English
Railway traffic is returning to Macedonia, said Deputy Prime Minister and Transporatation Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski today, as the Macedonian Railways restored the line between Skopje and Kumanovo. Recently, the line between Kumanovo and Beljakovce was completed, marking the first of the three stages of the planned line connecting Macedonia to Bulgaria.
The new line will allow travel between Skopje and Kumanovo in 41 minutes, significantly faster than the bus lines. A year ago Macedonia did not have a single active engine, we had 26 trains, but no engines to pull them and freight companies had to add 350 kilometers to their trips going through Bulgaria, while passenger traffic was non-existent, Nikoloski said.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, now Macedonia has 6 active passenger engines and 8 active freight engines, allowing for expansion of lines, adding new lines to Bitola and Prilep, and reintroducing the lines to Tetovo, Gostivar, Stip and Kocani.
