Corridor 8: Railway Tunnel Agreement With Bulgaria Signed, Full Connection Targeted for 2031
Minister Nikoloski and Bulgarian Minister Karadzhov signed the agreement on the railway tunnel meant to connect the two rail networks, after which Sofia ratified the same document.
Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski and his Bulgarian counterpart, Grozdan Karadzhov, signed an agreement on building the railway tunnel meant to connect the Macedonian and Bulgarian rail networks as part of Corridor 8. Bulgaria's parliament has already ratified the tunnel agreement, clearing the way for construction work to begin.
Nikoloski said he expects full rail connection between the two countries to be achieved by 2031. Karadzhov, for his part, said "Sofia is taking on the obligations" set out in the agreement, signaling Bulgarian commitment to the project's timeline, which has been announced for decades but has moved slowly.
Corridor 8 is the key infrastructure link meant to connect Macedonia with Bulgaria to the east and Albania to the west, and is currently seen as a practical test of real cooperation between the two neighboring governments — independent of the political tensions surrounding EU membership talks. A concrete schedule for construction phases and budget sources for the tunnel section were not laid out in detail in the two ministers' statements.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 3, 2026
