From Tuesday, 1 September, the city train starts running between Zelenikovo and Skopje Railway Station. A one-way ticket costs 40 denars, a return 70. The journey takes between 24 and 28 minutes, and the train runs eight times a day in both directions.

The first train from Zelenikovo leaves at 6:20, followed by 8:30, 12:26, 14:00, 16:25, 18:30, 20:12 and 21:55. From Skopje - at 5:32, 7:30, 11:40, 13:20, 15:42, 17:45, 19:12 and 20:56. The train stops at Zelenikovo, Oreshani, Jane Sandanski, Drachevo and Lisiche.

The link is 24.5 kilometres long, with 5.7 million euros invested in it.

What was actually changed on the line

Sinisha Ivanovski, director of Macedonian Railways - Infrastructure, listed the works: "The old wooden sleepers, some of which date back to 1959, have been replaced with new concrete sleepers. This technical upgrade will allow trains to move at speeds of 80 to 90 kilometres per hour, a significant improvement on the current 20-30 kilometres per hour."

Sleepers from 1959. That means part of this line was running on timber older than most of the people who will board the train. The level crossings at Drachevo have also been modernised.

Twenty-five minutes is a good number. The timetable is the real test.

For residents of Zelenikovo, Oreshani, Drachevo and Lisiche, a twenty-minute trip to the central railway station is a genuine alternative to a car or a bus. That is the first condition for the line to work.

The second is the schedule - and there the story gets more complicated. Eight departures a day, with morning and afternoon slots, but also with long gaps between them. Between the 8:30 train and the 12:26 one there are almost four hours. Whether that fits working hours, schools and universities will decide whether the line becomes part of daily life or stays a nice number on paper. The timetable is coordinated with the Skopje city transport schedule, which is a good start, but not enough on its own.

In April the Transport Ministry announced the idea of giving the city train higher frequency and making it part of a broader organised public transport network. That was when 1 September was confirmed as the target date - and that date, unlike many others, was met.

Two more sections are waiting

The second phase envisages a link from Miladinovci via Ilinden and Madzhari to the central station, and the third from the central station via Skopje North and Gjorche Petrov to Volkovo.

Ivanovski says the construction work there will be similar, but with one significant difference: on those sections, unlike the one towards Zelenikovo, there is no traffic at all and the tracks are in very poor condition. The design procedure is under way, to be followed by a tender for a contractor. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

For many years Skopje has had railway infrastructure running through the city that almost nobody uses. From Tuesday, at least one part of it is carrying people again. That is news. Whether it becomes a habit - we will know in a few months.