The roar of the locomotive and the frequent overcrowding of the train, which causes passengers to stand on the pedals of the wagons, cheap tickets, citizens, students and farmers going to work, school, the coast and the market, the transport of millions of tons of bauxite, coal, grain and industrial goods, the difficult and painful process of breaking through the railway, the progress of infrastructure and unprofitability after 38 years of knocking - until the shutdown of one of the transport arteries of the western part of Montenegro.
This is just a part of the vivid historical picture, which for half a century has been slowly fading from the memories of those who had the opportunity to photograph it and experience the tracks of the former Bileća - Nikšić railway.
The first railway arrived in Montenegro, namely Herceg Novi, at the beginning of the last century, while the later Kingdom of Yugoslavia planned to connect all major cities with it. Thus, just before World War II, the Bileća - Nikšić route was chosen as the most favorable and was built over three years. Work on the narrow single-track section began in September 1935, while it was opened to traffic on July 12, 1938.
Cars were rare, and the bumpy ride on the unpaved macadam roads with horse-drawn carts from Nikšić to Sarajevo at that time took two to three days, so the railway, the lifeblood of the journey, shortened the journey to a maximum of 15 hours. In addition to transporting passengers on that stretch to the coast, the railway significantly facilitated the transport of ore from the Nikšić bauxite mine, as well as the transport of coal to the local steelworks.
The short but rich history of these rails was slowed down - and then extinguished - by improved road traffic, the construction of the standard gauge Nikšić - Podgorica railway, which easily transported cargo to the Port of Bar, which caused the Bileća - Nikšić railway flower to wilt due to unprofitability at the end of May 1976. Fortunately, the sadness of the people of Nikšić was short-lived, as the opening of the newly built Belgrade - Bar railway brought consolation a few days later.
32 trains per day
"Vijesti" also asked "Railway Infrastructure" (ŽICG) about this section, which emphasized that the railway mostly ran along the route that the Nikšić - Trebinje highway runs today. They pointed out that it was 71,3 kilometers long and passed through the border towns of Kljakovica and Koravlica, Petrovići, Viluse, Podbožur and a 265-meter-long tunnel, Trubjelo, where it was 852 meters above sea level, Stuba and Kuside, while it crossed the Zeta River over the bridge in Rastoci and ended at the main station in Nikšić.
"The estimated value of the construction works of the narrow gauge railway Nikšić - Bileća was 68.000.000 dinars, while an additional 20.000.000 was needed to complete the works, which amounts to a total of 88.000.000 dinars. The Nikšić - Bileća railway was the main logistical connection of the Bauxite Mine with the European market for decades; since its opening, bauxite has been the dominant cargo in the direction of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ore was transported by rail via Bileća and Trebinje, and then further via Čapljina to the port of Ploče in Croatia. From there, the bauxite was exported abroad by ship, primarily to aluminum plants in Germany and other European countries. Nikšić was of enormous importance thanks to its basic resources such as bauxite, steel and electricity...", they stated.
ŽICG pointed out that an average of 32 trains passed through this route daily, most of which were freight trains, while traffic to Bosnia and Herzegovina consisted of bauxite, and in the opposite direction, most of the trains carried coal for the Ironworks, grain and industrial goods. The railway, they say, reached its peak in the middle of the last century, after which the number of passengers began to decline sharply in the 1960s and early 1970s due to the asphalting of the Nikšić - Trebinje highway, the introduction of bus lines faster than the "Ćira" and the mass purchase of Fić and Tristać.
Thus, they state, the narrow gauge railway was officially closed on June 1, 1976, due to unprofitability and the outflow of passengers to road traffic.
"Vijesti" also spoke about the former route with the author of the monograph "111 years of railways in Montenegro: 1901-2012.", Josip Veberom, who emphasized that the Bileća - Nikšić railway was the fourth in the present-day territory of Montenegro and that it was built as a branch or continuation of the existing one, from Gabela to Trebinje.
He states that during the day, 1.500 to 2.000 workers worked on this megaproject, while working on rocky, inaccessible and difficult terrain, which had very little water, so water wells were built at most stations. This, he says, was done because, in addition to coal, water was the main power unit for the steam locomotive of the time.
"The roads were macadam, road vehicles were very rare and the journey from Nikšić to Sarajevo by horse-drawn cart would take two or three days. With the arrival of the railway from Nikšić via Trebinje, through Popovo Polje, via Čapljina and Mostar to Sarajevo, this was reduced to 12 to 15 hours - which was a real miracle at the time. The first railway composition as a working train arrived in Nikšić in the spring of 1938, but due to the establishment and construction of station tracks, signalization and other devices, it was officially opened on July 12, 1938, in the presence of the then Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Milan Stojadinović and the state leadership. There were lines to Dubrovnik, Boka Kotorska and of course, those that went to Čapljina, Mostar and Sarajevo," emphasized Veber, adding that there were seven tunnels on the railway with 12 stations.
The war slowed down plans
Weber added that there were plans to continue construction of the railway immediately to Podgorica, but the situation in Europe and the gloomy forecast of a major recession put that idea on hold. He stressed that the country's leaders Josip Broz Tito, and the Yugoslav authorities, after the war and liberation, had the same idea as the king Alexander I Karađorđević before them - to connect the capitals of the newly formed republics of Yugoslavia by railway.
Considering that Podgorica was the only city not yet part of the network, Veber explains that tens of thousands of young people from all over Yugoslavia were brought to the construction site of the new railway, including fighters and partisans, so construction on the Nikšić - Podgorica section began in 1947.
"On the entire route of the railway, only four compressors were used to break up the rock, the route was cleared as much as possible with dynamite and mainly with hammers, picks, shovels... A large number of young people managed to build the railway from Nikšić to Titograd in record time, literally in just over a year. The designers of the new railway went a step ahead, because they knew that the railway would soon be converted into a standard gauge railway, so the Nikšić - Titograd section was built for standard gauge, as were the tunnels. This happened in 1965, when the narrow gauge railway was dismantled and a standard gauge railway was built on its route," said Veber.
Since then, Nikšić has gained a direct connection with Titograd and Bar, so that ore no longer had to be transported via Trebinje and Dubrovnik and the port there, but directly by wagons and trains via Titograd to the Port of Bar. This was the case, he says, until the end of May 1976, when the last passenger train left Nikšić station on the Bileća, Trebinje to Čapljina railway. Veber added that just one day after the abolition of this railway, the newly built Belgrade - Bar section was opened, which gave the people of Nikšić a direct connection via the then Titograd to Belgrade, and from there to the whole of Europe.
He pointed out that 1976 was a year of revival for the railway in Nikšić, because there was also a direct night train to Belgrade with first and second class carriages, with seats, couchettes and sleeping cars.
“The Bileća - Nikšić railway was closed because it was much more economical and faster to go to Belgrade, on the new Belgrade - Bar railway, which took about nine and a half hours from Nikšić. It was more profitable than traveling six hours to Čapljina, and then changing there to another train that went from Ploče via Mostar and Sarajevo to Belgrade. The problem was financial profitability, and because of the closure of the railway, there was also great resistance among the people. The fear was justified because after the closure of the narrow-gauge railway, not only between Nikšić and Bileća and Trebinje, but also towards Dubrovnik - because in just one year the population of that region was halved. I believe that the railway could have remained, instead of steam traction it would now have modern motor trains that would travel up to 60 kilometers per hour, which would keep people and railway workers in that region. Examples of narrow-gauge traffic today are in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Switzerland and Austria, where the railways are used for travel and tourism...,” he added.
Weber stressed that during the 1990s, there was a lack of investment, so the railway from Nikšić to Podgorica was closed, except for freight transport, because speeds were a maximum of 20-30 kilometers per hour. Passenger traffic, he said, was completely unprofitable because it could carry about ten passengers at a time, while the journeys lasted two hours.
He pointed out that the overhaul was expected, so the Nikšić - Podgorica railway line began operating in 2006, while the electrification work was completed in the summer of 2012 - with the first ceremonial train with electric traction entering the Nikšić station.
Today, the voices of those who experienced the complex history of the Nikšić railways, from steam to electric power, construction and shutdown, are often not heard, but it is comforting to know that the western part of Montenegro was once directly dependent on the neighboring tri-border area.
Although the trunk of the Bileća - Nikšić railway line, thornily cleared 71 kilometers of rocky terrain and flourished for 38 years, testimonies from retired railway workers say that before it was introduced - it received its last drop of water from the tears and sorrow of those who were then seeing off the last train. Gathered on the platforms in Nikšić, Bileća and Trebinje, they decorated the train and threw flowers on the rails...
The railway is returning to the western border?
For almost 20 years, the European Union (EU) has been considering the idea of using the narrow-gauge railway route to build a new section, which would run from Čapljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Nikšić.
This idea was discussed in Nikšić at the end of last year at a photo exhibition about the local railway, when the co-author of the exhibition Tripko Draganić, said that he was familiar with the idea of building a new Adriatic-Ionian railway.
According to his sources, the EU has already allocated funds for the development of the project while three variants are being considered: a double-track electrified, a single-track electrified or a single-track non-electrified railway.
He added that a year ago, this initiative was also presented at informal meetings of railway representatives in the region, where everyone showed interest and gave the green light for its implementation.
"According to the conceptual solution, the Adriatic-Ionian railway would start in Italy and then go down through Slovenia to Ogulin in Croatia and then through Lika to Knin. From Knin it would go down towards Split, from there it would run parallel to the new highway in Croatia, to Ploče, Čapljina and use two-thirds of the route of the former narrow-gauge railway to Nikšić. From Nikšić there is already a railway to Podgorica, to Tuzi and Shkodra towards Tirana, so a branch would also be built that would go towards Greece," Draganić emphasized.
In summer, full as a pomegranate
ŽICG emphasized that the number of passengers during the period of full operation of the Bileća - Nikšić railway was impressive for such a karst and sparsely populated area.
They pointed out that students traveled to schools in Nikšić or Bileća, villagers to markets, while many went to Dubrovnik (Gruž) or Herceg Novi (Zelenik) for summer vacations.
Passengers, as they say, were lured by the low price of tickets, which was subsidized due to the modest financial situation of the majority who lived in the hinterland of the Adriatic coast. Road transport until the 1960s was almost non-existent, not even buses, while students and workers from Vilus, Petrovići and Vraćenovići traveled to work or school every day...
"Two to three passenger trains operated daily in both directions (the popular "locals"), with occasional express trains connecting Nikšić with Sarajevo and Dubrovnik. The largest number of passengers was recorded in the summer (due to tourists heading to Dubrovnik and Zelenica) and on market days (Mondays in Nikšić, Thursdays in Bileća), when the trains were so full that people stood on the pedals of the wagons," said ŽICG.
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