The number is almost uncomfortably convincing: 5 minutes by train versus 65 minutes by bus, for the same route in Skopje. That's what a comparative tour by the Go Green association showed, testing the line from Madzari to the center in real time - the train arrived while the bus was still on the road.

The tour was part of the "Transport for All - Skopje" conference and had a clear goal: to show what city rail and a bus rapid transit (BRT) system offer compared to the existing chaos. "The buses run 65 minutes per the timetable, with four times less capacity than our railway," said director Goranco Jovanovski.

The figures behind the project are concrete. The first phase of the city train (Zelenikovo - Skopje) is 90.88 percent complete, with launch announced for September 1, 2026 - starting with two trains in the morning and one for the rest of the day. The Go Green experts stress that exactly this kind of transport keeps passengers in public transit and cuts congestion.

And here's the old Skopje paradox. The fix for the gridlock choking the city already exists on paper and is nearly built - while citizens have spent years stuck in buses for an hour-plus on a trip the train covers in five minutes. Why are we this late? And, more to the point, will September 1 really be September 1, or just another deadline that slides?

Skopje isn't short on ideas for better transport - it's short on delivering them on time. If the city train works as promised, this could be one of the rare infrastructure stories with a happy ending. But people in Skopje have learned not to celebrate the tracks before the first train pulls out.