The Durrës–Tiranë railway was a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line which initially joined the two biggest cities in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

and

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. The line connected to the

Shkodër–Vorë railway The Shkodër–Vorë railway was a railway between Shkodër and Vorë in Albania. The line connected to the Podgorica–Shkodër railway in Shkodër, the uncompleted Milot–Klos railway in Milot and the Durrës–Tiranë railway in Vorë. ...

halfway in

Vorë Vorë ( sq-definite, Vora) is a municipality in Tirana County, central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Bërxullë, Prezë and Vorë, that became municipal units. The seat of th ...

, and to the Durrës-Vlorë railway in Durrës. In September 2013, the Tirana end of the line was dismantled as the Tirana station was torn down to make way for the lengthening of the Tirana main boulevard. As a result, passengers to and from Tirana had to initially use the Vore station in 2013, and later the renovated Kashar station in May 2015. This was closed in 2018 and the tracks lifted. There is now no rail connection between Tirana and Durrës. The Durrës–Tiranë line was built during 1948-1949 based exclusively on work of volunteers and was the second passenger railway in Albania after the Durrës-Peqin railway which had been completed a year earlier. It was operated by Hekurudha Shqiptare. In 2021 Albanian State Railways signed a contract with Italian company INC for the rehabilitation of the Durrës-Tirana railway line and the construction of a new line out to Mother Teresa Airport. Work appears to have started with the construction of several new culverts.

History

The railway was 38 km long connecting the two most important cities of Albania, Durrës and Tirana. It was built during 1948-1949 and was the second standard gauge passenger railway in Albania after that of Durrës-

Peqin Peqin (, sq-definite, Peqini) is a town and municipality in Elbasan County, central Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjoçaj, Karinë, Pajovë, Peqin, Përparim an ...

, which had started in 1940, and was completed in 1948. The works started from the Shkozet station (near

) on April 11, 1948. Overall 29,000 young people of the

Labour Youth Union of Albania , colorcode = , logo = , chairperson = , secretary = , founded = November 23, 1941 , dissolved = 1991 , ideology = , membership = 200.000 , international = WFDY , national = Democratic Front (1945–1991) , headquarters = Tirana, P ...

and 1400 qualified technicians from all Albania participated to the building of the railway. In addition, young volunteers sent from the Youth sections of the Communist parties of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

participated in the construction. During the Albanian-Yugoslavian split in 1948 the Yugoslavian volunteers were accused of

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

, especially the engineers. The works continued under the supervision of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

engineer ''Valeri Gaydarov''. Rails were imported from the Soviet Union through the port of Durrës. The volunteering ''brigades'' had as a goal to finish the railway by the 31st anniversary of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, on 23 February 1949, and the goal was successfully achieved. Two of the most important works during construction were the ''Rrashbull Tunnel'' (212 m) and the

Erzen The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is , while the catchment area is including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxa ...

Bridge (91 m long). The bridge was finished on October 16, 1948, the 40th birthday of then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

. The tunnel was dug by the Bulgarian youth group ''

Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; bg, Гео̀рги Димитро̀в Миха̀йлов), also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (russian: Гео́ргий Миха́йлович Дими́тров; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian ...

'', which was eventually given the ''Flag of the Brigades'' award ( sq, Flamuri i Brigadave). The brigade of the Albanian Police was instead awarded five times the ''Attacking Award'' ( sq, Sulmues). The inauguration was made by future would be

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

member

Spiro Koleka Spiro Koleka (7 July 1908 – 22 August 2001) was an important Albanian statesman, communist politician and a high-ranking military officer during World War II. He was a civil engineer by profession. Spiro Koleka served as a parliament member i ...

2010 accident

An accident occurred on the railway on July 25, 2010. A police

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

was on the rail and the train could not avoid the collision with it. As a result, the police car was pushed for a certain distance until the train went to a complete stop. Not only were the three Albanian policemen not injured, but they also went to argue with the machinist to accuse him that he had to stop earlier and pay more attention.

Future

New Tirana station upgrade

Tirana rail station is being upgraded and moved from its original position. It is believed that the planned multi-modal station at Kamez Overpass will accommodate the defunct station, enabling additional trains to terminate there instead of its current position. The new station will also improve the terminating capacity of passengers. In 2015, some rail stations including Kashar, and rolling stock along the Durrës-Tirane line are being upgraded and the latter coloured red and white.

Renovation of the line

In October 2016 the tender on the renovation on the entire line were about to start with the cost of 81,5 million Euros. It was estimated that it would cost around 1,4 million times a year. In 2019 though, another tender was announced.

Stations

Timetable

During tourist season, an extra train engine was used to ensure a good connection between

and

References

Sources

Albanian railways in English