Rail transport in Kosovo
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The railway network in Kosovo consist of of railway line, of which are freight-only. The railway infrastructure is operated by Kosovo Railways, a property of the public sector where the state has access to ruling all administrative actions in the Ministry of Economic Development.


History

In Kosovo, the construction of railways lines first took place in 1874 where the first railway line was built between
Elez Han Hani i Elezit or Elez Han ( sq-definite, Han i Elezit or ''Hani i Elezit''; sr, Ђенерал Јанковић, ''Đeneral Janković''; officially Елез Хан, ''Elez Han'') is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District of Ko ...
,
Kosovo Polje Fushë Kosova ( sq-definite, Fushë Kosovë), or Kosovo Polje ( sr-Cyrl, Косово Поље, "Kosovo Field"), is a town and municipality located in the District of Pristina in central Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Fushë Ko ...
and Mitrovica. This was the beginning of the railway network in Kosovo and it became very significant for the transportation of travellers and goods. Also, it was equally important for the economic development of the country. Likewise, it enabled connectivity with other regions. With the construction of this railway line, railway transportation became amongst the busiest ones which led to opportunities for finding jobs for new railway lines. During 20th century, the following lines were built: Mitrovica –
Lešak Lešak ( sr-cyr, Лешак, sq, Leshak) is a town settlement of Leposavić in northern Kosovo. It has population of 2,180, with an ethnic Serb majority. Lešak was, along with the Leposavić municipality, ceded to SAP Kosovo The Sociali ...
and Kosovo Polje –
Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...
in 1934, Kosovo Polje –
Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...
in 1936, Prishina – PodujevoLivadica in 1949, and
Klina Klina ( sq-definite, Klinë; Serbian Cyrillic: ) is a town and municipality located in the District of Peja of north-western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Klina has 5,542 inhabitants, while the municipality has 38,496 inhabitan ...
Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...
in 1963. On 27 September 1999, the Kosovo Train for Life charter train arrived in Pristina, bringing
aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...
and rolling stock in connection with the
Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo Security Force, Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2 ...
peace-keeping efforts. As of 2014, the rail infrastructure covers most of the country and connects all major cities with the exception of
Gjilan Gjilan, or Gnjilane ( sr-cyr, Гњилане) is the eighth largest city in Kosovo and seat of Gjilan Municipality and Gjilan District. Name Ottoman chronicler Evliya Çelebi mentions ''Morava'' as a settlement of the Sanjak of Vučitrn. ...
and
Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...
.


Trains

Kosovo Railways has a fleet of eight diesel locomotives and four
diesel multiple units A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
, either inherited from the Jugoslav Railways or donated by KFOR countries. The railways of Kosovo have a significant role for the transportation of travelers and goods. In 2005, there has been an estimated 870 passengers per day by train. In 2006, there has been an increase by 26.56% more than in 2005, which means that there was a growth by 1,100 passengers daily. In 2007, the number of passengers that have traveled with train in a day was 1,143 or 3.91% more than in 2006. In 2008, there was a decrease in the number of passengers by 18.77% compared to 2007. The average number of passengers per day during 2009 was 1,026 or 10.51% more than in 2008. Also, there has been an increase of passengers per day in 2010 by 1,032 or 0.61% compared to 2009.


Domestic transport

Kosovo's railway transportations have the following daily schedules: *local train – travels every day from Peja to Pristina and vice versa *free movement train – travels from Elez Han to Kosovo Polje, and from Kosovo Polje to
Gračanica Gračanica () may refer to: Places Bosnia and Herzegovina *Gračanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town and municipality in Tuzla *Gračanica (Bugojno), a village in Central Bosnia *Gračanica, Gacko, a village in Republika Srpska *Gračanica, Proz ...
and vice versa. Currently, this line is out of function.
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n national railway company for passenger transport Srbija Voz operates
Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar, in the geographical region of Šumadija, between the mountains of K ...
North Mitrovica line with
RA2 Multiple Unit The RA-2 Multiple Unit (Cyrillic:''РА2'') is a Russian diesel multiple unit (rail bus), type 2. The RA-2 is produced by Metrovagonmash and is designed for passenger transportation on non-electrified railway lines with high traffic, as well as ...
.


International transport

For international transport, Kosovo Railways has a regular express train. This train travels once a day from Pristina to
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 vice versa.


International connections and services

Kosovo railways connects Pristina with Skopje (
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 ...
) in the south, while Serbian railways connects Mitrovica with Kraljevo (Serbia) in the north. The track between Mitrovica and Kosovo Polje is currently not served by any trains. *
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 ...
No connection *
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
No connection *
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 ...
Open *
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
closed in
Zvečan Zvečan ( sr-Cyrl, Звечан) or Zveçan ( sq-definite, Zveçani) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 16,650 inhabitants. It covers an area of , and consists of a town and ...
/
Lešak Lešak ( sr-cyr, Лешак, sq, Leshak) is a town settlement of Leposavić in northern Kosovo. It has population of 2,180, with an ethnic Serb majority. Lešak was, along with the Leposavić municipality, ceded to SAP Kosovo The Sociali ...
and closed in
Merdare Merdare ( sr-cyr, Мердаре) is a village located in the municipality of Kuršumlija, Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 151 people. The administrative crossing between Serbia and Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, K ...


Statistics


References


External links

* {{Rail transport in Europe
Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...
Rail transport in Kosovo