European Union funding Feasibility Study for the Rehabilitation of the Durrës-Elbasan-Pogradec railway line and the construction of a new line from Lini on the border of the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
On October 9, 2018, the project on the Feasibility Study for the rehabilitation of the railway line Durres-Rrogozhina-Elbasan-Pogradec was presented, funded by European Commission funds, made possible through the Investment Instrument for the Western Balkans. The study started in April 2017 and will end at the end of October 2018. The final meeting will take place on October 9, 2018, at Hotel Tirana, Skënderbej Square, at 10:00.
The study was conducted in two phases. During the first phase, the pre-feasibility assessment was carried out for the entire 151 km railway line, the first 72 km of which between Durrës-Rrogozhina-Elbasan are in operation today. The remaining 79 km from Elbasan to Pogradec are not in operation due to the poor condition of the line and structures (bridges and tunnels) along it. The pre-feasibility study included a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) through the evaluation of three project development scenarios. For the selected scenario, the conceptual design was prepared for the entire railway line. As a result of phase I, a prioritization of all segments of the railway line was carried out. The Durrës-Rrogozhinë segment was assessed with the highest priority for rehabilitation interventions.
During phase II, the preliminary project and the relevant cost-benefit analysis for the priority segment Durrës-Rrogozhina were prepared, together with the preliminary environmental impact assessment, prepared according to the local legal framework. The segment of the line Durrës – Rrogozhinë is 33.5 km long. The cost of rehabilitation is estimated at 52 million Euros. Rehabilitation of this high priority segment will meet the design standards of the Inter-European Network with a speed of 100 km / h and an axle load of 22.5 tons. Travel time will be reduced from 60 min to 32 min. The movement along this segment is expected to reach 330,000 passengers and 1,100,000 tons of goods by 2047. The estimated value in saving time for users of the Albanian transport system will be 0.65 million EURO for passengers and 15.3 million EURO for freight . Additional savings from reducing the cost of operating vehicles in road transport are estimated at 0.5 million EURO for passengers and 8.7 million EURO for freight.
Rehabilitation of the entire railway line will affect the development of strategic multimodal transport for the Western Balkans. The Durrës-Elbasan-Pogradec railway line with the new line from Lini on the border with the Republic of Northern Macedonia is part of the VIII Pan-European Corridor and is part of the SEETO Comprehensive Railway Network. It connects the capitals Tirana, Skopje and Sofia as well as the port of Durres on the Adriatic Sea with the ports of Burgas and Varna on the Black Sea. The extension and connection of the railway line from Pogradec to the Greek Railway Network is also expected to take place.
The preparation of this study was made possible by the European Commission with a grant of 720,000 EURO given to Albania from the regional funds of the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) funded through the Western Balkans Investment Instrument (WBIF). The Albanian government has decided to continue with the development of the rehabilitation project of the entire railway line and for this reason has recently applied to the WBIF for two more technical assistance grants. The first, for the preparation of the implementation project for the priority segment from Durrës to Rrogozhina and the second, for the preparation of the preliminary project of cost-benefit analysis and environmental and social impact assessment of the rest, the railway segment from Rrogozhina to Pogradec including construction of a new 2.8 km line connecting Lin with the border of the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
