Hitachi Rail to implement ETCS along Divača-Koper line
The European Train Control System (ETCS) along the future Divača-Koper line in Slovenia will be implemented by a consortium involving Hitachi Rail. The other partner in the consortium is GH Holding and the initiative should cost around 12.2 million euros.
Hitachi Rail will participate with its Austrian subsidiary GTS Ground Transportation Systems Austria. The contract includes an upgrade of the existing signalling system at the Koper freight terminal and along the Koper-Prešnica section and the installation of ETCS equipment on the whole Divača-Koper line.
The Divača-Koper line
Doubling the Divača-Koper, one of Slovenia’s busiest freight lines, is one of the main rail projects in Slovenia. It aims at shortening the connection between the country’s largest port, in Koper, with the main railway network. It is also a key part of the TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor, running from Spain to Romania.
The cost of the entire project revolves around a little over 1.1 billion euros. Once completed, the number of convoys rolling on the new Divača-Koper line every day should increase from 90 to 231. This would translate into freight volumes more than tripling, from 14 to 43 million tonnes per year, according to the European Commission.
