Željeznica Crne Gore
The Željeznica Crne Gore ( ŽCG ; German Railway of Montenegro ) is the national railway company of Montenegro and emerged from the Jugoslovenske Železnice after independence . The main fields of activity of the ŽCG are the transportation of people and goods, the maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock , the maintenance and technical supervision of the routes, stations and facilities. The entire network is 250 km long, which is completely laid out in the standard gauge (1435 mm). 219 km of the network are electrified with 25 kV / 50 Hz alternating current. The network has 58 km of underground routes in 121 tunnels. The network also includes 120 bridges, 9 galleries and 440 underpasses.
Route network
The Montenegrin part of the Belgrade – Bar railway line serves as the main line of the national railway system. It was opened in 1979 as a technical masterpiece because, with the Mala-Rijeka Viaduct, it had the world's highest railway viaduct at the time and the 6.2 km long Sozina Tunnel . About a third of the Montenegrin part of this route are tunnels or viaducts. Until the completion of the electrification to Nikšić, this line was also the only fully electrified railway line in Montenegro.
The railway company suffered from significant underfunding in the 1990s, which led to infrastructure neglect and operational safety problems. This culminated in the train accident in Bioče in 2006, when 47 passengers died in a train derailment due to a break in the brakes of a multiple unit. Efforts are currently being made through the World Bank to sustainably rehabilitate the railway lines in particular.
The Podgorica – Nikšić line (56.6 km) was built as a narrow-gauge line in 1948 and expanded to standard gauge in 1965. From 1992 it was only used for freight trains, which mainly transported bauxite from the opencast mine in Nikšić to the aluminum works in Podgorica. The line was completely renewed and electrified by 2012 and put back into operation on October 1, 2012, and passenger traffic was also resumed.
The Podgorica – Shkodra railway , which continues to Tirana , was previously reserved for freight traffic. There are plans to reconstruct this route and to include passenger traffic, which is becoming increasingly important for both Montenegro and Albania.
Border crossing points
Montenegro has a rail connection with Serbia (see Serbian Railways ). The connection with Albania is only in operation for freight traffic. There are currently no connections with Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia .
In March 2008, an agreement was signed between the governments and railway companies of the two countries, after the line from Nikšić to Čapljina is to be rebuilt, but in standard gauge and with a route designed for higher speeds.
Rolling material
The trains consisting of wagons on the main line from Bar to the Serbian border are pulled by six-axle locomotives from the former JŽ class 461 built in Romania . On this route, in addition to wagon trains, electric multiple units of the 412 series, which were built in Riga, Latvia by RVR , are used in regional traffic . Various diesel locomotives are used in the shunting service and on the routes from Podgorica to Nikšić and the Albanian border, mostly the EMD G16 from General Motors .
Since 2013, modern electric multiple units from the Spanish manufacturer CAF have been used on the electrified routes as the 6111 series.
The wagon fleet consists of the predecessor JŽ and wagons procured from other countries. For example, former French long-distance coaches run on the Beograd – Bar express daily train (at that time half of 1st and 2nd class), but they run either as 2nd or 1st class on the ŽCG. With their air conditioning and closed sewage system, they are probably among the most modern long-distance vehicles in the entire Balkan region. The Montenegrin railways also operate various types of freight cars .
Montenegrin Railways in Fiction
James Bond travels on the railways of Montenegro in Casino Royale (2006). A Pendolino tilting train of the Czech Railways was shown.
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- ↑ Summarize railway lines in Montenegro ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Montenegro: railway Nikšic - Podgorica reopened. In: eurailpress.de. October 5, 2012, accessed February 12, 2019 .
- ↑ seebiz.eu - Transport
