Define rail freight and inland waterway transport corridors

ROADMAP PROGRESS

The GARI 2025 indicates that corridor development continues to advance mainly through alignment with the extended Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) network, regional coordination and planning for a multimodal freight-terminal network under the Transport Community . Under the revised Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 on the TEN-T network, nine priority rail-road freight terminals have been identified for potential proposal to the European Commission: one in or near Durrës; two in Sarajevo and Doboj; and one each in Pristina, Bar and Skopje, together with three in Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad. Their identification represents an important preparatory step towards integrating WB6 logistics chains into the wider TEN-T network.

Despite this, operational implementation remains limited. Multimodality in passenger and freight transport is still at an early stage, while regulatory, institutional and infrastructure frameworks remain incomplete and the overall pace of terminal construction and road–rail modernisation remains relatively slow. Serbia and Montenegro have partially transposed Council Directive 92/106/EEC on the combined transport of goods, while the other WB6 have not yet transposed it. Progress is therefore more visible in technical analysis, terminal identification and policy coordination than in the establishment of fully operational and integrated freight corridors.

Implementation of the Water Transport and Multimodality Action Plan remained slow to moderate, with a completion rate of 24%, representing a 3% increase as of 2024. Albania implemented a Transport Community-supported roadmap that led to its removal from the Paris MoU port State control blacklist. In Montenegro, the Maritime Single Window entered testing and the second phase of the Vessel Traffic Management Information System became operational in December 2024. The renovation and modernisation of the Brčko river port was completed in 2025, while Serbia completed and operationalised the Batajnica intermodal terminal. Projects to improve the navigability of the Danube and Sava rivers also remain under way. Further progress requires the identified terminals and corridor-related projects to be translated into coordinated investment pipelines, completed infrastructure, harmonised regulatory frameworks and operational multimodal services capable of improving freight flows and cross-border/boundary connectivity.

Note: Action 19 of the first Green Agenda Action Plan (2021–2030), which addressed the definition of rail freight and inland waterway transport corridors, is not retained in the Revised Action Plan (2025–2030), as it has been deleted and is no longer considered relevant as a standalone action.

Source: Transport Community (2025). Progress Report on Implementation of Next Generation Action Plans and EU Acquis Transposition for Western Balkans. Belgrade: Transport Community Secretariat. Data reproduced in: Regional Cooperation Council. Annex to 2024 Report on the Implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans Action Plan (GARI). Sarajevo: Regional Cooperation Council, 2025.

Source: Transport Community (2025). Progress Report on Implementation of Next Generation Action Plans and EU Acquis Transposition for Western Balkans. Belgrade: Transport Community Secretariat. Data reproduced in: Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) (2025). Report on the Implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans Action Plan (GARI 2025), Section 2.3. Sarajevo: RCC. The GARI 2025 reports a regional completion rate of 24% in 2025, a 3 percentage point increase on 2024; the 2024 value is shown accordingly.