Trip to Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo - late April 2014
General Notes
A trip to Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo, based around travelling on the Mercia Charters "The New Frontier" special trains in Kosovo. I flew to Skopje, hired a car for a couple of days to do some exploring; then to Niš in Serbia; then back via Skopje to Prishtinë for three nights for the rail tour; then back via Skopje and a bus to Thessaloníki for a flight home from there.
Numbers/letters in [square brackets] are platform identifiers. Photo album here.
Operating Company Abbreviations and Details
- HK - Hekurudhat e Kosovës (Kosovo Railways).
- MŽ - Makedonski Železnici (Macedonian Railways).
- ŽS - Železnice Serbije (Serbian Railways).
Track gauge
Standard gauge (1435 mm).
| Place | Arrive | Depart | Train | Traction details & notes |
Saturday 19 April 2014
| Navigation Road | 17:06 | Northern DMU 142 046 | ||
| Manchester Piccadilly | 17:41 | 18:04 [13] | Virgin Trains EMU 390 129 dep 7 late; Slow line from Bourne End | |
| London Euston | 20:29 | walk to | ||
| London St Pancras | 21:28 [1] | East Midlands Trains DMU 222 002 | ||
| Luton Airport Parkway | 21:48 | 22:00 | bus | |
| Luton Airport | 22:08 | |||
| Overnight: Ibis Hotel Luton Airport. | ||||
| Notes: Simple outward route to Luton Airport for the next day's flight to Skopje. |
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Sunday 20 April 2014
| Luton Airport (LTN) | 08:15 | W6-7702 | Wizzair A320 -LPL push-back 08:25, take-off from runway 26 at 08:32 | |
| Skopje Airport (SKP) | 12:30 | Landed on runway 34 at 12:16, on stand 12:20 - pick up hire car Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Holiday Inn Hotel, Mosa Pijade Str. 2, Skopje (1st of 2 nights); near the city centre. | ||||
| Notes: An afternoon with a hire car looking at the proposed new international line between Macedonia and Bulgaria (planned route: Skopje - Kumanovo - Beljakovce - Kriva Palanka - Gyueshevo - Sofia). Some construction work was done between 1994 and 2004, but the project then faltered due to lack of finance. |
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Monday 21 April 2014
| Today's photos | ||||
| Overnight: Holiday Inn Hotel, Mosa Pijade Str. 2, Skopje (2nd of 2 nights) | ||||
| Notes: A day exploring parts of Macedonia by car, including the Tajmište branch, Kičevo, Bitola and Ohrid. Overnight in Skopje.. |
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Tuesday 22 April 2014
| Skopje | 08:20 | 336 | MŽ EL 441 754 | |
| * Tabanovce | 09:03 | 09:25 | ŽS EL 444 016 | |
| Via Preševo (arr 09:35 / dep 10:00) | ||||
| Niš | 13:11 | arr 18 late Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Hotel Niški Cvet, Niš; near the fortress so not far from the city centre but over 1 km from the railway station. | ||||
| Notes: Skopje to Niš. I planned to catch an afternoon train from Niš to Zaječar to cover Zaječar to Majdanpek next day, but it was cancelled.... so I had to re-plan the next few days. |
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Wednesday 23 April 2014
| Niš | 12:18 | ŽS EL 444 018 dep 60 late | ||
| Via Preševo (15:36/16:00; arr 60 late, dep 49 late) | ||||
| * Tabanovce | 16:10 | 16:40 | MŽ EL 441 754 arr 49 late/dep ? late | |
| Skopje | ? | Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Hotel Premier, Skopje; 5 minutes walk from railway station. | ||||
| Notes: A morning looking around Niš, then by train to Skopje. |
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Thursday 24 April 2014
| Skopje | 16:20 | 892 | MŽ DL 661 408 | |
| * Hani i Elezit | 17:30 | 17:45 | HK DL 007 dep 6 late | |
| Prishtinë | 19:20 | arr 10 late Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Hotel Adria, Prishtinë (1st of 3 nights); 5 minutes walk from railway station. | ||||
| Notes: A morning looking around Skopje, then by train to Prishtinë; overnight in Prishtinë. |
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Friday 25 April 2014
| Prishtinë | 07:50 | 4201 | HK DL 001 | |
| Fushë-Kosovë | 08:00 | 08:30 | HK DL 005 + 3C + HK DL 002 Mercia Charters charter train | |
| Via Pejë (reverse) | ||||
| Fushë-Kosovë | 18:30 | 19:10 | 892 | HK DL 007 |
| Prishtinë | 19:20 | Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Hotel in Prishtinë (2nd of 3 nights). | ||||
| Notes: Day 1 of the Mercia Charters rail tour. Prishtinë to Pejë and back. We had hoped to cover the freight line to Xërxë today but the recent heavy rain had caused a washout. |
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Saturday 26 April 2014
| Prishtinë | 07:50 | 4201 | HK ? | |
| Fushë-Kosovë | 08:00 | 08:12 [3] | HK DL MDD3-01 shunt along platform [3] to south end; reverse; return | |
| Fushë-Kosovë | 08:14 [3] | 09:00 [1] | HK DL 2640 007 + 3C + HK DL 007 Mercia Charters charter train | |
| Via Bardh (reverse) - Gllavicë nickel mine (reverse) - Bardh (reverse) | ||||
| * Fushë-Kosovë | HK DL MDD3-01 on front of charter train | |||
| * Fushë-Kosovë depot | 12:15 | 13:30 | HK DL MDD3-01 + HK DL 010 + 3C + HK DL 007 Mercia Charters charter train via depot triangle | |
| Fushë-Kosovë | HK DL 010 + 3C + HK DL 2640 007 Mercia Charters charter train | |||
| Via Mitrovicë (reverse) | ||||
| Fushë-Kosovë | 19:10 | 892 | HK DR 5800 004 + 003 dep 27 late | |
| Prishtinë | 19:20 | arr 26 late Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Hotel in Prishtinë (3rd of 3 nights). | ||||
| Notes: Day 2 of the Mercia Charters rail tour. Prishtinë to Bardh and the freight branch to Gllavicë; a depot visit at Fushë-Kosovë with a trip on a loco around the triangle there; then to the internal border at Mitrovicë and back. |
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Sunday 27 April 2014
| Prishtinë | 07:10 | 891 | HK DR 5800 004 | |
| Hani i Elezit | 08:44 | 09:05 | 891 | MŽ DL 642 401 |
| Skopje | 09:52 | arr 30 late | ||
| Skopje bus station | 17:00 | bus | ||
| via Veles - Gevgelija | ||||
| Thessaloníki bus station | 21:43 | Today's photos | ||
| Overnight: Holiday Inn Hotel, Monastiriou 8, Thessaloniki; 5 minutes walk from railway station. | ||||
| Notes: Prishtinë to Skopje by train, then by service bus to Thessaloníki. |
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Monday 28 April 2014
| Thessaloníki | 09:20 | '78' | bus | |
| Thessaloníki airport | 10:15 | |||
| Thessaloníki Airport (SXG) | 12:15 | EZY 1840 | Easyjet G-EZWD push-back 12:23, take-off 12:28 | |
| Manchester Airport (MAN) | 13:50 | landed 13:30, on stand 13:35 | ||
| Manchester Airport | 14:35 | TransPennine Express DMU class 185 | ||
| Manchester Piccadilly | ? | |||
| Piccadilly | ? | Metrolink tram | ||
| Timperley | ? | |||
| Notes: Heading home. |
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| Summary: . Tickets used: single tickets throughout. Weather: . |