Railways compete with airlines in terms of speed and comfort in developed countries. High-speed trains are cheaper than planes and, unlike airports, they shorten the total travel time considerably with their stations located in the city center. This being the case, the fact that the railways of Albania, located in the heart of Europe, are not integrated into the European railway network is a big problem both for the economic development of the country and for the transit of goods and passengers from neighboring countries.
The completion of the single market in the European Union and the creation of the European Economic Area have led to an increase in international mobility. In this process, the increasing interdependencies in world trade along with the changes experienced in the Central and Eastern European Countries also attracted attention. This led to the development of the "external dimensions" approach in the EU's Common Transport Policy. At the third Pan-European Transport Conference held in Helsinki in June 1997, the number of corridors reached 10 and it was agreed to carry out the work within four main transport areas. The designated corridors are:
Corridor 1: Tallinn-Riga-Warsaw
Corridor 2: Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow
Corridor 3: Berlin/Dresten-Wroclaw-Lvov-Kiev
Corridor 4: Berlin/Nuremberg-Prague-Budapest-Constanța/Thessaloniki/Istanbul
Corridor 5: Trieste-Ljubijana-Budapest-Bratislava-Uzgorod-Lvov
Corridor 6: Gdansk-Warsova-Zilina
Corridor 7: Danube
Corridor 8: Durres-Tirana-Skopje-Sofia-Varna
Corridor 9: Helsinki-Kiev/Moscow-Odesa/Kishinev/Bucharest-Plovdiv
Corridor 10: Main Corridor: Salzburg- Ljubljana- Zagreb- Belgrade- Apr- Skopje- Veles-Thessaloniki
The aim of Transport Corridor 8 is to connect Central Asia and Western Europe via the Black Sea, the Balkans, and the Adriatic, and this 1350 km long line connects roads, railways, airports, and ports.
Albania, which aims to become a full member of the European Union, has recently made moves to strengthen its infrastructure in the field of transportation.
On September 9, 2021, an agreement was made with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the financing of railways.
The rehabilitation project of the Vorë – Han I Hotit railway line, which provides the connection with Montenegro, which is part of the European Commission Economic and Investment Plan, has been approved for the 2022 Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). The €267 million project covers the rehabilitation of 120 km of railway line and 12 stations, including the installation of new signaling systems and safety improvements. Currently, the maximum operating train speed is approximately 40 km/h, in some sections this speed is below 20 km/h, and in most parts of the line, the signaling system is damaged and almost non-existent. The project received a WBIF grant of €133.4 million, including €4.5 million in previous EU grants, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) contributed a total investment of €125.8 million in euros.
The pre-feasibility project of the Durres-Prishtine railway project, which will connect Albania and Kosovo at the end of 2022, was also put out to tender.
In 2023, the reconstruction of the 34 km railway line between Durrës and Tirana started and is still ongoing. Most of the civil engineering works have been completed, including the construction of eight new railway bridges. Currently, superstructure works are continuing on the upper part of the railway line. These include welding the rails and laying ballast and sleepers. "The next big challenge is the purchase of new trains. We hope that by the end of 2024, we will complete the reconstruction of the railway line, after which we will need to obtain financing and purchase new trains," says Bashkim Kasoruho, director of the Project Implementation Unit of Albanian Railways. "As part of our support for this project, the EBRD will also be willing to finance the purchase of new trains, maintenance equipment, and other equipment," adds Ekaterina Solovova, President of Albania's European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Durres-Tirana railway reconstruction project is financed by the EBRD with a loan of 36.9 million euros and by the European Union (EU) with an investment grant of up to 35.5 million euros under the Western Balkans Connectivity Agenda.
Albanian Railways CEO Gentian Liko is optimistic about the future of the sector and adds that other investments are planned. "We expect to complete the financial structure of the Vore-Hani i Hoti railway investment in the near future. This is a much larger project, 120 km in length. The railway line is part of the Transport Network (TEN-T) in the extension of the main trans-European network. It is our only international link connecting the Western Balkans and Albania to Montenegro ".
The EBRD has so far invested more than €1 billion in rail projects across the region, many of which have been co-financed with major EU grants. Reconstruction of railways continues in Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
Source: https://hekurudha.al/