The first railway lines in Albania were mining and military lines with narrow scartament built between 1917 and 1930 ,by the Austro-Hungarians and the Italians.The construction of a railway system with a standart scartament began in 1947 and continued rapidly to reach its current size of 667 km in 1987.The construction of a railway system began in 1947 and continued rapidly to reach its current size of 677 km in 1987.
The railway network extends from the port of Durres to the Adriatic Sea ,and goes in three directions :to the North towards the Albanian –Montenegro border in the Hani Hotit, South towards Ballsh and the port of Vlora,and east towards Pogradec,near the Macedonian border.The railway covers the most populated industrialized and residential areas.
Albanian Railways were built during the economy period with centralized planning, where the Government imposed very strict restrictions on other types of transport. vehicle car ownership was prohibited on roads running parallel to the railway ,bus traffic and freight movements over a length of over 11 km were prohibited too.
There were a number of manufacturing industries and a very active mining industry that supplied Eastern European industries toward a railway connection with Montenegro.The only connection between AR and the European rail network was for transportation of goods.
With the political and economic changes of the 1990s, transportation demands have changed dramatically .There has been a rapid increase in private truck and bus services and especially in private cars that have diverted traffic from the railways.Many state factory and mines have been closed , reducing seriously rail traffic
