Rail transport in North Macedonia

Network of the North Macedonian Railways

Railway network in what is now North Macedonia in 1888

Rail traffic in North Macedonia describes the rail traffic in the Republic of North Macedonia and its historical predecessors. The state infrastructure company operates under the name of Makedonski Železnici Infrastruktura (MŽI), the railway company under Železnici na Republika Sewerna Makedonia Transport (ŽRSMT; Железници на Република Северна Макеронанана Това Македонанинazedonia of the Republic of North America )

history

prehistory

The first railway line in what is now North Macedonia, when the area was still part of the Ottoman Empire , was built by the Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO) and put into operation in 1873/74. This first route led from Thessaloniki via Skopje to Kosovska Mitrovica . The southern section of this route between Skopje and Thessaloniki is still part of the international connection from Central Europe to Athens. The connection from Skopje to the Serbian border station Ristovac was not completed until 1888.

History of the MŽ / ŽRSMT

When Yugoslavia fell apart in 1991, the Yugoslav railway system also fell apart. In the newly formed states, separate railway companies were formed, which took over the infrastructure and vehicles on their territory. In Macedonia these were the Makedonski železnici ( Macedonian Македонски железници, short МЖ / MŽ ; Albanian Hekurudhat maqedonase; German  Macedonian Railways ), a state railway . The company's headquarters and the central operating office were located in Skopje .

The changed framework conditions after the break-up of Yugoslavia increasingly marginalized rail transport. With the legacy of overcapacities in the workforce as well as the wagon, locomotive and station infrastructure maintained for a significantly larger and more efficient railway network, a considerable problem developed for the newly arisen due to the considerably shrinking passenger and freight traffic and the sharply shrinking share of rail traffic in total traffic MŽ.

Structural adjustments were made in the efforts of the Macedonian Republic to become a member of the European Union . This also included the fact that MŽ 2007 was split into a railway infrastructure company (Makedonski Železnici Infrastruktura, MŽI) and a railway company (Makedonski Železnici Transport, MŽT). After the renaming of the "Macedonian Republic" to "North Macedonian Republic" on February 12, 2019, the transport company was renamed. It now operates under the name of "Železnici na Republika Severna Makedonija Transport" (Railways of the Republic of North Macedonia - Transport - ŽRSMT), the infrastructure company kept its old name.

Route network

Skopje Central Station

Train in Skopje Central Station

The MŽI operates a route network of 925 km in the standard gauge (1435 mm). Of this, 699 km are mainline track, 226 km are station tracks and 102 km are connecting tracks. 315 km of this network are electrified with the traction current system 25 kV 50 Hz alternating current. The maximum permissible speed is 100 km / h. The only track in the network where traffic remotely backed up is and on which there is an automatic train protection, the railway Tabanovci-Gevgelija .

All rail connections within North Macedonia are operated by the ŽRSMT.

Standard gauge

The state-owned network consists of the following routes:

• Tabanovce – Gevgelija railway line (Tabanovce – Kumanovo – Skopje – Veles – Gevgelija). This main line is electrified but single-track , part of the International Association of Central Europe to Athens and a section of the Pan-European Corridor X . It is part of the country's first line from Thessaloniki to Kosovska Mitrovica, which opened in 1874 . Most of the other routes listed below branch off from it.
• The Kumanovo – Gjueschewo (Bulgaria) railway line , 121 km, is under construction. The section from Kumanovo to Beljakovci (31 km) was opened in 1956, but traffic stopped in 1994. The line is being built as part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII ., The first construction phase - the renovation of the existing line between Kumanovo and Beljakovci - was completed in 2019. However, the route is not yet listed in the report on the infrastructure of the North Macedonian railway from 2020.
• Skopje – Volkovo (–Pristine) railway line . This is the connection to Kosovo ( Trainkos ). It is part of the country's first line from Thessaloniki to Kosovska Mitrovica, which opened in 1874.
• The Skopje – Kičevo line uses sections of the route from the Skopje – Ohrid narrow-gauge line, which was closed in 1966 .
• Zajas – Tajmište railway line , 7 km (opened in 1969), was only used for freight traffic. Operation is dormant.
• The railway line Veles – Kočani , 86 km branches off from the main line Tabanovce – Gevgelija.
• The railway line Veles – Kremenica , 145 km branches off from the main line Tabanovce – Gevgelija.
• Bakarno Gumno – Sopotniča railway line , 30 km (opened in 1957), branches off from the Veles – Kremenica line and is now out of service.
• The Gradsko – Šivec railway , 17 km (opened in 1982), branches off from the main Tabanovce – Gevgelija line.

Border stations

• with Kosovo : Volkovo
• with Serbia : Tabanovci
• with Greece : Gevgelija (in the southeast) and Kremenica (in the southwest)
• with Bulgaria (planned): Deve Bair

Former narrow gauge

An exhibited narrow-gauge train in front of the Kičevo train station

In the area of ​​what is now North Macedonia there used to be a number of narrow-gauge railways . They had a track width mm 600, are all now closed and were partially umgespurt and included in newly built standard gauge lines. The following routes existed:

• Skopje – Raduša railway line
• Skopje – Ohrid railway line (closed in 1966)
• Ohrid – Tašmorunište railway line
• Veles – Stevanci railway line
• Gradsko – Kažani railway line
• Bakamo Gumno – Bitola railway line
• Stumica – Petrič railway line (Bulgaria)

Expansion plans

New line to Bulgaria

The new Kumanovo – Deve Bair (–Bulgaria) line in the direction of Sofia , which is part of Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII , is to connect the Black Sea port of Varna in Bulgaria with the Albanian port city of Durrës . (See: Section "Standard gauge")

Reactivation of the route to Greece

The cross-border railway line between Bitola and Florina (Greece) has been without traffic for years. It should be reactivated. (See: section "standard gauge", railway line Veles – Kremenica)

Vehicle fleet

Class 411 railcars in Skopje Central Station

In 2013, for the first time since independence, the Macedonian Railways began a renewal program for the vehicles in use. Two electric (series 411) and four diesel powered railcars from the Chinese CRRC group were procured for passenger transport .

traffic

In passenger transport, the North Macedonian railroad only has a share of 3.5% of the transport volume. Interregio and regional trains run from Skopje station via Kumanovo to Tabanovci , via Veles to Gevgelija , Bitola and Kočani and via Tetovo and Gostivar to Kičevo .

Cross-border passenger traffic takes place all year round only in Kosovo. A connection to Serbia and Greece is provided by the Hellas Express from Belgrade to Thessaloniki , which runs exclusively in the summer months . It was the only passenger train that started running again on May 10, 2014 after a multi-year interruption in rail traffic with Greece. Rail travel to Bulgaria is only possible via Niš or Thessaloniki.

In freight transport, the share of the total volume is only 3%. 99% of the traffic is in transit .

Others

The UIC country code for North Macedonia is 65.

literature

• bac: The railways in the Republic of North Macedonia . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 5/2020, pp. 244–248.
• Infrastructure Manager: Network statement 2017 ; accessed on May 25, 2020.

Web links

Commons : Rail Transport in North Macedonia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Macedonian Railways (Macedonian and Albanian)
• Railway network of North Macedonia on bueker.net

Individual evidence

1. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 244.
2. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 244.
3. ↑ Infrastructure Manager: Network statement , p. 38.
4. ↑ Infrastructure Manager: Network statement , p. 41, it says "26 kV", but this is not repeated elsewhere in this report. There it also says 25 kV.
5. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 244.
6. ↑ Infrastructure Manager: Network statement , p. 44.
7. ^ EU Railway Atlas . 3rd edition Schweers + WallKöln 2017. ISBN 978-3-89494-147-5 , p. 48.
8. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 244f.
9. ^ Macedonia to Start Building Rail Link to Bulgaria. On: www.balkaninsight.com, July 10, 2012
10. ^ Officialceremony - reconstruction of the Corridor 8
11. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 245.
12. ↑ Објава на мрежа 2020 (PDF). Makedonski Železnici Infrastruktura, June 2019; accessed on May 31, 2020.
13. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 244.
14. ↑ Infrastructure manager: Network statement 2017 .
15. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 244.
16. ^ EU Railway Atlas . 3rd edition Schweers + WallKöln 2017. ISBN 978-3-89494-147-5 , p. 48.
17. ^ EU Railway Atlas . 3rd edition Schweers + WallKöln 2017. ISBN 978-3-89494-147-5 , p. 48.
18. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 248.
19. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 247.
20. ↑ Извод од возен ред / Timetable 15.12.2019 до 12.12.2020 (PDF). Železnici na Republika Severna Makedonija Transport, accessed on 29 May 2020.
21. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 248.
22. ↑ bac: Die Eisenbahnen , p. 247.