Transport in Montenegro
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[edit] Airports
Montenegro has two international airports, with their IATA Airport Codes:
- Podgorica Airport - TGD
- Tivat Airport - TIV
Podgorica Airport has a new and modern terminal building, and Tivat Airport underwent terminal expansion and can now handle night landings.
There are also airports at Berane, Žabljak and Nikšić, but those are used mostly for general aviation, and are not equipped to handle larger aircraft.
[edit] Railways
total: 250 km
standard gauge: (1435 mm) 250 km
narrow gauge: none
[edit] Rail links with adjacent countries
- Serbia - yes - same gauge, couplings, brakes, electrification system
- Albania - yes - used for freight only
- Croatia - no direct links
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - no direct links
[edit] Overview
The Montenegrin part of the Belgrade - Bar railway is the backbone of the Montenegrin railway system. It opened in 1979, and then was a state-of-the art railway, with features such as Mala Rijeka viaduct (highest railway viaduct in the world) and the 6.2 km long Sozina tunnel. About one-third of the Montenegrin part of the railway is in tunnel or on viaduct. It is the only railway corridor in Montenegro that is fully electrified: electrification of Podgorica - Nikšić corridor is not complete.
The railway has suffered from chronic underfunding in 1990s, resulting in it deteriorating and becoming unsafe. This culminated in the 2006 Bioče train disaster, when a passenger train derailed, killing 47 passengers. Efforts are being made to thoroughly reconstruct this railway.
The Podgorica - Nikšić railway (56,6 km long) was built in 1948 as narrow gauge railway, and upgraded to normal gauge in 1965. Since 1992, it has been used solely for freight traffic, particularly bauxite from the Nikšić mine to the Podgorica Aluminium Plant, with maximum speed on the railway reduced to 30 km/h. That is about to change, as this part of railway is currently under complete reconstruction and electrification. Passenger traffic is set to start in 2009, and maximum speeds will be between 75 and 100 km/h.
The Podgorica - Shkodër railway, which extends to Tirana, has been used exclusively for freight traffic for some time. Parts in Albania were damaged in 1997, but the connection was restored in 2002. There are plans to reconstruct the railway and re-introduce passenger traffic, as it is important for interests of both Montenegro and Albania.
[edit] Highways
total: 5,277 km
paved: 1,729 km
Roads in Montenegro are far below European standards. Economic crises during 1990s and Yugoslav wars left the country with no means to finance maintenance and expansion of the road network.
All roads in Montenegro are two-laned only. In recent years roads between connection of Podgorica and the coastal towns have improved significantly with the completion of Sozina tunnel, which shortened the journey from Podgorica to Bar to under half an hour and made the trip significantly safer.
In the north, the road from Podgorica to Kolašin through Morača canyon to Serbia is considered one of the most dangerous routes in Europe, especially during the winter. Preparatory work has begun on a bypass for the canyon. This project is of strategic importance to Montenegro, as this corridor is currently the weak link in Montenegro's road network.
The most likely option is building of Beograd - Bar motorway, which is in process of designing.
There is a proposed route from the city of Podgorica to Gusinje. The highway, expected to go through northern Albania, will make travel to Gusinje and Plav to about half an hour.
- Planned Route #1: This route is to be around 70 km, 53 km of it will be newly built, while 32 km of it will be in Albanian territory with 4 km of tunnels on that territory. The cost of this project is estimated at around €58 million, out of which around €35 million will be carried out on the part of the route in Albania.
- Planned Route #2: This route is to be around 67 km, of which 28 km of new road (9.3 km of it will be in Albanian territory and 18.7 km of it in Montenegro). Total costs for building this road is estimated to be around €49 million. In this route, a tunnel with a length of 2.8 km will be created through the Maglić mountain.
Also, the Verige bridge spanning the Bay of Kotor and part of the Adriatic Highway is planned to be built in the future.
[edit] Routes
- E65/E80/Route 2 (Border with Croatia - Kotor - Budva - Petrovac - Golubovci - Podgorica - Kolašin - Mojkovac - Berane - Rožaje - border with Kosovo
- E762/Route 18 (Border with Albania - Božaj - Tuzi - Podgorica - Danilovgrad - Nikšić - Plužine - Šćepan Polje - border with Bosnia & Herzegovina (Republika Srpska))
- E763
- E851
[edit] Ports and harbors
Port of Bar is the major seaport in Montenegro. It is capable of handling about 5 million tons of cargo, and is a port for ferries to Bari and Ancona in Italy. Kotor, Tivat and Zelenika (in Bay of Kotor) are smaller ports.
Montenegro's rivers are generally not navigable, except for tourist attractions such as rafting on Tara River.
