Skopje is getting a city train - for real this time, not just in announcements. Deputy PM Nikoloski confirmed that the first line launches on September 1, 2026. The route: Zelenikovo - Dragevo - Lisiche - Kisela Voda - the airport - the new Skopje railway station. Construction must be completed by the end of June, leaving two to three months for testing.

For residents of Zelenikovo, Lisiche and Kisela Voda, this is a change in everyday life. One train can replace dozens of cars and several bus lines. If it works - and that is the essential question - Skopje's traffic collapse gets its first real answer, not another promised ring road.

Simultaneously, MŽ Transport signed a contract for at least five new freight locomotives with EBOR support. In autumn, 100 electric buses follow. It seems someone finally understood that transport infrastructure is not built with photo opportunities.

Two more lines are planned - toward Butel/Gjorche Petrov and toward Ilinden - with tenders to be launched by mid-2026 and completion in 2027-2028. Skopje is not Vienna, but at least it will no longer be the only European capital without any urban rail. That is a start.