Kosovo - General Information
Country Name
Kosovo (Kosovë/Kosovo)
National railway system
Trains are operated by Hekurudhat e Kosovës (HK); HK has taken over operations previously managed by United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Official Website
Language
Albanian. Serbian in a number of areas including Mitrovica.
Currency
Euro.
UIC code
Not known.
Timetable
Timetable information is available at www.kosovorailway.com/transporti-i-udhetareve/orari-i-trenave.
Maps
There is no published map of the railways of Kosovo, except that in M.G. Ball's "European Railway Atlas".
Gauge
Standard.
Electrification
None.
Rule of the road
There are no multiple track routes.
Other Railways
None.
Tourist Lines
None.
Metro
None.
Trams
None.
Recent and future changes
The railways in Kosovo have suffered from the political problems in the area since the war in the late 1990s. The routes are:
- Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - Hani i Elezit/Đeneral Janković (and across the border to Skopje in Macedonia)
- Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - Mitrovicë/Mitrovica - Zvečan (and across the border to Lešak and Kraljevo in Serbia)
- Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - Prishtinë/Priština (and across the border to Merdare in Serbia)
- Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - Gračanica
- Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje - Metohija - Peć/Peja and Metohija - Prizren
The so-called "Freedom Train", operated by UNMIK, ran from 2004 between Hani i Elezit and Lešak via Fushë-Kosovë, Mitrovicë and Zvečan, but the section between Fushë-Kosovë and Zvečan ceased operating in early 2008 due to increasing tension in the Mitrovicë area. There was an UNMIK service to Gračanica for a few years in the mid 2000s but this has also ceased operating.
For train services advertised for 2010/2011 see Kosovo - Other Sparse services.
Special Notes
From June 1999, Kosovo was a province of Serbia and was been under the administrative control of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but this has not been formally recognised by all countries, including Serbia.