A step closer to a high-speed railroad to Greece: Ministry publishes details of Macedonian project on Corridor 10

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia has published an official announcement on the project to modernize and build a double-track high-speed railway on Corridor 10 through North Macedonia.

The notification was submitted to Serbia in accordance with the international ESPOO Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, given that the works are to begin right on the border of the two countries, at the Tabanovce crossing.

The impact assessment procedure itself is currently in the initial screening phase, which allows the competent authorities and the public in Serbia to familiarize themselves with the technical details of the project that will connect rail traffic from Central Europe, through Serbia and North Macedonia, all the way to Greece in the long term.

Old tunnels being abandoned due to sharp bends

The project involves the complete transformation of the existing section of the railroad through North Macedonia into a modern double-track, electrified railway, approximately 195 kilometers long. The new infrastructure is designed for speeds of up to 160 km/h for passenger traffic and around 120 km/h for freight traffic. One of the key reasons for the construction of new sections (deviations) is the fact that the existing six tunnels on this route will no longer be in operation. With a curve radius of less than 350 meters, these tunnels limit train speeds to only 60 km/h and do not meet the European Interoperability Standards (TSI) and TEN-T regulations.

Instead, the construction of as many as 19 new tunnels with a total length of 19 kilometers is planned on the challenging section between Skopje and Djevdjelija.

According to the documentation, the project, which runs through four Macedonian regions (Northeast, Skopje, Vardar and Southeast), involves extensive construction activities: in addition to the tunnel, the construction of 59 new structures is planned, including bridges (2.65 km long), underpasses and overpasses, the excavation of about 18.8 million cubic meters of material and the construction of embankments of about 2.7 million cubic meters, and the laying of the track will require about 566,000 sleepers and over 45,000 tons of rails.

Inside the tunnel and on specific open sections, the classic gravel (ballast) will be replaced by concrete slabs. The track will be equipped with the European Train Control System (ETCS Level 1), GSM-R communication and a protective fence along the entire corridor. The project also envisages a new rail connection with Skopje Airport.

Synchronization with projects in Serbia

This project is directly linked to Serbia’s plans for the modernization of the southern branch of Corridor 10. For the Belgrade-Nis section, the final preparation of documentation for the construction of a double-track railroad for speeds up to 200 km/h is underway, which is being implemented with the financial support of the European Union and the European Investment Bank (EIB), while on the Nis-Brestovac section, work on this section is already underway and is financed from EU IPA funds. For the last section to the border with North Macedonia, Brestovac-Presevo, project and technical documentation is being prepared.

The two countries have previously signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to ensure smooth and synchronized connection of the railroads at the border line itself.

The modernization of the Macedonian section of the railway is of enormous strategic importance for Serbia, as it represents a key step towards completing the high-speed railroad between Belgrade and Athens.

Once this corridor is completed, Serbian high-speed trains will no longer stop or slow down drastically at the border, but will continue their uninterrupted and fast journey to Skopje and Thessaloniki. From an economic perspective, increasing the speed of freight trains to 120 km/h and introducing a second track will drastically speed up the transport of goods from the key Greek ports of Thessaloniki and Piraeus, on which the domestic economy relies to a large extent.

In addition to faster and cheaper imports and exports, Serbia will also benefit from significantly higher revenues from transit fees, as the modernized Corridor 10 will attract cargo operators connecting Central Europe with the Aegean Sea.

Finally, this project will also revolutionize passenger traffic, so that citizens from Serbia will be able to reach Skopje or Thessaloniki in just a few hours, while the planned rail connection to Skopje airport will become an excellent and fast alternative for travelers from the southern parts of Serbia.

With the completion of all phases on both sides of the border, the region will have a single and interoperable rail system, and officials estimate that the complete high-speed link could be operational by 2031.

B. Petrovic

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia

construction of high speed railroad through North Macedonia

Tabanovce border crossing

Corridor 10

ESPOO Convention

Belgrade Greece high speed railroad

Belgrade Nis high speed railroad

Nis Brestovac high speed railroad

Brestovac Presevo high speed railroad