According to the new schedule, the second track will be completed at the end of 2025, traffic should flow in the first half of 2026

“Trains will run on this track in the first half of 2026 on the basis of a temporary use permit or decisions,” infrastructure announced at Thursday’s press conference after the government meeting at which the revised investment program was approved Alenka Bratušek. As she pointed out, the most important information is that the project will be completed at the end of 2025, and then there will be two quarters to correct any errors.

The project as a whole will cost less than planned in 2019, despite the increase in the price of the third set, mainly due to the increase in the cost of materials. “In 2019, the estimated value of the project was 1.150 billion euros, and in the investment program confirmed today it is 1.109 billion euros,” explained the minister.

It is the second amendment of the investment program for the project, which was prepared in January 2019. It was approached due to the increase in the prices of construction materials, raw materials and energy products, the implementation schedule and because the capital of the hinterland country is no longer among the sources.

The first amendment to the program was adopted in April 2021 and it was estimated that the project will be worth around 997 million euros. The investment value of the project in current prices has now decreased by 3.5 percent compared to the value from the investment program, and increased by 18 percent compared to the first amendment. Completion of construction works is expected at the end of 2025, which is the same as in the original and first amended program, the ministry summarized.

Change in the management of 2TDK

The previous management of the company 2TDK, which oversees the project of the second track Divača-Koper, s Pavlet Hevko at the helm initially predicted that work on the project would end in the middle of 2026 or at the end of March 2026. This date was also supposed to be foreseen in the first draft of the amended investment program, but the government did not confirm it, as it expected to shorten the implementation deadline back to the end in 2025 as set in 2021.

Then in March, the government did not grant a discharge to the management and supervisors of 2TDK, as it first wanted to clarify the circumstances related to the deviation from the timeline and investment value of the project. This was followed by the dismissal of Hevka, and the supervisors put 2TDK in charge Mateja Osset.

The government also increased the share capital of 2TDK. According to the law on the second track, until the start of its operation, the state must invest in the company’s share capital every year funds from the surcharge on the toll paid into the budget. They collected 13.15 million euros last year, so the company’s share capital will increase by this amount to 342.15 million euros.