2TDK, the special purpose vehicle established by the government to build and manage the railway line, said in a press release on Wednesday that it had managed to find a way to reduce the cost by another EUR 40 million, after already shrinking the cost by EUR 71.2 million in February.

The company said it would save EUR 40 million by depositing the flysch which is to be dug out in tunnel construction at a nearby site.

The flysch which will not be used in the construction will be deposited at the Črnotiče quarry, 10 kilometres away, instead of being hauled off to the Salonit Anhovo plant, more than 110 kilometres north. The flysch will be used to fill parts of the quarry.

Not only will this bring down cost, it will also reduce the project's ecological footprint, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering the projected level of environment acidity caused by the project, 2TDK said.

Eight tunnels and accompanying tubes, amounting to a total of 37.4 kilometres in length, will be built on the new track, generating 4.15 million of cubic metres of limestone, flysch and other material.

The limestone will be built into concrete structures and in levees, while the surplus will be taken to the Črnotiče quarry to be processed for further use in concrete and tampons, 2TDK said.

Moreover, other surplus material will be used to fill in the nearby Bekovec waste dump, with the plan to turn it into agricultural land.