Pan-European Corridor VIII
Pan-European Corridor VIII | |
---|---|
Route information | |
Length | 1,500 km (930 mi) |
Major junctions | |
Start end | Durrës (Albania) |
End end | Varna (Bulgaria) |
Location | |
Countries | Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria |
Highway system | |
The Corridor VIII is one of the
Road route description
The road starts in Albania at either
Between Kumanovo and
Rail route description
The railway is only partly complete, at present there is a single-track line in Albania and a single-track line in parts of North Macedonia. The route is virtually complete in Bulgaria comprising both single and double track lines. The line already in existence in Albania from Durrës-Lin will be used, although upgrading and modifications will be needed. From Lin to Kičevo new construction will be required, almost all in North Macedonia. At the moment progress on this link is small, being mainly aspirational.
On North Macedonia's eastern side, the mothballed, 31 km long, Kumanovo-Beljakovce line is being restored and upgraded[4] – work on this started in 2014.[5] Construction of a new line, approximately 34 km long, from Beljakovce to Kriva Palanka began in 1996 but was abandoned due to lack of financial resources in 2004.[6] Considerable earthworks and structures are, therefore, already in existence but currently do not reach Kriva Palanka.[7] Entirely new construction will be needed in the area of Kriva Palanka to the Bulgarian border (24 km) plus a short length (~1 km) in Bulgaria. A total of approximately 88 km of the track must be restored or built in a region whose morphological features make access difficult. Once in Bulgaria, the existing line from Gyueshevo, extant since 1910, will be used.
From Gyueshevo the track runs broadly northwards to Sofia then uses the mainline through Burgas to Varna.
References
- ^ South-East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO). "THE CORE TRANSPORT NETWORK" (PDF). ec.europa.eu.
- ^ "Се гради автопатот Кичево-Охрид, најголем инфраструктурен проект" (in Macedonian). kurir. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ^ "Bulgaria Opens Monday Its First Completed HWY Trakiya". novinite.com. 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Kumanovo – Beljakovce: Railway Corridor VIII – Phase I | Reconnecting Asia". reconnectingasia.csis.org. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
- ^ "Reconstruction of railway section Kumanovo-Beljakovce begins". Retrieved 2018-05-07.
- ^ "Railway Corridor VIII – Phase II". www.ebrd.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
- ^ "Construction of new railway line Beljakovce–Kriva Palanka–Border with Bulgaria | SEETO | South-east Europe Transport Observatory". www.seetoint.org. Retrieved 2018-05-07.