Albania-Greece railway line talks begun

Ioannis Kefalogiannis

 Albania and Greece have started discussions on a railway line connecting the two countries. The news was announced by the Greek Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ioannis Kefalogiannis at a press conference after his visit to Kozana and Kostur on Saturday.

"The government has a clear position on the railway, for us, it is a top priority and, especially this year, which is the year of the railway, let me tell you that western Macedonia is on the map of railway connections," he said.

Referring to the issue of a railway connection between Greece and Albania, through Florina-Kapshtica-Pogradec, he stressed that they should "consider the best possible economic and technical solution".

He stressed that the road to Pogradec through Florina and Krystalopigi (Kapshtica) is "more time consuming and less costly than the other two proposals that have been put on the table."

"Do we want a project that will be completed in more than 10 years or a project that will be done much earlier?" asked Kefalogiannis, noting at the same time that at the moment there is nothing final about the itinerary.

"We start from the beginning and the study that includes cost issues will show us the best way, which we will then present," he said.

He announced that part of the Kozani-Siatista-Kalambaka interconnection will be included in the strategic planning.