English
Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski revealed details about the main planned infrastructure project that will be developed with support from the United Kingdom – the fast railroad track traversing Macedonia north to south.
We have prepared projects worth 2.2 billion EUR. Transportation and healthcare are priorities in this agreement between the two governments. The railroad will be built along the existing line, from Tabanovce on the border with Serbia to the main railroad station in Skopje, and then along the Vardar river. But this will not be simple reconstruction of the existing railroad. We will build two new entirely new lines. One for passenger trains with speeds of 160 kilometers per hour and above. The whole of Macedonia will be covered in an hour and 15-20 minutes. The other, cargo track, will allow speeds of 110 to 120 kilometers per hour, which are top speeds for cargo trains. It will allow transit of trains 750 meters long, which would be the longest trains in existence, Nikoloski said.
If projections are met, Macedonia would earn 120 million EUR a year from the transit costs alone, connecting the Greek ports to central Europe, which would allow the payment of the investment in full.
We have understanding with the Greek government that, as soon as we begin construction here, they will begin working on the track from their end, Nikoloski added.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that he will sign the agreement with the United Kingdom next month, in London, in a signing ceremony that will take place in an office used by Churchill during the Second World War. “This is a symbolic sign of the importance of this agreement”, Nikoloski added.
