Work on the railway line started in 2009 and continued in three phases until this year. 109 kilometers of railway line has been newly electrified. 32 level crossings have been removed and alternatives have been set up at 19 crossings.

A number of train stops and other infrastructure have also been upgraded. The railway line now enables speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour, cutting travel time by between 22 and 40 minutes. The capacity between Pragersko and Ormož will increase from 78 to 84 trains per day, while between Ormož and Hodoš from 46 to 67 trains a day. Together with the 109 kilometers of upgraded railway tracks also renovated were a number of crossings. Also constructed were over 40 kilometers of new roads. All that was done to improve traffic safety but not for a small price. The work in all three phases of the project stood at almost half a million euros, out of which 207 million were contributed by the European Union.

The government, represented by Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič and PM Miro Cerar attended the opening of the new railway line. Gašperšič stressed that in the 2007-2013 period Slovenia invested over 900 million euros in its rail infrastructure. In the new financial perspective the amount to be invested is to exceed two billion euros – most of it earmarked for the second rail track between Sežana and Koper, which will be financed by a public-private partnership