On 17th November 2023, the governments of Serbia and North Macedonia signed an agreement to cooperate on the modernisation of the railway line between the Serbian city of Nis and the North Macedonian capital Skopje. A joint working group will now define an action plan. The project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2025, aims to modernise and electrify the existing 205 km line to allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 120 km/h. In addition, the plan is to build a new 135 km line from Nis to Presevo, which will be financed by Serbia from grants and loans, while North Macedonia will be responsible for financing the 50 km section from the border to Skopje. Both countries plan to jointly apply for EU funds to finance the project. The project is part of a larger programme to modernise the lines in the region as part of the Pan-European Corridor X from Salzburg in Austria to Thessaloniki in Greece.
