Transport in Kosovo

Map of Kosovo

Transport in Kosovo consists of transport by land and air. After the Kosovo's independence, improvements to the road infrastructure, urban transport, rail transport and air travel have all led to a vast improvement in transportation. These upgrades have played a key role in supporting Kosovo's economy.

Air transport

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See also: Airports in Kosovo and Pristina International Airport
The Pristina International Airport was named in honour of Adem Jashari, the founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for the secession of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s.

Air transport in Kosovo started as early as 1936 when Yugoslav flag carrier Aeroput opened scheduled flights from Belgrade to Skopje through Podujevë airfield as mid stop.[1]

There are three Airports situated in Kosovo, the Gjakova Airport in the city of Gjakova, Dumosh-Batllava Airfield in Podujevë and the only international Airport of Pristina in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina. Gjakova's Airport was built by the Kosovo Force (KFOR) following the Kosovo War, next to an existing airfield used for agricultural purposes, and was used mainly for military and humanitarian flights. The local and national government plans to offer Gjakova Airport for operation under a public-private partnership with the aim of turning it into a civilian and commercial airport.[2]

Pristina International Airport is located southwest of Pristina. It is Kosovo's only international airport, the only port of entry for air travelers to Kosovo. Handling over 2.99 million (2021 2.86 million) passengers per year on 22,000 flights. [3]

Rail transport

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See also: Kosovo Railways
Map showing the rail system of Kosovo

The first railway line was built under Turkish guidance for the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Orientaux (CO), led by Maurice de Hirsch. It started in Thessaloniki, went on north to Skopje and reached Mitrovica in 1873. Before the First World War it was used by the Serbian Railways which operated as Yugoslav Railways between 1918 and 1992, and stopped their operations in Kosovo after the NATO intervention in 1999. Trainkos operates 430 km (267 mi) of railway in Kosovo, of which 333 km (207 mi) serve both freight and passenger and 97 km (60 mi) only serve freight traffic. The non-electrified network originally consisted of two lines crossing at Kosovo Polje railway station in Kosovo Polje: A main line going from Kraljevo in western Serbia via Mitrovica and Kosovo Polje to Skopje in North Macedonia, and a branch line in east-west direction from Niš in southern Serbia via Pristina railway station in the capital Pristina and Kosovo Polje with one branch leading to Peja and the other one to Prizren. Of these lines, the one from Pristina to Peja and the one from Kosovo Polje to Macedonia are still served by passenger trains. Some more parts of the network are occasionally served by freight trains, like Kosovo Polje - Obiliq; the other parts of the network are currently unused.

For years, there have been plans to extend the branch to Prizren across the border to Albania, to create a link to the network of the Hekurudha Shqiptare, with approval given by the Albanian government in 2021 to a feasibility study of a Prishtina-Durrës route to be undertaken in 2022.[4]

A freight train in Kaçanik
  • Total: 430 km ; *Country comparison to the world: 115 ; *Standard gauge: 430 km 1.435-m gauge

Around EUR 200 million has been spent between 2019 and 2023 improving the main rail connections with much of the funding coming from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and grants from the European Union (EU) to bring standards up to the EU's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) quality level. [5]

Road transport

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The road transport in Kosovo has significantly improved following the independence of Kosovo. The government of Kosovo in recent years has focused the majority of investments on the construction of numerous motorways specifically on constructing the R6, R7 and R7.1 which connect Kosovo with its neighboring countries.[6][7]

In recent years, two major road construction spree took place on the main state roads of Kosovo, involving the construction of new roadways, putting of contemporary signs, planting of trees, and related greening projects. Works on two highways are completed.

In 2021 there was an average of 181 cars per 1,000 people in Kosovo compared with 567 in the EU.[8]

Motorways

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Main article: Motorways in Kosovo
Motorway District Length Description Cities
Ferizaj, Pristina 60 km (37 mi) The R 6 (Albanian: Autostrada R 6, Serbian: Autoput R 6) is a four traffic lane motorway, spanning 60 km (37 mi).[9] The majority of the motorway is completed but still under construction. It connect the city of Pristina with the city of Skopje in North Macedonia at the border in Hani i Elezit.[10] Ferizaj, Kosovo Polje, Lipjan, Pristina
Pristina, Prizren 129.8 km (80.7 mi) The R 7 (Albanian: Autostrada R 7, Serbian: Autoput R 9) is a four traffic lane motorway, spanning 129.8 km (80.7 mi). The majority of the motorway is completed but still under construction. It connect the city of Pristina with the city of Durrës in Albania at the border in Vërmica.[11] Pristina, Prizren, Suva Reka
Gjilan, Pristina 47.1 km (29.3 mi) The R 7.1 (Albanian: Autostrada R 7.1, Serbian: Autoput R 7.1) is a four traffic lane motorway, spanning 47.1 km (29.3 mi). The motorway is currently under construction and still under planning process and will connect the east with the west from Kosovo through the cities of Gjilan, Pristina and Kamenica. Gjilan, Kamenica, Lipjan, Pristina,

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput at europeanairlines.no
  2. ^ "Aktivitetet e Ministrisë së Tregtisë dhe Industrisë: Themelohet Ndërmarrja Publike "Aeroporti i Gjakovës"". Ministria e Tregtisë dhe Industrisë. Archived from the original on 2015-02-27.
  3. ^ "Pristina International Airport in 2022: Nearly 3 million travellers and 22 thousand flights in one year!". 1 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Kosovo-Albania: Pristina approves a rail link project". 7 July 2022.
  5. ^ "RailwayGazette International". RailwayGazette. 5 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Sectorial Strategy and Multimodal Transport 2015-2025 and the Action Plan for 5 years" (PDF). kryeministri-ks.net. October 2015. p. 9. However, due to the commitment of MI, and related structures, we have achieved significant results. Proof of this are the construction of new highways, linking the Republic of Kosovo with neighbouring countries
  7. ^ "The Assessment of the First 100 Days of Government" (PDF). legalpoliticalstudies.org. p. 18. On the other hand, the Government successfully organized and handled the State Visit of Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of Macedonia, in which a number of mutually important questions were discussed, such as bilateral trade and the new highway between Prishtina and Skopje.
  8. ^ "Enlargement countries - transport statistics". April 2023.
  9. ^ "MILOT – MORINE HIGHWAY PROJECT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION" (PDF). businesshungary.gov.hu. p. 8.
  10. ^ "ROUTE 6: HIGHWAY PRISHTINA - SKOPJE" (PDF). kfos.org. 2015. pp. 29–35.
  11. ^ "ROUTE 6: HIGHWAY PRISHTINA - SKOPJE" (PDF). kfos.org. 2015. pp. 13–28.
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