New intermodal terminal in a key location
A new intermodal terminal has just opened in Bozhurishche Industrial Zone, a logistics area near Sofia, Bulgaria. The new facility will be used to handle sea containers unloaded at the port and destined for customers from western Bulgaria. Goods between the terminal and the port of Burgas and vice versa will be moved by rail.
The terminal was inaugurated on February 23 and has a working area of 27,000 square meters, with an expected annual capacity of 60,000 TEU. The terminal will be equipped with two railway tracks, each 300 meters long. The railway line between Sofia and the port of Burgas is a key section of the East-Central European corridor TEN-T, which connects Greece with Germany.
BMF Port Burgas (BMF), the company that manages the port of Burgas in eastern Bulgaria, will be responsible for operating the terminal. A representative of the BMF told RailFreight.com that there are plans to install a container block train from the port to Sofia in the near future, which will run three times a week. In addition, BMF is already receiving requests from companies to use the terminal as a drop-off depot.
General Director of BMF Borys Balev called the new terminal "the main connecting link between the Port of Burgas and the European network of intermodal terminals." The total amount of investment in the construction of the terminal amounted to about five million euros. As the company explained, the terminal is located along the Sofia-Banka railway line, in the heart of the Balkans. "Its key location provides flexibility for container shipments to/from the interior of the country, both by road and rail," BMF noted. Both Sofia and Burgas actually have various international and domestic connections.