Due to the inability to keep all passenger train lines operational, the Board of Directors and Management of HK-Trainkos Sh.A addresses all citizens, particularly passengers who use trains as a means of travel, with the following:
NOTICE
Dear citizens,
We regret to inform you that starting from 03.08.2017, all trains on the Peja line and the Hani i Elezit line will no longer be in operation.
The suspension of trains on these lines comes as a result of a lack of financial resources, which have not been provided by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo. The funds allocated for this transport by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo were exhausted in June of this year. Until now, the trains have been kept in operation through the company's own funds, but maintaining their operation any longer is impossible.
The trains that will not be in operation include all lines on the following routes:
Pristina – Peja and vice versa
Fushë Kosovë – Hani i Elezit and vice versa
The only passenger line that will remain operational is Pristina – Skopje – Pristina.
Railway passenger transport in every country is considered a public service for which governments order these services and simultaneously cover their expenses. Similarly, in our country, based on the Law on Kosovo Railways, the contracting authority (Ministry of Infrastructure) is expected to cover all these expenses, furthermore allowing a modest profit margin for the railway operator. Unfortunately, since the division of Kosovo Railways in 2011, these expenses have not been fully covered by the Government, and the losses have been covered with own funds. From that period, September 2011, there are approximately five million euros in expenses that the enterprise has covered from its own budget.
We have continuously addressed the issue of incomplete cost coverage to the competent authorities, but a solution to this problem has not yet been provided. Likewise, we have sent the notification regarding the impossibility of further operations to the country's institutions, and we expect this issue to be addressed by them.
Dear citizens,
We sincerely ask for your understanding! We believe and expect that the country's Government will address this issue and find a sustainable solution, as defined by the Law on Kosovo Railways.
Fushë Kosovë Management of HK-Trainkos Sh.A
31.07.2017