The project regarding construction of the new railway line, part of the TEN Corridor VIII through the area of R. of Macedonia, is in the advanced stage of study and design preparation. The railway line on Corridor VIII starts in Durres (Albania – port in the Adriatic Sea), going by Tirana, Skopje, Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas and the other endpoint is in Varna (Bulgaria – port on the Black Sea). There are two missing sections for construction of new railway link in R. of Macedonia: the first is on the East (link with the railway network in Bulgaria), and the second is on the West (link with the railway network in Albania). The part on the East has been started with construction in 1994 with proper governmental financial resources, but this manner of investment is abandoned in 2000. The usage of European financial institution is a new approach to find stable financial funds for complete construction of this part of railway line. The starting point for project concerning the part on the West is preparation of general study and tracing of feasible railway line variants and preparation of feasibility study. The feasibility study for the West part is finished and for the East part is going currently. The next step of this project is to complete the Detailed Design and to prepare the tender documentations. The study until now shows some specificities of this railway line and its importance for national and international transport. The construction of missing segments on the railway line is envisaged to start in 2013.

railway line, corridor VIII, corridor X, design, pre–feasibility study