us transports will be available between Maribor and Spielfeld and Werndorf in Austria for the duration of the railway closure.

The first part of the overhaul of the 15.5-km rail section involves modernising the existing track, while the entire investment also includes new platforms at the Pesnica and Šentilj train stations, upgrade of several railway crossings, and construction of new road connections.

Several underpasses and car parks as well as nearly ten kilometres of sound barriers will be built as part of the project, the Infrastructure Agency has said.

A tunnel near Šentilj will be reconstructed, while a new rail track between Počehova and Pesnica will be built, including a 1.5-km tunnel and a bridge over the Pesnica river valley.

Following the upgrade, trains will be able to travel at speeds of up to 100 km/h, up 20 km/h from current top speeds. The number of trains the track can handle will increase from 67 to 84 a day, and cargo capacity from 6.3 to 9.9 million tonnes a year.

The project is valued at EUR 242m, with EUR 100m expected to come from the EU as the section is part of the planned Baltic-Adriatic Corridor and a direct link between Austria and the Mediterranean Corridor.

It is scheduled for completion in 2022.