The Podgorica–Shkodër railway is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

connecting

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, used for freight-purposes only. It is Albania's only international rail link. Although initially built between 1984 and 1985, it fell into disuse in 1991 and later fully reopened in 2003. The rail infrastructure is operated by Montenegrin ŽICG on Montenegrin territory and Hekurudha Shqiptare ''(Albanian Railways)'' on Albanian territory. Nevertheless, train services are usually operated by Montenegrin operator ŽPCG between

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

and the Albanian Bajzë station and by Hekurudha Shqiptare between Bajzë and

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

only. The line connects to

Belgrade–Bar railway The Belgrade–Bar railway ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Пруга Београд–Бар, Pruga Beograd–Bar) is a long electrified main line connecting the Serbian capital of Belgrade with the town of Bar, Montenegro, Bar, a Port of Bar, major seaport ...

and Nikšić–Podgorica railway in Podgorica and Shkodër–Vorë railway in Shkodër.

Overview

Podgorica–Shkodër is a long

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

railway, of which runs through Albania and the remaining through Montenegro. Like other railways throughout Albania, the railway is not electrified. The line's last station in Albania is the Bajzë Rail Station.

History

Built between 1984 and 1985, the Podgorica–Shkodër freight line was the first international railway of Albania. It began operations on 11 January 1985 with regular traffic beginning 6 August 1986. The line fell into disuse in 1991 due to trade sanctions in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. The Bajzë-Shkodër line (with the exception of Hani i Hotit) was reopened for use in February 1996. A reopening of the Hani i Hotit- Bajzë line was scheduled for 15 November 1996 but was cancelled. The track was later badly damaged due to civil unrest in 1997. In April 2002, reconstruction of the line between the Montenegrin

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

at Hani i Hotit and Bajzë were completed. By March 2003, the line between Bajzë and Shkodër was completed with 365 million lek funded by the

Albanian government Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, in which the president of Albania is the head of state and the prime minister of Albania is the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Go ...

. A ceremony held on 6 March 2003 officially marked the opening of the Bajzë–Shkodër. As a sign of mutual cooperation, then-Albanian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Fatos Nano Fatos Thanas Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and ...

and a then-Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister travelled to

Tuzi Tuzi (, ; or ''Tuzi'') is a small town in the central region of Montenegro, and the seat of Tuzi Municipality. It is located along a main road between the city of Podgorica and the Albanian border crossing, just a few kilometers north of Lake S ...

in Montenegro on a special train operating on this line.

Future Plans

Long-term plans currently exist for the establishment and operation of passenger service on this railway. There are other plans involving the construction of a new high-speed rail line between Podgorica and Shkodër.

Overview

History

Future Plans

References

See also