The geographic location of FYR Macedonia is at the crossroad of South-Eastern Europe, making it an important transit route for land traffic between Central Europe, the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The landlocked geographical location of the country has contributed to the development of international traffic on two Trans National Axes: North-South (Corridor X) and East-West (Corridor VIII) linked to the Trans European Transport Networks. The basic infrastructure of the country is relatively well established and it can be considered as a good basis for further modernisation. Several significant transport routes connect the country with the Central and Eastern Europe, with South and South-East Europe and beyond. Further development of the transport sector will contribute towards competitiveness of the national economy and balanced regional development.
As far as rail infrastructure is concerned, in the 2015-2017 strategy, the Government in Skopje is focusing on the modernisation of Corridor X through the ongoing project financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with further 53 railway kilometers scheduled for construction.
In addition to the Corridor X projects, FYR Macedonia is also looking at the rail sections on Corridor VIII. The construction of the eastern part of the Corridor, to Bulgaria, will be divided in three steps and financed through an EBRD and EIB loan and IPA funds.
Technical assistance for the documentation and project implementation will be provided by the European Union through its WBIF instrument.
In addition, a project to rebuild 17 railway kilometers on the Bitola-Kremenica section (Corridor X) is scheduled for launching and aims at creating connections with Greece. The work on an additional section, Beljakovce-Kriva Palanka, will also be carried out using EBRD financing with technical assistance from the EU and its WBIF instrument.
Currently, there are no railway connections between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria.
A railway between the two capital cities, Sofia and Skopje, would indeed increase trade in the region. The decades-long project has been revived in the past few years, and FYR Macedonia is now working on the first two sections of the corridor. Macedonian Railways (Makedonski Železnici Infrastruktura – MZ) hope that the project will help come up with a final cost estimate, which is currently expected to amount to around EUR 330 million.
Works on two important railway sections, Kumanovo-Beljakovce and Beljakovce-Kriva Palanka, is in a more advanced stage. Reconstruction of the track on the 31 kilometer Kumanovo-Beljakovce section began in March 2014.
As for the other section, Beljakovce-Kriva Palanka, construction works should begin by 2017. This, the second leg of the corridor, would cost EUR 145 million to be build. In December 2014, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development agreed a loan of up to EUR 145 million to finance the modernisation of railway infrastructure in FYR Macedonia and to strengthen the country’s regional transport links.
It will allow completion of a key East – West 34 km section of the rail corridor, which will ultimately link the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria to the Adriatic coast in Albania, as well as Turkey. The total cost of the project is EUR 600 million.
“The project will help integrate Macedonia’s infrastructure further with its neighbours, boosting the regional economy. The transport corridor will ultimately link the Black Sea in Bulgaria with the Adriatic Sea in Albania. EBRD is willing to continue supporting the main strategic priorities of the country in close co-operation and alignment with the Government”, said Biljana Milosheska, Senior Banker at EBRD.
The condition of the country’s rail infrastructure will be further improved through the modernisation of Skopje central station and 10 additional stations on Corridor X. The IPA Regional development Component funds will be earmarked for the 10 stations.
“Construction of Rail Corridor VIII brings multiple political and economic values. It is a good opportunity to establish a bridge between the West and the East, and hence when the construction of the whole railway tracks is completed, traveling by land from Skopje to Istanbul will take an hour and a half less. This is a major project for the country, as it helps to build sustainable economic growth generated through cross-border trading. This agreement is an important step in our cooperation with the EBRD”, said Zoran Stavreski Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance of FYR Macedonia.
The entire section designed between the two neighbouring countries will be included in the pan-European Corridor VIII and will provide FYR Macedonia with a shorter railway connection to the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Burgas, from the Black Sea. If the railway is completed, the journey between the two capitals could last between three and four hours.
There are currently projects for improvement of the rail infrastructure in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia such as rehabilitation of railway stations, rehabilitation of rail sections, projects for increasing the speed, electrification and operational aspects of the rail, but there is still room for improvement.
New tenders to be launched
In parallel with rail infrastructure projects, FYR Macedonia plans to continue its project to renew the rolling stock fleet; the project is financed through an EBRD loan. Macedonian Railways has also launched calls for tenders to overhaul its most important depots and increase their capacity.
Investment in infrastructure currently amounts to EUR 281 million, with EUR 145 million earmarked for the project aiming to rebuild the lines to the border with Bulgaria and EUR 50 million allocated for the purchase of rolling stock.
In 2014 the railway company signed a EUR 25 million contract with CSR Zhuzhou to purchase 4 diesel and 2 electric low-floor railcars which are intended for use on the most circulated lines. The contract is financed partly through an EBRD loan amounting to EUR 988,000. Thus, in 2015, FYR Macedonia officially launched the electric multiple unit train manufactured by China’s CRRC Corporation – the first of six passenger trains procured through a government project on renewing the rolling stock fleet of the country. The new train is the first one out of many new modern trains provided to renew the fleet of the Macedonian Railways – a capital investment of EUR 25 million secured through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
This year Macedonian Railways has purchased 107 new freight cars, while the remaining 43 will be delivered in the coming months. The contract was worth EUR 13.2 million and was signed with the manufacturer ZOS Trnava (Slovakia).
The company has announced its intention to use an EBRD loan to purchase new rolling stock and rehabilitate several locomotives and locomotive depots. The overall project cost will be EUR 59 million.
The 2017 strategy includes investment in the modernisa-tion and acquisition of rolling stock. Under the strategy FYR Macedonia is launching a tender for three locomotives worth a total EUR 7 million, according to the Transport Minister. The contract is expected to be signed this year and the locomotives are to be delivered in 2017.
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