Albania Railways 5-mo Passenger, Cargo Traffic Up Y/Y

TIRANA, Aug. 4 – Albanian railway passenger and cargo traffic rose by 37.3% and 11.8%, on the year, respectively, in the five months through May, figures of state-run rail company Hekurudha Shqiptare (HSH) showed. The railways carried 670,794 passengers between January and May this year, compared to 488,547 in the same period last year. The railway network hauled 179,303 tones of cargo through May, compared to 160,342 tones in the year-ago period. The company handled 14,413,818 tonne-kilometres (tkm) of cargo through May, up 50% on the year. The re-opening of a key railroad section to Tirana in the middle of last year has led to the year-on-year rise in passenger traffic since the beginning of the current year. The busy route from Durres to Tirana was blocked due to a collapsed bridge for almost the whole first half-year last year. The section was re-opened to traffic in mid-June. Passenger traffic fell 18.9% last year to 1.42 million passengers. The railway system plans to transport 1.8 million passengers this year.