Discovering Albania, in local train from Durrës to Elbasan (2018)

What about traveling in Albania by rail? It's (still) possible, at least in 2018 has been! Let me present you my video shots made in October through the broken window of the local train from Durrës to Elbasan. Like an "open air" travel, kind of. An interesting one.
The railway network of this relatively less visited country used to be almost 700 kilometers long, but after years of under-investment it fell into disrepair. The rail transport is suffering, all tracks are in a bad shape, some lines are closed. Even the capital city Tirana is now completely cut off from the network, where its only (once main) railway line and the entire station had to give place to a new road and other urban infrastructure and ceased to exist. The rolling stock is falling apart across the country, passenger trains circulate slowly just once a day on each line.
Even so, the rail travel in Albania is a fascinating experience. The most important line is nowadays the one that links the port town of Durrës and inland city Elbasan, only there the passenger trains depart more frequently, twice in each direction. The travel on this roughly 80 kilometers long stretch takes almost three hours. Beyond Elbasan the line is even more scenic, it runs further through high mountains via Librazhd and Prrenjas and south of Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park towards Lake Ohrid and Pogradec on its shore. Impassable, though. For some years now this picturesque stretch is closed, even if the tracks and numerous bridges are still there (checked).
Without the proper funding all the remaining lines could share the same fate, apparently pretty soon… How did it come to this? Well, no funds obviously, but it is also a question of attitudes and priorities. Privately owned vehicles were banned under Communist rules there, no wonder that right now own cars fascinate more than the ailing public rail transport. As the result, the traffic jams are already visible and growing, solutions will be needed... upgrading the tracks and rolling stock, presumably?
But hey, do you really want to experience Albania? Start with the train travel, as long as you can. Pay less than 2 euro for ticket, get aboard and here the journey begins...