| Rail transport in Montenegro | |
| Infrastructure: | ŽICG |
| Majoroperators: | ŽPCG, Montecargo |
| Length: | 2500NaN0 |
| Ellength: | 2250NaN0 |
| Gauge: | (standard gauge) |
| El: | 25 kV, 50 Hz AC |
| Notunnels: | 121 |
| Tunnellength: | 580NaN0 |
| Longesttunnel: | Sozina (6,170 m) |
| Nobridges: | 120 |
| Nostations: | 7 stations, 41 stops |
| Highelevation: | 1,032 m AMSL (at Kolašin) |
| Lowelevation: | 3 m AMSL (at Bar) |
Rail transport in Montenegro is operated by four separate companies, which independently handle railway infrastructure, passenger transport, cargo transport and maintenance of the rolling stock. The four companies were a part of public company Railways of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Željeznica Crne Gore / Жељезница Црне Горе (ŽCG)) until it was split up in 2008.
Montenegro is an associate member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Montenegro is 62.
Railway Infrastructure of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Жељезничка Инфраструктура Црне Горе / Željeznička Infrastruktura Crne Gore (ŽICG)) is a joint-stock company that handles operation and maintenance of the railway infrastructure in Montenegro.
See also: Narrow gauge railways in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first railway line within the territory that today belongs to Montenegro was a narrow-gauge railway line Gabela - Zelenika, which opened in 1901. This railway line was built by Austria-Hungary, which governed the territory of Boka Kotorska at the time.
However, the works on the first Montenegrin railway, the Bar - Virpazar line, begun in 1905. This was a narrow-gauge railway line, 43.3 km long, which opened in 1908. The extension of this line from Virpazar to Cetinje was planned, but never came through, due to lack of funding, and the beginning of the First World War. This historic mountain railway line overcame a rise of 670m over an 18 km run on the Sutorman mountain, with a maximum grade of 40‰. Despite the steep gradient, the railway was not using rack technology, due to the innovative route design by Italian engineers. The operating speeds on the line were 18 km/h for passenger transport, and 12 km/h for freight movement. In 2008, on the 100th anniversary of the line opening, and at the same time the anniversary of Montenegrin railways as a whole, it was planned to transfer the steam locomotive Lovćen from Podgorica Rail Station to Virpazar. This locomotive, which operated on the line, should become a part of a Montenegrin railway museum in Virpazar, which, due to lack of funds, never came through.[1]
The railway network in Montenegro expanded during the period of Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1927, the Podgorica - Plavnica line was opened, followed by Bileća - Nikšić line in 1938. At that time, the railway network of Montenegro measured 143 km in length, with narrow gauge as a most common standard. However, the railway network was not integrated, and, and were present, additionally complicating the network operations. Multimodal transport was used for freight transport between Bar and Podgorica, as goods were transported by rail from Bar to Virpazar, then ferried across the Skadar Lake to Plavnica, followed by rail transport to Podgorica once again. Thus, it is fair to say that railway network in Montenegro was underdeveloped and unorganized prior to World War II.
Following World War II, the railway line Podgorica - Nikšić was completed (1948), with gauge.
The first real advance towards modernisation of railway network was the start of construction of the Montenegrin section of Belgrade–Bar railway. The first section from Bar to Podgorica was completed in 1959, and this is the first section of standard gauge railway in Montenegro. At the same time, narrow gauge Podgorica - Plavnica and Bar - Virpazar lines were decommissioned.
In 1965, the Podgorica - Nikšić corridor was upgraded to standard gauge, thus standardizing the entire connection from Bar to Nikšić via Podgorica. The section from Nikšić to Bileća was decommissioned at the time, as well as the Gabela - Zelenika line.
The Montenegrin section of colossal Belgrade–Bar railway project (from Bar to Vrbnica, border with Serbia) was completed in 1976, connecting Bar and Podgorica with the northern Montenegro, Serbia, and European rail network. At that time, the length of Montenegrin railway network was 225 km, with transition to standard gauge complete.
The latest addition to the Montenegrin railways was Podgorica–Shkodër line, which opened in 1986. This was a freight-only line since its opening.
In 2012, Podgorica-Niksic railway was opened for passenger traffic after twenty years of absence. The line was modernised and electrified.
As of 2019, ZICG managed to modernise the northern part of the line the Belgrade-Bar railway between Bijelo Polje and Trebesice, and inside the Sozina tunnel.
| Railway infrastructure of Montenegro Željeznička infrastruktura Crne Gore Жељезничка Инфраструктура Црне Горе | |
| Type: | Government-owned |
| Foundation: | 2008 |
| Location City: | Podgorica |
| Location Country: | Montenegro |
| Industry: | Rail Transport |
| Services: | Rail Transport |
| Homepage: | http://www.zicg.me/ |
The total network is 250 kilometres long and is (standard gauge) for its entire length, with 225 of them electrified at 25 kV, 50 Hz AC. Almost 58 km of lines are situated in 121 tunnels. There are also 120 bridges, 9 galleries and 440 culverts. The network consists of three railway lines that converge in Podgorica, making it a junction of Montenegrin X-shaped rail network.[2]
Montenegro only has passenger railway links with Serbia. The link with Albania is only in use for freight, although the 2022 EU plan Railway Route 2 that will connect the two countries and their ports at Bar and Durres to the EU rail network within five years.[4] There are currently no railway connections with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia since the breakup of Yugoslavia.
| Railway transport of Montenegro Željeznički prevoz Crne Gore Жељезнички превоз Црне Горе | |
| Type: | Government-owned |
| Foundation: | 2008 |
| Location City: | Podgorica |
| Location Country: | Montenegro |
| Industry: | Rail Transport |
| Services: | Rail Transport, Services |
| Homepage: | http://www.zcg-prevoz.me/ |
See main article: Željeznički prevoz Crne Gore.
Railway transport of Montenegro (Montenegrin: Жељезнички превоз Црне Горе / Željeznički prevoz Crne Gore (ŽPCG)) is a joint-stock company that handles passenger transport within Montenegro, as well as operation of the Montenegrin rolling stock.
| Montecargo Montecargo | |
| Type: | Government-owned |
| Foundation: | 2008 |
| Location City: | Podgorica |
| Location Country: | Montenegro |
| Industry: | Freight rail transport |
| Services: | Freight rail transport |
| Revenue: | 10 million EUR (2010) |
| Net Income: | 1,5 million EUR (2010) |
| Num Employees: | 209 |
| Homepage: | http://www.montecargo.me/ |
Montecargo (Montenegrin: Montecargo) is a company that handles freight transport within Montenegro, as well as operation of the Montenegrin goods wagons and freight locomotives.
Rolling stock of Montecargo consists of 17 locomotives (15 active) and 713 freight wagons:
| Rolling stock maintenance Održavanje željezničkih voznih sredstava Одржавање жељезничких возних средстава | |
| Type: | Government-owned |
| Foundation: | 2010 |
| Location City: | Podgorica |
| Location Country: | Montenegro |
| Industry: | Rail Transport |
| Services: | Rail Transport, Services |
| Homepage: | http://ozvs.me/ |
Rolling stock maintenance (Montenegrin: Održavanje željezničkih voznih sredstava / Одржавање жељезничких возних средстава (OŽVS)) is a joint-stock company that handles maintenance of the Montenegrin passenger and freight rolling stock. It was a part of Railway transport of Montenegro company, but was split into separate company in 2011.
James Bond travels on the railways of Montenegro in Casino Royale. The actual train seen in the movie is the Pendolino tilting train of Czech Railways.
Josip Broz Tito's Blue Train used the JŽ class 11, JŽ D66/761 (DB Class V 200 based), and later JŽ class 666 (EMD JT22CW-2) locomotives. It is now operated on the Bar - Belgrade line as a tourist attraction. [5]
