The restoration of rail transport on the Tirana-Durrës line is nearing completion, while the launch of passenger services still requires the completion of the railway electrification and the selection of the operator that will manage the service. Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Enea Karakaçi said that works on the track infrastructure have been completed by about 90%, while the contract for the stations has been implemented to the extent of 75%.
According to him, the final phase of the project is electrification, for which the international tender has been concluded and a winning entity has been announced. Currently, only approval from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is financing this process, is awaited. Karakaçi clarified that after the contract is signed, electrification will take about 12 months to complete.
“If the EBRD approval is granted tonight, it will take 12 months for electrification to be completed. The moment electrification is completed, the infrastructure is complete”, the minister stated, stressing that the deadline is calculated from the moment the contract is signed.
Operating the line also requires the selection of an international operator, which will be responsible for passenger rail transport. According to Karakaçi, the tender for this procedure is expected to open in February or March, with the support of the European Union.
“I believe that around February or March we will open the international tender, and I believe that we will be more or less outlined between the completion of electrification and the selection of the operator that will run the line”, he said to “A2CNN”.
The completion of electrification and the selection of the operator will be the two main conditions for putting the Tirana-Durrës railway line into operation, which aims to restore train travel between the two cities.