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Not only is the train not coming, but now the project is also changing (500 meters disappear)

2026-11-13 20:02:01Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Not only is the train not coming, but now the project is also changing (500

A citizen who chooses the train to go to Rinas Airport in the future will not be able to reach their destination. The railway that is being built to connect Tirana and Durrës with the airport will stop the passenger a few hundred meters from the terminal.

A change to the original design has moved the terminal station outside the airport grounds, creating a new problem for passengers: how will they travel the distance to the terminal?

Exclusive documents obtained by Top Channel show that this problem is not an unforeseen consequence of the project. On the contrary, a decision by the Albanian Railways, supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure, led to the change in the station's location.

In this document dated October 21, 2021, entitled "APPROVAL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION PERMIT: "RECONSTRUCTION OF THE DURRËS-TIRANA RAILWAY LINE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW RAILWAY LINE TO THE RINAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT", the initial project approved by the National Territorial Council envisaged that the station would be built just 60 meters from the terminal. But two years later, the Albanian Railways under the direction of Ergys Verdho presented two new alternatives. Within the territory of the Air Force and opposite them.

The Ministry of Infrastructure at that time, headed by Belinda Balluku, through the response of Deputy Minister Hantin Bonati, supported the second alternative, with a relocation of the station outside the airport territory opposite the Air Force, moving the distance from the terminal to about 500 meters.

Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy: “From the point of view of the safety of the movement of vehicles and vehicles in the airport and road area. based on the competencies for which the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy is responsible, as well as not overlooking or overlapping the competencies provided for in the sub-loan agreement and the project agreement, our opinion is that your assessment of the second option appears as the most optimal”

According to the new project, the station ends at kilometer 5+128, while in the existing project the end of the line was foreseen at kilometer 5+800. So, the railway segment is shortened by about 672 meters.

The Albanian Railways considers this reduction as a good decision that would save the institution's budget funds to be used for other needs, the documents state. While it considers the distance to be a concern only in the case of wheelchair passengers and the disabled.

Albanian Railways: "It is an acceptable length of pedestrian movement, in the case of passengers with wheelchairs, the disabled and with luggage, it will definitely require an express "shuttle-navetta" service that will be under the passenger railway operation service, a relatively solvable issue considering that the same principle exists in many other European airports."

What stands out in the documentation is that state institutions have taken care to determine the financial conditions and implementation deadlines, but not a final and detailed solution for transporting passengers to the terminal.

Sources for Top Channel report that this change has also raised concerns from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, but when asked officially, they let us know that they are aware of the issue.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: “The EBRD is aware of the relocation of the railway station that will serve Tirana International Airport. The EBRD is working with the Albanian Railways and other stakeholders to assess the impacts of this change and to identify an appropriate solution that guarantees a safe and efficient connection for passengers between the railway station and the airport terminal.”

The EBRD reiterates that it is a co-financier, while the responsibility for implementation and decision-making on the project lies with Albanian institutions.

The Tirana-Rinas-Durrës railway, an investment of around 130 million euros by the Albanian government with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is expected to open a new era for Albanian railways with a travel time of 22 minutes and a speed of 120 km/h.

A project that was launched to bring the airport closer to rail transport must now also resolve the distance that the project change itself created. But while the projects continue on paper and in the field, the question that the Albanian Railways and the Ministry of Infrastructure still have to answer to citizens is who will transport passengers to the terminal and at what cost? (TCH)


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