EU invests €91 million in Kosovo railways to help improve connectivity with Europe

The EU Ambassador in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, and Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, marked today in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje the beginning of the EU co-funded works on the rehabilitation and upgrade of 34 kilometres of railway running between Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje and Mitrovicë/a.

The total value of works to be conducted over the next 15 months amounts to €68 Million, of which the EU is providing 27, through its Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) the remaining EUR 41 million. “We are now starting to rehabilitate and upgrade the second section of the regional Railway Route 10 in Kosovo which is part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and connects Kosovo with the region and the rest of Europe,” said Szunyog.

The Railway Route 10 that runs from North Macedonia, over Kosovo, and into Serbia is 256 kilometres long; 148 of those are in Kosovo. The upgrade of the first section from the border with North Macedonia to Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, 66 kilometres long, started in August 2019 and should be completed by the end of 2023, while the preparations for the upgrade of the third section from Mitrovice/a onward are ongoing.

The Railway Route 10 was generally in a poor condition with severe structural constraints that limited traffic speeds to 60 km/h. Its rehabilitation is the first major investment in the railway sector in Kosovo and includes the replacement of outdated switches, tracks and sleepers, and the renovation of tunnels and bridges.