Albania - General Information

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Country Name

Albania (Shqipëtare)

National railway system

National Railway Operator

Hekurudha Shqipëtare (HSH), has a basic website at www.hsh.com.al currently available in Albanian only.

Infrastructure Authority

Unknown

Language

Albanian

Currency

Lek

UIC code

numeric 41; alpha AL.

Timetable

Journey Planner

None.

Downloadable Timetable

The HSH website > Orare dhe Tarifat për Pasagjëre > Orari i trenave për udhetarë, njësia biznesit gives a single sheet showing the entire timetable.

Printed Timetable

No timetable is published by HSH, although train times are posted at stations.

Engineering Information

None.

Maps

There is no official HSH railway map. Quail Map Company publishes the Albanian Railway Guide, which includes track diagrams, motive power details and other information. General maps can be misleading, because they may be based on deliberately inaccurate information provided by the former communist government.

Ticketing

Tickets are not sold in advance, and are valid only on the first train following issue.

There is no railrover ticket covering Albania, but fares are extremely cheap.

Gauge

Standard

Electrification

None

Rule of the road

There are no double track lines, except in the immediate vicinity of principal stations, and the track used depends on operating convenience.

Other Railways

None

Tourist line

None

Metro

None

Trams

None

Recent and future changes

The branch to Rreshen closed to passenger traffic in November 1996 and the track was used to repair damage to the Shkodër line. The line between Fier and Ballsh closed to passenger traffic in 2001 but remains open for freight. The Durrës avoiding line linking the Tiranë and Elbasan lines, formerly used by passenger trains in summer and which appeared to have been out of use since 2006, was observed as being lifted in October 2012. The once daily train from Rrogozhinë to Pogradec has been temporarily withdrawn beyond Librazhd (a short distance east of Elbasan) in summer 2012, apparently after damage from road construction work. Reopening is understood to be scheduled for early in 2013.

Special notes

By comparison with other European systems, HSH is a very primitive railway, partly due to damage arising from civil disturbances in 1990-92 and 1997.

There are no international passenger trains to Albania, the one railway into Montenegro being used only for freight traffic. Principal routes to Western Europe are by air, or ferry from Brindisi (Italy).

Further information about Albanian Railways can be found at www.angelfire.com/ak/hekurudha/index.html

See also