The timetable for Macedonian Railways has been put in place on Dec. 14th and is valid till Dec. 12, 2026. There are two connections from Skopje to Kumanovo, again eight to Veleš of which three continue to Bitola and one even to Zhabeni, and two trains go via Veleš to Gevgelija. There is one train to Kičevo and one train is listed to Kocani (but it is temporarily closed).
Know that you can download a handy overview on the website of MZT (Link) and with a sharp eye you will even discover that the names of the stations inside the plan (but not in the headlines) are written in Latin characters. For your convenience, find the overview here.
Note that there is no mentioning of the Kičevo connection in this document and that the train shown on the website is annotated with “no trains are planned for this route for the 2024/25 timetable”.
| Departure from Skopje | page | |
| Skopje – | Kumanovo | 5 |
| Veleš | 6 | |
| Gevgelija | 8 | |
| Bitola | 10 | |
| Arrival in Skopje | ||
| Kumanovo | – Skopje | 17 |
| Veleš | 18 | |
| Gevgelija | 20 | |
| Bitola | 22 | |
| Ticket prices | 25 | |
| Explanations | 26 |
If you are somewhat worried which information might be hidden in the pages 13 – 16 of this document, know that there are numerous possibilities for discounts and even free travel on the Macedonian railways, eg. women above 62 and men above 64 travel free on the second weekend of the month, while young people up to 27 years do not need to pay on the first and third weekend of the month. Students travel free on Thursdays, while high school students enjoy a free ride on Wednesday.
If you are still worried, download a translation of the text (without timetables)
As reported here last year, traveling by rail is a little bit different than in other countries. You may be well advised to check if the trains are running, unless you are ready to take just any train that runs just for the purpose of having taken a train in the country.
The most expensive ticket, Skopje – Bitola, will set you back 314 MKD, a little bit more than 5 €, for a one way trip if you do not enjoy any discount.
In the pages mentioned above you can also find the number of the Director of Passenger Traffic if you have something to ask or comment. But maybe it is sufficient to call the information service at the Skopje railway station at +389 2 3164-255 or +389 78 368-471 between 6 and 22 h.
For those who just want to go from one location to another, check Skopje Bus station (English translation) or sites like Flixbus to find hundreds of connections. International connections offer Wifi and chargers, stop regularly for food & comfort breaks and they are faster than the trains in the region.
International trains remain difficult. You might ask Hellenic railways, but there is still no rail answer, not even to Idomeni near the border on the Greek side. Coming from Belgrade, you will find a service exists till Niš. Rome2Rio.com will give you a good overview about the connections, eg. suggesting a train/bus connection from Skopje to Thessaloniki and even indicates that the cheapest connection from Skopje to Belgrade is by bus via Pristina. The last international train crossing the borders of the country was probably on Sep. 13th/14th, 2021 in the context of the European Year of rail.
When you travel by train, know that you are cared about. Each railway employee has only to deal with 258 passengers per year, compare that to the 7 000 travelers in Belgium per railway employee.
And for the future the ambitions are high. Do not expect fast and economic improvements of the current situation, like railcars for frequent relations on current lines or faster trains capable to run on regular tracks like in Italy or Czech Republic. A high speed railway is planned from Belgrade via Skopje to Greece. Two billion € will be spent in the reconstruction of the connection North – South: Tabanovce – Bogorodica or 327 million € for the relation to Skopje – Kičevo and an additional 426 million € for Kičevo – Struga. For some 22 million €, a city train project will be build for the public transport of Skopje (see more information here).
Concerning international relations, the eyes are currently on the establishment of a train relation between Budapest and Belgrade. The tracks are done. First trains could run in 2026, and even extend to Vienna (Austria) or Bar (Montenegro). To be seen how the problem of crossing a Schengen border will be solved – the waiting times are a key component for the travel time.
What is your experience with Macedonian railways? Share it in the comments or send us a mail!
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