Editing Skopje (section)

==Transport==

===Main connections===
[[File:E65 Skopje Northern Bypass 1.jpg|thumb|Skopje bypass]]
Skopje is near three other capital cities, [[Pristina]] ({{cvt|87|km|abbr=off}} away), Tirana (291&nbsp;km) and Sofia (245&nbsp;km). Thessaloniki is {{cvt|233|km|abbr=off}} south and Belgrade is {{cvt|433|km|abbr=off}} north.<ref name="rimed">{{cite web |url=http://www.seedcenter.gr/rimed/texts/Published%20Reports-Final/WP3-Published%20report%2015.pdf |title=Comparative Swot Analysis of the Four Metropolitan Regions, Transportation, Interaction, Relations and Networks among Skopje, Sofia, Tirana, and Thessaloniki |publisher=University of Thessaly |access-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119233709/http://www.seedcenter.gr/rimed/texts/Published%20Reports-Final/WP3-Published%20report%2015.pdf |archive-date=19 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Skopje is also at the crossroad of two [[Pan-European corridors]]: [[Pan-European Corridor X|Corridor X]], which runs between [[Austria]] and [[Greece]], and [[Pan-European Corridor VIII|Corridor VIII]], which runs from the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] in Albania to the [[Black Sea]] in Bulgaria. Corridor X links Skopje to Thessaloniki, Belgrade, and Western Europe, whilst Corridor VIII links it with Tirana and Sofia.

Corridor X locally corresponds to the [[M-1 motorway (North Macedonia)|M-1 motorway]] ([[European route E75|E75]]), which is the longest highway in North Macedonia. It also corresponds to the [[Tabanovce]]-[[Gevgelija]] railway. Corridor VIII, less developed, corresponds to the M-4 motorway and the [[Kičevo]]-Beljakovce railway. Skopje is not quite on the Corridor X and the M-1 does not pass on the city territory. Thus the junction between the M-1 and M-4 is some {{cvt|20|km|abbr=off}} east, close to the airport. Although Skopje is geographically close to other major cities, movement of people and goods is not optimised, especially with [[Albania]]. This is mainly due to poor infrastructure. As a result, 61.8% of Skopjans have never been to Tirana, whilst only 6.7% have never been to Thessaloniki and 0% to Sofia. Furthermore, 26% of Thessalonians, 33% of Sofians and 37% of Tiranans have never been to Skopje.<ref name="rimed"/>

The first highways were built during the Yugoslav period, when Skopje was linked through the [[Brotherhood and Unity Highway]] to, what was then, the Yugoslav capital Belgrade to the North, and the Greek border to the South.

===Rail and coach stations===
[[File:Skopje Train Station from Mount Vodno.JPG|thumb|[[Transportation Center Skopje|Main railway station]] as seen from Mount [[Vodno]]]]
The main railway station in Skopje is serviced by the Belgrade-Thessaloniki and Skopje-Pristina international lines.<ref name="mz">{{cite web |url=http://mztransportad.com.mk/dokumenti/RED%20NA%20VOZENJE%20DZEPEN%202011-2012.pdf |title=Возен ред 2011–2012 |publisher=Makedonski Železnici |access-date=24 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018225259/http://www.mztransportad.com.mk/dokumenti/RED%20NA%20VOZENJE%20DZEPEN%202011-2012.pdf |archive-date=18 October 2012}}</ref> After the completion of the [[Pan-European Corridor VIII|Corridor VIII]] railway project, currently scheduled for 2030, the city will also be linked to Tirana and Sofia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mzi.mk/news-info.php?id=45&&cat=3 |title=Проекти предвидени за реализација во 2012 г |year=2012 |publisher=Makedonski Železnici |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808093138/http://www.mzi.mk/news-info.php?id=45&&cat=3 |archive-date=8 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wbif-ipf.eu/?p=1629 |title=Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski kicks off reconstruction work on railway Corridor 8 |publisher=Western Balkans Investment Framework |access-date=10 December 2014 |archive-date=14 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214221850/http://www.wbif-ipf.eu/?p=1629 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrushevska |first=Dragana |date=Oct 20, 2021 |title=Bulgaria, Albania, N. Macedonia pledge to finish Corridor VIII by 2030 |url=https://seenews.com/news/bulgaria-albania-n-macedonia-pledge-to-finish-corridor-viii-by-2030-758055 |access-date=Jan 19, 2022 |website=SeeNews}}</ref> Daily trains also link Skopje with other towns of North Macedonia, such as [[Kumanovo]], [[Kičevo]], [[Štip]], [[Bitola]] or [[Veles (city)|Veles]].<ref name="mz"/>

Skopje has several minor railway stations, but the city does not have its own railway network, and they are only serviced by intercity or international lines. On the railway linking the [[Transportation Center Skopje|main station]] to Belgrade and Thessaloniki are Dračevo and Dolno Lisiče stations, and on the railway to Kičevo are Skopje-North, Ǵorče Petrov and Saraj stations. Several other stations are freight-only.<ref name="stations">{{cite web |url=http://bankwatch.org/documents/AnnexII_Macedonian_rail_case_study.pdf |title=Macedonian Rails – a potential that must be seized |publisher=Bankwatch |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004232408/http://bankwatch.org/documents/AnnexII_Macedonian_rail_case_study.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Skopje coach station opened in 2005 and is built right under the main railway station. It can host 450 coaches in a day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sas.com.mk/selectedarticle.aspx?cid=1058&l=34 |title=SAS историјат |year=2012 |publisher=Skopje Bus Station |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028073207/http://www.sas.com.mk/selectedarticle.aspx?cid=1058&l=34 |archive-date=28 October 2012}}</ref> Coach connections reach more destinations than train connections, connecting Skopje to many domestic and foreign destinations including [[Istanbul]], Sofia, Prague, Hamburg and [[Stockholm]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sas.com.mk/schedule.aspx?cid=1055&l=34 |title=Возен ред |year=2012 |publisher=Skopje Bus Station |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027024303/http://www.sas.com.mk/schedule.aspx?cid=1055&l=34 |archive-date=27 October 2012}}</ref>

===Public transport===
[[File:Yutong City Master (SK 9734-AC) JSP (1).jpg|thumb|A red Yutong City Master double-decker bus in Skopje]]
Skopje has a bus network managed by the city and operated by three companies. The oldest and largest is JSP Skopje, a public company founded in 1948. JSP lost its monopoly on public transport in 1990 and two new companies, Sloboda Prevoz and Mak Ekspres, obtained several lines. However, most of the network is still in the hands of JSP which operates 67 lines out of 80. Only 24 lines are urban, the others serving localities around the city.<ref name="transpower">{{cite web |url=http://www.transport-research.info/Upload/Documents/201203/20120321_103401_38196_City%20Implementation%20Reportx.pdf |title=City Implementation report |publisher=Transpower |year=2010 |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226045923/http://www.transport-research.info/Upload/Documents/201203/20120321_103401_38196_City%20Implementation%20Reportx.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> Many of the JSP vehicles are red [[Yutong City Master]] double-decker buses built by Chinese bus manufacturer [[Yutong]] and designed to resemble the classic British [[AEC Routemaster]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/skopje-prepares-for-double-decker-busses |title=Skopje prepares for Double-Decker Buses |author=Sinisa Jakov Marusic |publisher=BalkanInsight |year=2011 |access-date=24 October 2012}}</ref>

A tram network has long been planned in Skopje and the idea was first proposed in the 1980s. The project became real in 2006 when the mayor Trifun Kostovski asked for feasibility studies. His successor Koce Trajanovski launched a call for tenders in 2010 and the first line is scheduled for 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-capital-readies-for-long-awaited-trams |title=Macedonia Capital Readies for Long-Awaited Trams |author=Sinisa Jakov Marusic |publisher=BalkanInsight |year=2012 |access-date=24 October 2012}}</ref>{{Needs update|date=March 2025}}

A new network for small buses started to operate in June 2014, not to replace but to decrease the number of big buses in the city centre.

===Airport===
The airport was built in 1928. The first commercial flights in Skopje were introduced in 1929 when the Yugoslav carrier [[Aeroput]] introduced a route linking the city with the capital, Belgrade.<ref name="aeroput">[http://www.europeanairlines.no/drustvo-za-vazdusni-saobracaj-a-d-aeroput-1927-1948/ Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput (1927–1948)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523020505/https://www.europeanairlines.no/drustvo-za-vazdusni-saobracaj-a-d-aeroput-1927-1948/ |date=23 May 2021 }} at europeanairlines.no</ref> A year later the route was extended to Thessaloniki in Greece, and further extended to Greek capital [[Athens]] in 1933.<ref name="aeroput"/> In 1935 Aeroput linked Skopje with [[Bitola]] and [[Niš]], and also operated a longer international route linking [[Vienna]] and Thessaloniki through [[Zagreb]], Belgrade and Skopje.<ref name="aeroput"/> After the Second World War, Aeroput was replaced by [[JAT Airways|JAT Yugoslav Airlines]], which linked Skopje to a number of domestic and international destinations until the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

[[Skopje International Airport]] is in [[Petrovec, North Macedonia|Petrovec]], {{cvt|20|km|abbr=off}} east of the city. Since 2008, it has been managed by the Turkish [[TAV Airports Holding]] and it can accommodate up to four million passengers per year.<ref name="tav">{{cite web |url=http://www.tavhavalimanlari.com.tr/en-EN/Pages/Announcements.aspx?aID=87 |title=TAV Airports puts the New Skopje Airport into service |year=2011 |publisher=TAV Airports |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226111850/http://www.tavhavalimanlari.com.tr/en-EN/Pages/Announcements.aspx?aID=87 |archive-date=26 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The annual traffic has constantly risen since 2008, reaching one million passengers in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=198675 |title=FYR Macedonian airports anticipate busy 2015 |publisher=Balkans.com |access-date=10 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403142152/http://balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=198675 |archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>

Skopje's airport has connections to several European cities, including [[Athens]], Vienna, [[Bratislava]], [[Zürich]], Brussels, [[Oslo]], [[Istanbul]], London and [[Rome]]. It also maintains a direct connection with [[Dubai]] and [[Doha, Qatar]].