The Choice between Train and Bus in Durres-Tirana Axis

The Tirana-Durres axis, due to democratic development of the last two decades, represents the richest markets in the Albania’s transportation industry. Internal migrations from rural areas and demographic developments during that period have made this part of the nation’s home of approximately half of country's population. The commercial and residential buildings are extended along the entire distance between Tirana and Durres, the two largest cities of the country, which actually belong to a unified urban centre. However, despite the construction of a highway just a decade ago and the restructuring of some auxiliary roads, the congestion, the flow of passengers and merchandise, and pollution in this axis has become a great concern. Parallel to the highway runs the railway line, which serves passangers moving between Tirana and Durres. For several reasons, ranging from type of trains to investments, the rail system is neglected. Passenger market share of this axis covered by the railway represents only 0.02% of the total demand. In our opinion the solution is correlated to the integrated transport system and one of its goals is dropping the number of vehicles on the roads at the expense of public transportation. Nevertheless, such an aim requires selecting the type of transport with greatest potential. Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis with a wide spectrum of socioeconomic elements is needed. We believe that this scrutiny, which in this paper is treated in the form of a comparison between the rail system and buses, is the proper way to evaluate motor vehicle and a train transport passenger service on Durres-Tirana axis and to choose the best one. In our model we want to stresses the importance of introducing in the Durres-Tirana railway axis new equipment such as diesel multiple units (DMU). These devises serve simultaneously as a locomotive and as a railroad car. Many European countries use DMU in short lines. In such a conception, DMU service extension can serve in Durres-Tirana transport perspective and later on in a gradual expansion in other segments of the Albanian Railway Network.