Orient/East-Med Corridor: North Macedonia - Kosovo - Serbia R10 Rail Interconnection

The Orient/East-Med Corridor (R10) crosses Kosovo from the north to the south, from the border with North Macedonia to the one with Serbia, and constitutes Kosovo’s sole connection to the wider region by rail. The entire track is in poor condition, with serious structural limitations that do not allow for traffic in excess of 60km/h and in some areas 20 km/h.

This route is part of the Core Network Corridors of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) extension into the Western Balkans and South East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO)’s Comprehensive Network. It is thus part of the long-term sustainable development plans of the European Union and its partners.

This investment project will enable outdated switches, tracks and trackbeds, culverts, bridges and tunnels along the Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje – border with the North Macedonia route to be replaced or renovated.

The Orient/East-Med Corridor (R10) is 256 km long, out of which 148 km are in Kosovo. It connects Kraljevo (Serbia) to Pristina (Kosovo) and Gorce Petrov (North Macedonia). The first railway tracks were built in 1936 and the route was regularly maintained until the 1990s. No major investment has been made since then. The rail connection with Serbia is no longer in operation (Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje – Podujevë/Podujevo) since the Merdare tunnel, on the border, was demolished in the 1990s, cutting cargo and passenger links from Pristina to Belgrade.

The route will be renovated in three phases, all due to be completed by 2020:

• Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - border with North Macedonia;
• Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - Mitrovicë/Mitrovica;
• Mitrovicë/Mitrovica - border with Serbia.

This investment project concerns phase 1 only. With connections to the Orient/East-Med Corridor, passenger numbers on this railway route in Kosovo could reach one million and freight 206.8 million tonnes/year by 2040.

This project will give rise to an interoperable railway route in Kosovo providing safe transport services to people and businesses in the region and wider Europe. The feasibility study and preliminary designs for the project have been completed. The new development will not have significant social or environmental impacts as the new facilities will be built on the route of the existing rail track. Detailed designs are being prepared and are due to be completed in the first quarter of 2016. Construction could start in the last quarter of 2016 and be finalised by the end of 2020.

Results:

• Railway network in Kosovo integrated into the Orient/East-Med Corridor, connecting the Western Balkans to Austria, Greece and Bulgaria.
• Railway transport systems in Kosovo are interconnected with those in North Macedonia and Serbia.
• Approximately 64 km of railway track was fully rehabilitated.

Benefits:

• Secure and efficient rail transport for approximately 50% of the population of Kosovo.
• An investment of €80.9 million is expected to bring at least double that amount into the local economy in the medium to long term.
• Passenger and cargo rail capacity and travel time significantly improved.
• Reduced CO2 emissions.