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    Inside Albania’s LAST Passenger Train – It’s SHOCKING



    Inside Albania’s LAST Passenger Train – It’s SHOCKING

    Follow me on Bluesky @intercitysimon.com https://bsky.app/profile/intercitysimon.com

    Today I’m taking what was by far my most interesting and craziest rail journey of 2025: Albania’s last remaining passenger railway. It runs for just 40 km through the middle of the country, and this journey was completely out of the ordinary.

    The train operates under extreme conditions, on incredibly poor track, with horrific carriages where the floor has almost completely disintegrated. I was genuinely shocked that this train could still move at all.

    So join me for a journey like nothing else, as I take you onboard Albania’s last passenger train in this video.

    Train type: T 669 + HSH B (Halberstadt) Carriage
    Route: Durrës (Plazh) to Peqin
    Train: 7
    Distance: 40km
    Journey time: 1h37m
    Average speed: 25 km/h
    Price: 95 ALB ~ 1€

    Thanks to @SuperalbsTravels for helping with the thumbnail image.

    00:00 Intro
    00:45 Durrës (Plazh) Station
    01:30 Buying a ticket
    01:55 Our Train (Completely Destoryed)
    02:35 T-669 Locomotive
    03:07 Boarding (Slight Surprise)
    03:30 Floor and Windows are optional…
    04:00 Depature
    04:50 Route Map
    05:20 This train is very slow and empty
    05:47 Golem Station
    06:25 Rough Tracks (Be careful!)
    06:50 Seat Tour
    07:21 Kavajë Station
    07:50 Reaching Maximum speed (38 km/h)
    08:05 This train is so crazy but fun
    08:36 Toilet Tour
    09:03 Turkeys!
    09:23 Rrogozhinë (Important Junction)
    09:44 Albania’s Railway Network
    10:32 Just vibes
    11:00 Honest thoughts (These conditions really are terrible)
    11:30 Wtf is going on in Peqin
    12:05 Platform Overshoot
    12:25 Peqin Station

    #Travel #Trains #TripReport

    48 Comments

    1. @The-secret-101 on

      Interesting!
      I remember a travel story/log with pictures in the Swedish rail forum Postvagnen many years ago, where a group rode at least one or perhaps two routes in Albania.
      From what I remember the story of the broken windows was due to kinds throwing rocks at the trains in IIRC the capital city.
      In hindsight I think it might had been worth considering equipping the trains with paintball guns and shoot paintball at these kids…

    3. @Sp4mMe on

      I've seen footage of the line before and the railway carriage didn't seem to be in that bad condition. I wonder if a "newer" one broke down and they had to haul out this one … ?

    4. @joedingo7022 on

      It's nice to see them operating at all, given that the fuel they are using is likely more than they make. They are making an effort to keep the line open, using what little they have.

    6. @madeinyorkshire52 on

      Before I retired a few years ago, I used to make trips to Albania (and to many other eastern European countries) – on Charity work. This included Tirana (the capital and international Airport ) and to Elbasan – but always by road, usually over the mountains. Glad I didn’t need to catch a train!

    7. @B1ll1709 on

      I agree with you that this is the “most interesting and craziest rail journey of 2025” 😁 I’d love to do it, pity it no longer runs. Thanks for posting, subscribed.

    13. @ELPaso1990TX on

      I think a lot of the poverty and deprivation in Albania is because for many years, Albania cut itself off from the rest of Europe, from its nearest neighbours. Especially under Hoxha. All for ideology rather than prosperity or common sense. That’s a warning from history for Brexit Britain. Cut yourself off from your nearest neighbours and suffer the consequences of isolation and economic disaster.

    20. @ctwentysevenj6531 on

      The only true third world country in Europe. If only Albania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire than part of the Ottoman Empire. It was the Italians built the Albanian railways in 1947 as part of war reparations. Their first railways where other parts of Europe already had railways for 100 years already. They still have blood feuds in Albania.

    23. @davidduro974 on

      You dont need fucking trains there they all Drive big BMW Audis and mercedes 😅 and goods are shipped with cammion Renault Master and Mercedes Sprinter with full throatle 😂

    32. @VinzentDk on

      Det var vist det man kalder en “autentisk oplevelse” 😂 Mon konceptet “revision” findes i Albanien? Fedt at du tager de her ture! Tak for videoen.

    33. @endroo93 on

      You should check out the Győr – Veszprém line, they still use a Bzmot and there's plenty of rough tracks, tunnels, bridges, etc along the way!

    35. @jirislavicek9954 on

      As a Czech 🇨🇿 person, this video makes my heart ache.
      The T669 / 771 class are very good locomotives, famous amongst railway enthusiasts and locomotive crews for their character, simplicity and reliability. They combine American and Russian design features, over 8000 of them were built, mostly as ČME3 class in wide gauge for export into the USSR. Nonetheless they are intended for heavy shunting and fright service and not very suiable for passenger service, they too slow and too strong and are not equipped with a heater for carriages (but it does not really matter in this case anyway). Czech railways tend not to use tye 771 class or any 6 axle locomotives anymore, with the exception of last few examples and nostalgic rides), they are too heavy and cause a lot of wear to the railway tracks.
      In 2000 I took a ride from Tirana to Pogradec, it was the same class locomotive and three equally damaged carriages, similar slow speed, but it was a scenic ride through mountains with some tunnels. In Prrenjas station there was a big locomotive graveyard consisting of many Czechoslovak T669 and T435 and one West German HSH V200 2003, pictures are still on the internet. The line to Pogradec does not operate anymore and railway station in Tirana was demolished to make room for residential houses.

    39. @URBANATRANSIT on

      I was on a Deutsche Bahn RB that only stopped at a station for a few short seconds…
      well at least I can say that the locomotive wasn't this loud and/or the train wasn't damaged like THIS…
      6:08 – 6:28 LOLOLOL!!!!

    47. @if860 on

      There is nothing than can kill T669. The very fact it can survive Albanian conditions is impressive. They were often sold without muffler, especially the first series for domestic market and Soviet Union, and that's the reason for their extremely loud noise, together with the large-bore 6-inline turbodiesel which they use.

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