Gevgelija railway station (''Железничка Станица Гевгелија'') is the main railway station in

Gevgelija Gevgelija ( mk, Гевгелија; ) is a town with a population of 15,685 located in the very southeast of the North Macedonia along the banks of the Vardar River, situated at the country's main border with Greece (Bogorodica-Evzoni), the point ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. It is located outside the city and is served by international intercity trains to

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, and

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

History

The station was built in 1873 when Chemins de fer Orientaux opened the line from Skopje to Thessaloniki, both at the time part of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Following the Treaty of London that ended the First Balkan War on 30 May 1913, Gevgelija was annexed then incorporated into the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

, as one of the kingdoms southernmost settlements, and Gevgelija was integrated into the Serbian railways. In 1929 the railways along with the country were renamed, now known as Yugoslav State Railways (JDŽ). In April 1941 the railway ceased to exist when Yougoslvia was annexed by the Axis powers. Despite having joined the Axis Powers, the Bulgarian military did not participate in the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

, however, were ready to occupy their pre-arranged territorial gains immediately after the capitulation of the country. The Yugoslav government surrendered on 17 April; on 19 April, the Bulgarian Land Forces entered Yugoslavia. After Yugoslavia's capitulation, Bulgaria occupied most of Yugoslav Macedonia, which had been lost to Bulgaria in 1918. The railways in these regions were incorporated into the

Bulgarian State Railways The Bulgarian State Railways ( bg, Български държавни железници, translit=Balgarski darzhavni zheleznitsi, abbreviated as БДЖ, BDZ or BDŽ) are Bulgaria's state railway company and the largest railway carrier in the co ...

and repurposed to serve the war effect. Following Bulgaria's surrender, Gevgelija was returned to Yugoslavia. The railway was reestablished after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1952 it was renamed

Yugoslav Railways Yugoslav Railways ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslavenske željeznice/Jugoslovenske železnice, Југославенске жељезнице/Југословенске железнице; mk, Југословенски железници; sl, Jugoslovans ...

. In September 1991, an

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was held in then

Socialist Republic of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...

, which afterwards proclaimed independence from

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

to become Republic of Macedonia.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

and Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook'', p.1278 With that, Gevgelija and all rail infrastructure and assets were transferred from

Makedonski Železnici Makedonski Železnici (MŽ; mk, Македонски Железници (МЖ), "Macedonian Railways") is the public enterprise for railways in the Republic of North Macedonia. Railway operations are run by Železnici na Republika Severna Makedon ...

MŽ. In 2020, the station was one of ten regional stations to be allocated funds for renovation work. The waiting room, the ticket office, the toilets, and the other rooms within the station building were renovated, with the facade of the building being declared a cultural monument is being repaired and renovated.

Facilities

The station has a ticket office, toilets and cafe. at the first/last station for services to/from Greece station has a border and customs post. At platform level, the station is equipped with departure and arrival screens on the platforms for passenger information, seating, and information boards. Currently, no buses call at the station. There is however onsite parking available at the station. The station can be contacted during opening hours by phone +389 (0) 34 / 212-033, local: 309

Services

The station is serviced by a number of local, long-distance, and international services. In April 2021 new timetables were announced, with trains leaving Gevgelija for Skopje 05:30 and at 16:00

Migrant Crisiss

12 April 2018 at 18.05 a mixed patrol team of customs officers and a representative of the Macedonian Railways Gevgelija regional unit performed a control inspection of two wagons of a freight train that had arrived from Greece. There they reported Four migrants from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

caught hiding aboard the train.

References

{{Gevgelija Municipality Railway stations in North Macedonia Buildings and structures in Kumanovo