PROJECT OF RECONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY LINE VRBNICA-BAR
The railway line Vrbnica-Bar is a part of the international railway line Belgrade-Bar, connecting the Port of Bar and Montenegro with the countries of the Western Balkans and Central Europe. In the SEE network (SEETO comprehensive network), it is identified as a route 4.
Opening of the Bar - Vrbnica railway line in the 1970s was the biggest undertaking of railway construction in Europe at the time. As far as maintenance is concerned, it is among the most expensive and most complex in Europe. Route 4: (Belgrade) -Vrbnica -Bar railway line is single track for mixed transportation. It was built in the period from 1952 to 1976 in phases.
The total length is 454,8km, of which 167,1km is in Montenegro and 287,4km in Serbia. This is a unique railway line in Europe that climbs more than 1000 meters to Kolasin from 12 meters above sea level in Bar. The highest gradient is on the section Bijelo Polje-Podgorica of 25%.
Every fourth kilometer of the railway passes through tunnels. The railway line is completely electrified by a single-phase 25 kV, 50 Hz system. The projected speed is 80-120km / h, however maximum speed is not achieved on any part of the track.
A serious problem represent unstable slopes and tunnels, as well as frequent breaks on the contact network. Due to all these obstacles in certain sections, the capacity of the railway line is also reduced. Many of the railway elements are now at the end of their economic life, therefore it is very important to timely plan projects and provide money for their reconstruction, the implementation of which should have a positive impact on the overall state of the railway infrastructure.
Approved loans of the international financial institutions of the EBRD and the EIB and the IPA and WBIF funds are intended for the reconstruction and modernization of the aforementioned railway line in order to increase the level of securty and safety of the railway traffic and to fully meet the interoperability requirements for overhauled sections, increase the speed of trains and at the same time reducing the time of passenger and cargo transportation, raising the competitiveness of the railway itself compared to other competitive railway lines and other modes of transport, as well as valorizing the capacity of the Port of Bar.
Over the past 10 years, around EUR 70 million were obtained from the international financial and donor institutions on the railway line Vrbnica - Bar, i.e, about 40% of the superstructure equipment was repaired, there is still space for further improvement of the situation on the railway line in the following period.
PROJECT OF RECONSTRUCTION AND ELECTRIFICATION OF THE RAILWAY LINE NIKŠIĆ-PODGORICA
Based on the Feasibility Study, the technical documentation, the completed tender procedures and the concluded contracts on execution and credit arrangement, after 41 years of exploitation, without significant investments in its maintenance, the reconstruction of Niksic-Podgorica railway line started on 05.05.2006.
The rehabilitated and electrified railway line for which realization was invested about 70 million euros from the funds of the Czech Export Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), was put into operation on October 1st , 2012.
Just to remind that since the opening of the railway line on July 12th, 1948, until the beginning of its construction, there were no major investments in reconstruction, which led to a reduction in the running and transport capacity of the railway line, which resulted in the abolition of passenger traffic and reduction of cargo in 2003.
Although it was built far away in 1948 for Niksic-Podgorica railway line, after reconstruction, it can freely be said that it is the new railway line, due to the running capacity, the modern way of control, the speed of trains, as well as the train manipulation.
The length of the track is 66.3 kilometers, that is to say 56.6 kilometers of open railway line and 9.7 kilometers of station tracks, of which 34.5 kilometers is a mountainous terrain from Niksic to Danilovgrad, and 22.10 kilometers from the plain terrain from Danilovgrad to Podgorica. There are 12 tunnels of 3.44 kilometers long and 9 bridges (eight concrete and ninth is steel bridge Ostrog), as well as 45 culverts below the railway line.
The new or repaired railway line has a higher running capacity, i.e. speed of trains. Level crossings are made by state-of-the-art equipment, therefore the level of safety and security is raised to the highest degree. Traffic management and regulation will be performed by one of the most modern management methods - telecommand, which involves handling from the dispatch center together with checkpoints, which means that the signaling and direction of movement will be regulated from the central location. All this affects the time of travel, comfort and safety of the service provided by rail transport. The train will run at an average speed of over 80 km / h and will take 50 minutes from Nikšić to Podgorica.
Effects of the overhaul of the Podgorica-Niksic railway line are expected through the re-establishment of passenger traffic, as well as the possibility of traffic of freight trains in the daily regime and increased average speeds from 30km / h to 80 km / h, thus achieving higher productivity of companies using rail transport services , as well as passenger and freight operators.
Railway line Podgorica - the state border with Albania is part of international railway line Podgorica - Schoder, built in 1984, 24.7 km long. Only freight trains operate on this railway line. In the strategic documents and investment infrastructure plans, we also anticipated the project of reconstruction and elecrification of the railway line Podgorica-state border with Albania.The project of reconstruction and electrification of the railway line at the end of 2015, has been adopted by the National Investment Commission of Montenegro for financing support, and it is on a unique list of priority infrastructure projects.
The project has been nominated through the XIX call of the Western Balkan Investment Framework to support the financing of design documentation development.On the main railway line Belgrade - Bar, route 4 (part through Montenegro), 45% of the superstructure of the railway line has been overhauled and many construction sites have been opened, so that the connection with route 2 (corridor toward Albania) would be aimed at improving existing situation, strengthening the cooperation of two countries, flow of goods and passengers.
One part of the railway network in Albania connects the port Durres and the airport in Tirana with route 2 (part through Montenegro), so the development of the corridor towards Albania would make a strong enough incentive for the development of economic activities, more efficient operation of the airports, and greater use of the capacity of the port of Bar, the overall realization of a better infrastructure connection between the two countries for transit traffic.
Bearing in mind that for the reconstruction of the Podgorica-Tuzi railway line, there is no Study nor the Main Design, and a lump-sum assessment for this railway line is that for 25 km of the railway line should be provided EUR 25milion. The investment involves the development of: Main Design for the reconstruction and electrification of the railway line, revision of the Main Design, execution of works, supervision, technical acceptance of performed works