Turkey and Bulgaria have agreed to establish a high-speed rail (HSR) link on the Sofia – Istanbul line. At the end of 2020, representatives of the Turkish state railway TCDD and the Bulgarian infrastructure operator NRIC signed an agreement to modernise and develop the 374 km section between Plovdiv and Istanbul, including the connection between Svilengrad in Bulgaria and Kapikule in Turkey. The Sofia – Istanbul HSR project includes the modernisation of the Sofia – Plovdiv and Plovdiv – Edirne sections. In addition, Turkey and Bulgaria are working on a second cross-border connection along the route between Yambol, Lesovo and the Turkish border.
