The indicative extension of the TEN-T Core Network to the Western Balkans along Route 4 is approximately 580 km long and runs from Vršac (Serbia/Romania border) to Belgrade (Serbia) and then to Podgorica and Bar (Montenegro).
Bar – Vrbnica is the most important railway line of the Montenegrin network, carrying about 20% of rail passengers and 60% of rail cargo. With the line being operational for more than 40 years, many elements have reached or will be reaching the end of their economic and technical lifetime. Hence, the condition of the track substructure and superstructure, as well as of the essential civil structures (tunnels, bridges, cuts, culverts, etc.) is increasingly deteriorating and causes an ever-increasing maintenance backlog, rising safety concerns and operational constraints, i.e., speed restrictions.
This investment concerns substantial rehabilitation works on bridges and permanent way along the section Lutovo – Bratonožići – Bioče of the Vrbnica (state border with the Republic of Serbia) – Podgorica – Bar railway line, forming a part of the Orient/East Mediterranean TEN-T Core Network Corridor. These improvements aim at removing speed restrictions, enhancing the reliability of infrastructure, reducing infrastructure maintenance costs, improving safety on the 20-km single-track electrified standard gauge section of the line, and strengthening the capabilities of the railway workshops for modern maintenance of locomotives and wagons.
