Repairs on rising rails result in reduced Sofia Metro line 3 service
Train service on the third line of Sofia Metro underground rapid transit system in Bulgaria’s capital city was cut short on the evening of January 19, leaving Hadji Dimitar station out of service.
The issue that caused the interruption was rails rising above acceptable levels in one section of the tunnel about 200m away from the station, the chief executive of Sofia Metro’s operator Metropoliten Stoyan Bratoev said.
Bratoev said it was too early to tell what caused the issue, but said it could have possibly been caused by swelling ground waters or the rising levels of the Perlovska River that passes above that stretch of the Metro line.
He said that the repairs would require dismantling the rails and removing the top layer of concrete. Bratoev did not give a timeline for completing the repairs but said it would require “more than a few days,” Bulgarian National Radio reported.
Bratoev did not give an estimate for the cost of repairs either, saying that the tunnel was in its warranty period and the construction company that built it would have to fix the issue at its own expense.
Metro line 3 service would continue between the other seven stations, while passengers that wished to get to the Hadji Dimitar stations could use shuttle services provided by the Sofia city hall.
(Sofia Metro line 3 photo: Adelina Angelova)
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