Skopje, 26 June 2024 (MIA) - Minister of Transport and Communications Aleksandar Nikoloski announced Wednesday he would initiate the drafting of a detailed feasibility study by the new managements of the Railway Transport and Railway Infrastructure public enterprises over the idea of implementing urban commuter rail in Skopje.

Nikoloski said the idea is to use the existing rail infrastructure in the city of Skopje and the surrounding areas to enable the citizens to transit through the capital. He noted that the move wouldn’t require new investments or further construction and would utilize the existing infrastructure. 

“What will need to be done and what I will raise with the new leadership of PE Railway Infrastructure, as well as the new leadership of PE Railway Transport is to draft a detailed feasibility study for which I will give a very short deadline, no more than a month or so, on how many passengers could be served, what are the stations that exist and aren’t used but should be put in use, whether new ones should be constructed and what would be the most economical, most efficient and cheapest way to construct new ones, to ensure they are decent, accessible and not expensive. Furthermore, to also examine the state of the trains at the moment, what needs to be done for the trains to be put into use so that eventually we can offer the citizens of Skopje and the remaining municipalities urban commuter rail that they would be able to use as part of the existing infrastructure,” Nikoloski said in answer to a journalist’s question at a press conference Wednesday.

Nikoloski pointed to the railway passing through the suburb of Drachevo which, he said, is currently not in use but could be used to easily travel to the center of the city.

“I am convinced that if there are regular trains that run at the right time, are clean, are well-equipped inside, and if the tickets are priced appropriately, many citizens will use this option because they will know exactly how long it will take them to travel from Drachevo to Centar for example. This would also make commuting easier for those who use buses or cars, since it would reduce traffic congestion,” Nikoloski said.

The Transport Minister noted that PE Railway Transport is in a very bad financial state and having more passengers is one of the ways to help the enterprise.

“One of the better ways to aid the enterprise is to use the existing infrastructure in the biggest and the capital city of Macedonia. Whether the citizens will want to use this option or not we will see, but it is up to us to make everything available to them. I am convinced they will use it,” Nikoloski said at the press conference. 

Photo: MIA