They fear it would harm the natural beauty of the Karst region.

The presentation of the 11-kilometre Slovenian part of the railway link, most of which would run through the wider Sežana area, is being held as part of the unveiling of the national zoning plan until 29 May.

Tomorrow, the project of connecting Slovenia to the European transport corridors will be presented in Divača.

The 11-kilometre railway, of which 3.8 kilometres would run through tunnels, would enable cutting-edge rail transport of both passenger and freight, according to the ministry.

Trains would reach the speed of up to 250 kilometres per hour. The project also envisages modernisation of the Divača hub and some other deviations.

The plans allow for the new railway to run either north or south of the existing motorway, with the southern version being the more likely due to the possibility of its continuation in the direction of Ljubljana and fewer motorway crossings.

Locals expressed a number of remarks to the plan, with Mayor Davorin Terčon saying that the municipality would use all legal means available to stop the project.

He noted that the Karst region was almost entirely included in the Nature 2000 nature protection area.

The representative of the state at the meeting, Ljubo Žerak, meanwhile urged the locals to take into consideration the wider aspect of connecting the Padan and the Pannonian plains.