finished by the end of 2027.
The Romanian closure
Infrastructure manager CFR SA has decided the April–December 2027 interruption as part of Lot 2 of the modernisation between București Nord and the border station Giurgiu Nord, with reopening planned for September 2028. The works contract went to the RailWorks consortium of Arcada and Alstom at RON 2.1 billion (approximately EUR 400 million) excluding VAT, financed through the Connecting Europe Facility and the state budget. Design work has been under way since September 2025, and traffic on the Jilava–Frătești section has been suspended since 16 March 2026.
CFR SA has proposed two alternatives to operators: Golenți–Vidin in the west and Negru Vodă–Kardam in the east. The western option depends on the Danube crossing at Vidin–Calafat, which has limited capacity.
Talks continue
The three ministries agreed to continue the talks at infrastructure manager level. The next meeting will address concrete operational solutions and the use of existing capacity.
On the published dates, the two closures run consecutively: around 200 days from September 2026 ends close to the start of the Romanian interruption in April 2027.
In a statement on LinkedIn in August, the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) warned that the timing of the two projects risks closing both the main corridor and its most efficient alternative at the same time. The association called on the European Commission and the European Transport Corridor and rail freight corridor coordinators to review the planned works and timelines with the infrastructure managers and national authorities. It asked for a sequence that keeps at least one viable rail corridor open.