At present, 81% of the first stage of the third line of the fastest underground public transport is completed.
"After a few months, the first test trains will start running on the newly constructed route of subway Line 3 in the section between the subway stations Bulgaria and Krasno Selo. The finishing works of the two subway stations have begun. At present, about 81% of the first stage of the third line is completed. Construction works are on schedule. At the end of 2019, 8 km of the subway line will be ready", said the Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova.
Mayor Fandakova, the Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, Rosen Zhelyazkov and the Executive Director of “Metropolitan”, Prof. Stoyan Bratoev inspected the construction of subway Line 3 in the section between “Bulgaria” Blvd. and Krasno Selo. This is the first section of Stage 1 with a ready railway track. The route and the commenced finishing works were inspected with track inspection trolley.
"The subway is the biggest project for the next year, which has an impact on both transport and air," said also Fandakova.
Twenty-one companies are involved in the construction of the third line as main contractors.
"The construction of Line 3 is financed by OP Transport and Transport Infrastructure and co-financed by the municipality. For the next year, BGN 82.5 million are allocated from the budget of Sofia Municipality which are provided with the help of the European Investment Bank", said Mayor Fandakova.
Currently, two of the four stages of the subway Line 3 are under construction, located in the area of "Vl. Vazov" Blvd. – City centre – residential area "Ovcha Kupel" – the railway line Sofia - Pernik in Gorna Banya district with a total length of 12 km and 12 subway stations.
Stage 1 includes the route - "Vl. Vazov" Blvd. – Eagles’ Bridge - NPC – “Bulgaria” Blvd. - Krasno Selo district with a length of 8 km and 8 subway stations, metropolitan depot in Zemlyane quarter and a delivery of 20 subway trains by Siemens.
Stage 2 includes the route Krasno Selo district - residential area "Ovcha Kupel" - railway line Sofia - Pernik in Gorna Banya district with a length of 4 km and 4 subway stations, with completion date in early 2020.
The section under Stage 1 is divided into two completion sub-stages with a view to the significant length and the possibility of building the internal structures of the stations, the railway tracks and finishing works after the passage of the Tunnel Boring Machine through the section. The first sub-section is 5 km long and includes 5 subway stations: Patriarh Evtimiy, NPC, Medical Academy, Bulgaria Blvd. and Krasno Selo. It should be completed in September 2019.
The second sub-section is 3 km long with 3 subway stations: Hadzhi Dimitar on "Vl. Vazov" Blvd., Teatralna and Eagles’ Bridge, and should be completed by the end of 2019.
This year the construction of the depot in Zemlyane quarter was completed and the first 12 trains have already been delivered. The necessary documentation for the adoption of the site by the Acceptance Committee is forthcoming.
At five of the Stage 1 subway stations, the main premises for the installation of equipment have been completed and the finishing works have commenced. The installation of the platform doors between the trains and the passengers is forthcoming.
With the launch of the third line, half a million people will commute using the subway. This will save about 90 thousand tons per year of exhaust emissions in the air.
