Misplaced Pages

Pan-European Corridor VIII
Pan-European Corridor VIII highlighted in red
Route information
Length	1,500 km (930 mi)
Major junctions
Start end	Durrës (Albania)
End end	Varna (Bulgaria)
Location
Countries	Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria
Highway system
Pan-European corridors

The Corridor VIII is one of the Pan-European corridors. It comprises both road and rail routes. Both commence on the Italian Adriatic coast at Bari or Brindisi, with a ferry crossing to Durrës in Albania. From there the routes cross the southern Balkans into Bulgaria and thence to Varna, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The road corridor follows the route: Tirana/Durrës/Vlorë – Elbasan – Skopje – Pernik – Sofia – Plovdiv – Burgas – Varna. Although as yet incomplete, it is broadly paralleled by the rail route: Durrës/Vlorë-Lin-Radožda-Kičevo-Skopje-Kumanovo-Beljakovtse-Kriva Palanka-Gyueševo-Sofija-Burgas-Varna.

Road route description

The road starts in Albania at either Durrës (SH4) or Vlorë (A2), both situated on the Adriatic coast. It intersects at Rrogozhine (SH7, SH3) and runs towards Elbasan. It then crosses the border with North Macedonia at the Ohrid lake and then runs north to Tetovo mainly as a 2-lanes single-carriageway. The section between Ohrid and Kičevo will be upgraded to a motorway. A2 motorway runs between Tetovo and Skopje, and A1 motorway between Skopje and Kumanovo.

Between Kumanovo and Radomir, Bulgaria, it runs again as a 2-lanes single-carriageway. From Radomir to Pernik it is upgraded to a 4-lane dual-carriageway. Close to Pernik, the route joins Lyulin motorway (A6) for about 20 km to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. After passing through the Sofia Ring Road, the route joins Trakia motorway (A1) for 360 km (220 mi) to Burgas, bypassing Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Yambol on the way. At Burgas, the route turns to north, running along Black Sea coast mainly as a single-carriage road (I-9). The route joins Cherno More motorway (A5) for 10 km before reaching its final destination – Varna.

Rail route description

The railway is only partly complete, at present there is a single-track line in Albania and a single-track line in parts of North Macedonia. The route is virtually complete in Bulgaria comprising both single and double track lines. The line already in existence in Albania from Durrës-Lin will be used, although upgrading and modifications will be needed. From Lin to Kičevo new construction will be required, almost all in North Macedonia. At the moment progress on this link is small, being mainly aspirational.

On North Macedonia's eastern side, the mothballed, 31 km long, Kumanovo-Beljakovce line is being restored and upgraded – work on this started in 2014. Construction of a new line, approximately 34 km long, from Beljakovce to Kriva Palanka began in 1996 but was abandoned due to lack of financial resources in 2004. Considerable earthworks and structures are, therefore, already in existence but currently do not reach Kriva Palanka. Entirely new construction will be needed in the area of Kriva Palanka to the Bulgarian border (24 km) plus a short length (~1 km) in Bulgaria. A total of approximately 88 km of the track must be restored or built in a region whose morphological features make access difficult. Once in Bulgaria, the existing line from Gyueshevo, extant since 1910, will be used.

From Gyueshevo the track runs broadly northwards to Sofia then uses the mainline through Burgas to Varna.

References

1. South-East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO). "THE CORE TRANSPORT NETWORK" (PDF). ec.europa.eu.
2. "Се гради автопатот Кичево-Охрид, најголем инфраструктурен проект" (in Macedonian). kurir. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
3. "Bulgaria Opens Monday Its First Completed HWY Trakiya". novinite.com. 15 July 2013.
4. "Kumanovo – Beljakovce: Railway Corridor VIII – Phase I | Reconnecting Asia". reconnectingasia.csis.org. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
5. "Reconstruction of railway section Kumanovo-Beljakovce begins". Retrieved 2018-05-07.
6. "Railway Corridor VIII – Phase II". www.ebrd.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
7. "Construction of new railway line Beljakovce–Kriva Palanka–Border with Bulgaria | SEETO | South-east Europe Transport Observatory". www.seetoint.org. Retrieved 2018-05-07.

See also

• Via Egnatia

v t e Kumanovo
Geography	Skopska Crna Gora Gradištanska planina German mountain Kumanovo River Kojnarka River
History	Timeline of Kumanovo
Places of interest	Buildings Memorial Ossuary Zebrnjak Zanaetchiski Dom Kasapski Krug Clock Tower (former) Kumanovo Fortress (former) Monuments Batko Gjorgjija Chetiri Bandere Josip Broz Tito Makedonka Pero Chicho Magdalena Antova Ajduchka Cheshma Menkova Koliba Parks Gradski Park Sokolana Shetalishte - Kej Kumanovska Banja Squares Nova Jugoslavija Square Josip Broz Tito Square Bridges Iskta bridge Mitev bridge Sredorek bridge Streets Ivo Lola Ribar Nagorichki sokak Done Bozinov Proevski sokak 11 Oktomvri Ukjumat sokak Narodna Revolucija Pchinski pat Nikola Tesla Vranjsko dzade Ilindenska Romanovski sokak Cemetery Kumanovo Town Cemetery Muslim cemetery
Religion	Religious organizations MOC-OA IRC Orthodox Churches and Monasteries St. Nikolas Old church Holy Trinity New church St. Archangel Michael Karposh St. George Near cemetery St. Petka Bedinje Resurrection of Christ Inside cemetery St. Mina Proevce St. George Tromegje Nagorichane Monastery Karpino Monastery Matejche Monastery Sunni Mosques Cherkezi Mosque Willage Mosque D'lga Tatar Sinan Beg Mosque New Mosque Hadzi Shefket Mosque Osman Biligbash Mosque Lopate Romanovce Mosque Sopot Mosque Kodža Mehmet Beg Mosque Tabanovce Catholic church St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Kumanovo Protestant church Evangelic church of Kumanovo Adventist church of Kumanovo Jehovah's witnesses Church of Kumanovo
Museums and Cultural Buildings	Museum Kumanovo Cultural Center "Trajko Prokopiev" House Museum of Hristijan Todorovski Karpoš ASNOM Memorial Center Theater Kumanovo Art Gallery Kumanovo Kumanovo Library Kozjak cinema (former) Napredok cinema (former)
Local media	TV TV+ Festa Hana (former) K3 (former) KRT (former) TV Nova (former) TVK (former) KTL (former) Radio Radio Bum Radio Bravo City FM (former) Newspaper Ploshtad (former) Nash Vesnik (former) Beseda (former) Kumanovski (former) Dedo Ivan (former) Oktobris (former)
Sport	Sport Centers Gradski Stadium Kumanovo Sports Hall Kumanovo Sports Hall Sokolana Milano Arena Public swimming pool Sport Teams FK Bashkimi 1947–2008 2011 FK Goblen FK Karpoš 93 GFK Kumanovo FK Milano KK Kumanovo RK Kumanovo ŽRK Kumanovo FHC Kumanovo OC Kumanovo
Education	Euro College State University of Tetovo - Faculty of Business Administration
Events	Days of Comedy International Art Colony Pivtijada Summer Jazz Festival (former)
Economy and Transportation	List of companies in Kumanovo European route E75 Pan-European Corridor X Pan-European Corridor VIII Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport Adzi Tepe Airport Kumanovo Bus Station Kumanovo Railway Station Mall Garnizon SUMA Shopping center Tush Market Ramstor Market Tinex Market
People	List of people from Kumanovo

• Pan-European Corridor VIII
• Pan-European corridors