The Railway Infrastructure Company (ŽICG) has received the green light for the Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the project to reconstruct the 39 kilometers of railway line from Golubovaci to Bar. This permit was one of the prerequisites for the reconstruction of the line to begin.
The decision was made in mid-May by the Environmental Protection Agency. Montenegro will have 224 million available for this and other railway reconstructions, half of which will be donations from the European Commission and the rest from loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
This project is part of the expansion of the main trans-European network corridors between neighboring countries, in order to better connect the Port of Bar with these corridors and Serbia, as the railway currently does not meet conditions such as installations, a speed of 100 kilometers per hour and the reception of freight trains longer than 750 meters.
The National Parks (NPCG) also demanded the preparation of the Elaborate, because the railway partly goes through the NP "Skadarsko jezero" and the ecological network "Natura 2000", i.e. the habitats of protected plant and animal species. In addition, the route also passes near the Bar peninsula Ratac.
The Study states that the project does not include reconstruction works of bridge structures and tunnel linings, along the Morača River, Tanki Rt, Brdo Ratac, Šušanj, but only on the upper railway track. After the reconstruction, the total area of land covered by railway facilities will be 685.308 square meters.
It is crucial, as stated, to reduce the impact on the environment near Lake Skadar, which is why the work variant that will be carried out on the crown and slope of the embankment, i.e. concrete retaining walls and those on piles, has been chosen, so that the construction site does not expand. It is emphasized that the expansion of the embankment will result in the loss of "Natura" habitats of white willow, white poplar and Mediterranean high hydrophilic meadows in an area of 980 square meters.
"There are no protected cultural assets at the location of the project in question, but in its immediate vicinity there are the following immovable cultural assets protected by Montenegrin regulations: the settlement of Vranjina, the Lesendro Fortress, the settlement of Virpazar, Litine near the entrance to the Sozina tunnel (remains of the church of St. Peter) and the Monastery of the Virgin of Ratačka...
This section of the railway line was put into operation at the end of November 1959 and is used for passenger and freight traffic. According to the design at the time, the maximum designed speed was 100 kilometers per hour, but due to the current condition of the track, that speed cannot be achieved, so the current maximum speed is 70 to 80 kilometers per hour.
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