The construction of a small railroad station is included in the project for the expansion of Sofia's metro from the "Tsarigradsko Shosse" boulevard to the airport.

The station will be located in the capital's "Druzhba 1" district on "Iskarsko Shosse" boulevard, where there will be also a subway station. The idea is to make possible for train passengers from the second largest city of Plovdiv to use the metro to downtown Sofia or the airport.

The news was reported Monday by the Bulgarian "24 Chassa" (24 Hours) daily.

The segment will be 5-km long and will have 5 stations, one of which near the Iskar industrial zone, where the City Hall is planning to build a modern technology park. Another one of the 5 stations will be just 10 meters from the airport's Terminal 2, used for international flights. The first two stations from "Tsarigradsko Shosse" to the airport will be underground; the other three –above ground.

The segment will be built with funds from the EU Transport program, according to the Metropolitan Director, Stoyan Bratoev, who adds the construction could begin in the summer of 2012 and by 2014 Sofia residents and visitors will be able to use the subway to reach the airport.

He also explained that the public procurement procedure will be launched by the end of the current week. The segment is divided in three parts – new Austrian method, tunnel method and trestle, thus there will be three separate contractors.

By mid-2014, with all new expansions, it is expected that the capital's subway will be used by nearly half million passengers each day.