Project studies for the first Greece – Albania railway connection at the starting line

One of most important railway projects, the first ever Greek – Albanian railway connection is at the starting line. It is also one of the Balkans’ paradoxes: two neighboring countries not having estalished such a link, making it perhaps the a unique example in the European continent.

To that end, according to information of ypodomes.com, a first ceremony will be organized by ERGOSE on November 19th in the town of Kastoria. There, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Greece along along with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania will launch discussions on how this connection will be implemented. According to the same information, the event will be opened by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Thanos Vourdas.

The project is part of the “Railway Egnatia” and concerns the new railway line on the section Florina – Kastoria – Pogradec. For this initial phase the study will be funded by the INTERREG IPA II CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAM GREECE – ALBANIA 2014-2020.

The study was agreed to be drawn up jointly by OSE, ERGOSE and the Albanian Ministry of Transport. The railway corridor between Florina and Pogradec has a total length of about 130 km in Greece and Albania and has been recognized as a part of the TEN-T Connecting Europe program. The greatest benefit of this project will be for the region of Western Macedonia that, withing a few years, will be transformed into a transport hub between Greece, Albania and FYROM.

The purpose of the feasibility study is to collect relevant data from all key stakeholders, assessing the future socio-economic impact and financial sustainability of this new rail link with all its main implications. The scope of the study will cover both passengers and freight transport.

The railway link with Albania in the future could be doubled with the development of the western section of “Railway Egnatia” maximizing its benefits even further.

Nikos Karagiannis-ypodomes.com