North Macedonia Preparing Faster Rail Link with Serbia - Work Underway to Establish Joint Border Crossing for Freight Trains

North Macedonia and Greece previously opened a facility with a one-stop shop system for freight trains at their shared border. Instead of two stops, freight trains now make only one. This has a positive impact on the flow of freight traffic.

According to railfreight.com, North Macedonia appears to want to implement the same model on its northern border, namely the border with Serbia.

* We are currently working on a joint railway border crossing with Serbia, which will further speed up transport - local media quoted Aleksandar Nikoloski, North Macedonia's Minister of Transport and Communications, as saying.

Meanwhile, Serbia's southern neighbor has completed the reconstruction of the railway bypass for freight traffic around Skopje. Traffic on this railway line was restored ahead of schedule and should help attract greater volumes of freight to the route.

Previously, freight trains had to pass directly through the city center. That practice has now come to an end.

- This is important from two perspectives. First, from an environmental standpoint, because freight traffic is being moved out of the center of Skopje. The second advantage is that travel times will be reduced and Macedonia will become more attractive for freight traffic - Nikoloski added.

The bypass is not an entirely new railway line. However, the condition of the infrastructure had deteriorated to such an extent that freight traffic could no longer operate safely on that section.

- Together with the Public Enterprise for Railways and Infrastructure, we worked on the complete reconstruction, and the project was completed in record time - Nikoloski explained.

Aleksandar Nikoloski

joint border crossing for freight trains between Serbia and North Macedonia