Transport in Montenegro

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Airports

Montenegro has two international airports, with their IATA Airport Codes:

Contents

Both airports were thoroughly reconstructed in 2006, with a new passenger terminal being built at Podgorica Airport. The airports had a combined traffic of 2,184,857 passengers in 2017. Both airports had more than 1 million passengers for the first time in 2017. [1]

There are also airports at Berane, Žabljak and Nikšić, but those are used mostly for general aviation, and are not equipped to handle larger aircraft. Ulcinj has a grass-type airport.

Railways

total: 250 km
standard gauge: (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)) 250 km
narrow gauge: none

Overview

The Montenegrin part of the Belgrade–Bar railway is the backbone of the Montenegrin railway system. It opened in 1976, and then was a state-of-the art railway, with features such as the Mala Rijeka viaduct (highest railway viaduct in the world) and the 6.2 km long Sozina tunnel. About one-third of the Montenegrin part of the railway is in tunnels or on viaducts.

The railway suffered from chronic underfunding in the 1990s, resulting in it deteriorating and becoming unsafe. This culminated in the 2006 Bioče train disaster, when a passenger train derailed, killing 47 passengers. Efforts are being made to thoroughly reconstruct this railway. The European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed in January 2023 to provide finance of EUR 76 million for rail improvements on the Bar – Podgorica – Vrbnica rail line. [2]

The Nikšić-Podgorica railway (56,6 km long) was built in 1948 as a narrow gauge railway, and upgraded to standard gauge in 1965. From 1992 to 2012, it has been used solely for freight traffic, particularly bauxite from the Nikšić mine to the Podgorica Aluminium Plant, with the maximum speed on the railway reduced to 30 km/h. Railway was reconstructed and electrified in the 2006-2012 period, with passenger traffic starting in 2012 and maximum speeds being between 75 and 100 km/h.

The Podgorica–Shkodër railway, which extends to Tirana, has been used exclusively for freight traffic for some time. Parts in Albania were damaged in 1997, but the connection was restored in 2002. There are plans to reconstruct the railway and re-introduce passenger traffic, as it is important for the interests of both Montenegro and Albania. Currently, the railways are undergoing planned repairs and modernization with a budget, given by the government for 2009, of 9.7 million euros.

Roads

Road network of Montenegro including Motorways, Main roads and Regional roads Montenegro all roads.svg
Road network of Montenegro including Motorways, Main roads and Regional roads
A road tunnel in Montenegro, near the Ostrog Monastery (September, 2018). A road tunnel in Montenegro, near the Ostrog Monastery (September, 2018).jpg
A road tunnel in Montenegro, near the Ostrog Monastery (September, 2018).

The overall length of roads in Montenegro is 5,277 km, of which 1,729 km is paved. The roads in Montenegro are categorized in the following way:

Sections of E65/E80 (Debeli Brijeg - Petrovac) and E851 (Petrovac - Ulcinj) together make up for the Montenegrin section of Adriatic Highway.

In January 2016, after many years, categories of roads have been changed to more reflect their importance and quality. [3] Before that categorization of some of the roads had become obsolete in some cases, with upgrades of some road sections, and decay of the others. For example, road Kolašin - Mateševo - Andrijevica road, was labelled as Main road, is greatly inferior in quality to the Šavnik - Žabljak road, which was designated as a Regional road.

In recent years roads connecting Podgorica and the coastal towns have improved significantly with the completion of Sozina tunnel and numerous upgrades of roads towards Cetinje, Budva and Bar. Sozina tunnel shortened the journey from Podgorica to Bar to under half an hour and made the trip significantly safer.

In the north, the road from Podgorica to Kolašin through Morača canyon to Serbia is considered the bottleneck of Montenegrin road network, as it is a curvy mountainous road, often unsafe during the winter. Bar - Boljare motorway is envisioned as a replacement for this corridor. In 2015, work has begun on section of Bar - Boljare motorway that would bypass the canyon. Long term plans also include the Montenegrin section of Adriatic–Ionian motorway as a significant transit link.

There is a proposed route from the city of Podgorica to Gusinje. The highway, expected to go through northwestern Albania, (from Grabom to Vermosh), will mean a journey time to Gusinje and Plav of about half an hour.

Also, the Verige bridge spanning the Bay of Kotor and part of the Adriatic Highway is planned to be built in the future.

Main roads

This is a list of all main roads in Montenegro. [4]

DesignationRoute
Wegschild Montenegro M-1.svg M-1 Debeli Brijeg/Croatia - Meljine (M-12) - Lipci (M-8) - Kotor (R-1) - Krtolska crossroad (M-11) - Budva (M-10) - Petrovac (M-2) - Sutomore (M-1.1) - Bar (R-28 and R-29) - Ulcinj (R-22) - Krute (R-29) Vladimir (R-15) - Sukobin/Albania
Wegschild Montenegro M-1.1.svg M-1.1 Sutomore (M-1) - Sozina Tunnel - Virpazar (raskrsnica sa M-2)
Wegschild Montenegro M-2.svg M-2 Petrovac (M-1) - Sotonići - Virpazar (M-1.1 and R-15) - Golubovci - Podgorica (M-3, M-4 and R-27) - Bioče (R-13) - Mioska (R-21) - Kolašin (R-13) - Mojkovac (R-10) - Slijepač Most (R-11) - Ribarevina (M-5) - Bijelo Polje - Barski most/Serbia
Wegschild Montenegro M-3.svg M-3 Šćepan Polje/Bosnia and Herzegovina - Plužine (R-16) - Jasenovo Polje (M-6) - Vir (R-7) - Nikšić (M-7) - Cerovo (R-23) - Danilovgrad (R-14) - Podgorica (M-10 and M-2)
Wegschild Montenegro M-4.svg M-4 Podgorica (M-2) - Tuzi - Božaj/Albania
Wegschild Montenegro M-5.svg M-5 Ribarevina (M-2) - Berane (R-2) - Budimlja (R-12) - Kalače (R-12) - Rožaje (R-5) - Most Zeleni (R-6) - Dračenovac/Serbia
Wegschild Montenegro M-6.svg M-6 Ranče/Serbia - Trlica (R-11) - Pljevlja (R-18) - Đurđevića Tara (R-10) - Vrela (R-26) - Žabljak - Virak (R-20) - Pošćenski kraj (R-16) - Šavnik (R-20) - Jasenovo Polje (M-3)
Wegschild Montenegro M-7.svg M-7 Nikšić (M-3)- Riđani (R-17) - Vilusi (M-8 and M-9) - Ilijino Brdo/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wegschild Montenegro M-8.svg M-8 Lipci (M-1) - Grahovo - Vilusi (M-7);
Wegschild Montenegro M-9.svg M-9 Vilusi (M-7) - Petrovići - Deleuša/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wegschild Montenegro M-10.svg M-10 Podgorica (M-3) - Cetinje (R-1) - Budva (M-1);
Wegschild Montenegro M-11.svg M-11 Lepetani (Ferry to M-1) - Tivat - Krtolska crossroad (M-1);
Wegschild Montenegro M-12.svg M-12 Meljine (M-1) - Petijevići - Sitnica/Bosnia and Herzegovina

Future Main road from Cetinje to Nikšić is currently under construction, with section from Cetinje to Čevo expected to be finished until the end of July, 2023. [5]

Regional roads

This is a list of regional roads in Montenegro. [4]

DesignationRoute
Wegschild Montenegro R-1.svg R-1 Cetinje (M-10) - Čekanje (R-17) - Krstac (R-25) - Trojica - Kotor (M-1)
Wegschild Montenegro R-2.svg R-2 Berane (M-5) - Buča (R-24) - Andrijevica (R-19) - Murino (R-9) - Plav - Gusinje - Grnčar/Albania
Wegschild Montenegro R-3.svg R-3 Pljevlja (R-18) - Dajevića Han (R-4) - Metaljka/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wegschild Montenegro R-4.svg R-4 Dajevića Han (R-3) - Čemerno/Serbia
Wegschild Montenegro R-5.svg R-5 Rožaje (M-5) - Kula - Stubica/Kosovo
Wegschild Montenegro R-6.svg R-6 Most Zeleni (M-5) - Vuča/Serbia
Wegschild Montenegro R-7.svg R-7 Vir (M-3) - Krstac/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wegschild Montenegro R-8.svg R-8 Resna (R-17) - Grahovo - Nudo/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Wegschild Montenegro R-9.svg R-9 Murino (R-2) - Bjeluha//Kosovo
Wegschild Montenegro R-10.svg R-10 Đurđevića Tara (M-6) - Mojkovac (M-2)
Wegschild Montenegro R-11.svg R-11 Slijepač Most (M-2) - Tomaševo - Pavino Polje - Trlica (M-6)
Wegschild Montenegro R-12.svg R-12 Budimlja (M-5) - Podvade (R-12.1) - Kalače (M-5)
Wegschild Montenegro R-12.1.svg R-12.1 Podvade (R-12.1) - Petnjica
Wegschild Montenegro R-13.svg R-13 Bioče (M-2) - Mateševo (R-19) - Kolašin (M-2)
Wegschild Montenegro R-14.svg R-14 Danilovgrad (M-3) - Čevo (R-17)
Wegschild Montenegro R-15.svg R-15 Vladimir (M-1) - Ostros - Virpazar (R-28 and M-2) - Rijeka Crnojevića - Donji Ulići (M-10)
Wegschild Montenegro R-16.svg R-16 Plužine (M-3) - Trsa - Pošćenski kraj (M-6)
Wegschild Montenegro R-17.svg R-17 Čekanje (R-1) - Resna (R-8) - Čevo (R-14) - Riđani (M-7)
Wegschild Montenegro R-18.svg R-18 Pljevlja (M-6 and R-3) - Gradac - Šula
Wegschild Montenegro R-19.svg R-19 Mateševo (R-13) - Andrijevica (R-2)
Wegschild Montenegro R-20.svg R-20 Virak (M-6) - Tušina (R-21) - Šavnik (M-6)
Wegschild Montenegro R-21.svg R-21 Mioska (M-2) - Semolj - Boan - Tušina (R-20)
Wegschild Montenegro R-22.svg R-22 Ulcinj (M-1) - Ada Bojana
Wegschild Montenegro R-23.svg R-23 Cerovo (M-3) - Bogetići - Glava Zete - Danilovgrad - Spuž - Vranjske njive
Wegschild Montenegro R-24.svg R-24 Buča (R-2) - Lubnice
Wegschild Montenegro R-25.svg R-25 Cetinje - Ivanova Korita - Međuvršje (R-25.1) - Krstac (R-1)
Wegschild Montenegro R-25.1.svg R-25.1 Međuvršje (R-25) - Lovćen
Wegschild Montenegro R-26.svg R-26 Vrela (M-6) - Njegovuđa
Wegschild Montenegro R-27.svg R-27 Cijevna Zatrijebačka/Albania - Dinoša - Podgorica (M-3)
Wegschild Montenegro R-28.svg R-28 Bar (M-1) - Virpazar (R-15)
Wegschild Montenegro R-29.svg R-29 Bar (M-1) - Kamenički most - Krute (M-1)

Ports and harbors

Port of Bar is the major seaport in Montenegro. It is capable of handling about 5 million tons of cargo, and is a port for ferries to Bari and Ancona in Italy. Kotor, Risan, Tivat and Zelenika (in Bay of Kotor) are smaller ports.

Montenegro's rivers are generally not navigable, except for tourist attractions such as rafting on Tara River.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–1878)</span> Conflict between the Principality of Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1878

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">M-1 highway (Montenegro)</span> Highway in Montenegro

M-1 highway is a Montenegrin roadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M-1.1 highway (Montenegro)</span> Highway in Montenegro

M-1.1 highway is a Montenegrin roadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R-13 regional road (Montenegro)</span> Road in Montenegro

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References

  1. "Airports of Montenegro". montenegroairports.com.
  2. "Financing secured for Bar – Vrbnica rail modernisation". 6 February 2023.
  3. "Pravilnik o kategorizaciji državnih puteva" [Regulation on categorisation of state roads]. www.sluzbenilist.me (in Montenegrin). Official Gazette of Montenegro. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Odluka o kategorizaciji državnih puteva" [Decision on categorisation of state roads]. www.sluzbenilist.me (in Montenegrin). Official Gazette of Montenegro. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. "Do kraja jula će se moći magistralom Cetinje-Čevo" [Cetinje-Čevo main road will be finished until end of July]. cetinjskilist.com (in Montenegrin). RTV Cetinje. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.