Kosovo Revisted 2022

Thomas Kautzor was in the country on March 10th/25th and May 4th/5th 2022 and reports on one of Europe's railway backwaters.

At Obiliq/Obilic, 62-636 (DD 636/1955, ex Breza colliery/Bosnia) is dumped outside the abandoned shed, while formerly operational 62-670 and 62-676 (ex RMK Zenica) are stored inside. The rail connection to the station has been lifted. The fourth 62 class from Obiliq, 62-671 (ex RTB Bor), is still being held hostage in the Sinvoz plant in Zrenjanin (Serbia). 

At Bardh i Madh/Grabov i Epërm, on the other side of the open-cast lignite mine, plinthed 900mm gauge H.K Porter 0-4-0ST 8259/1950 can be seen from the road outside, but the KEK security guards did not grant access to photograph it. 

At Fushë Kosovo station JZ 01-043 (BMAG 7953/1922) with tender 26-042 is still plinthed, while the small Kosovo Railway Museum inside the station building appears to be permanently closed. 

At Fushë Kosovo shed, the sole remaining Trainkos NOHAB round-nose diesel (the other three were scrapped in the first half of 2021), Trainkos 005 / 2640 001 (NOHAB AA16 2413/1958, 2001 ex NSB Di3.619), awaits its transfer to the Augsburg Roundhouse Museum in Germany for preservation. 

Trainkos diesel 002 / 2640 006 (EMD G16CW 26259/1960, 2000 ex JZ 661-132) is plinthed with three carriages at Hani i Elezit (border with Macedonia) as part of the « Bllaca 99 » memorial that commemorates the exile of Kosovo Albanians from Serbian aggression in 1999 at the site of the then-largest refugee camp in Macedonia. 

Currently, the main line to Macedonia is closed due to track work and Trainkos only operates two daily pairs of passenger trains between Prishtinë and Pejë. There is no freight traffic.