This case study presents the cross-border rail connection Vidin – Craiova between Bulgaria and Romania which is mainly dedicated to freight transport.  

It explores the business model of this service, including its governance arrangements, operational provisions to develop the service and address demand, and its territorial scope. The connection between Vidin and Craiova includes the New Europe bridge which is part of Pan-European Corridor IV, a transport route that connects Dresden with Istanbul and Thessaloniki. The new bridge has a four-lane highway, train tracks, bike paths and pedestrian lanes. The case study presents the key obstacles to the service, such as challenges linked to legal and financial frameworks and infrastructure capacity and discusses solutions to these barriers. The concluding section reflects upon the lessons learnt from the case study. 

This case study report is part of a series of 31 case studies developed in the framework of the study ‘Providing public transport in cross-border regions – Mapping of existing services and legal obstacles’, completed by Spatial Foresight in cooperation with TCP international, TRT trasporti e territorio and EureConsult for the European Commission’s DG REGIO.