Fast Railway Belgrade – Novi Sad Opens to Traffic

The Belgrade – Novi Sad railway, a part of the Belgrade – Budapest international railway, has opened to traffic, and the first fast train on that route, called “Soko”, transported the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, and members of the Government of Serbia.

During the ride to Novi Sad, Aleksandar Vucic estimated that the fast railway between Belgrade and Budapest would enable a new era in the relations between Serbia and Hungary.

– This will bring Serbia and Hungary even closer together. Budapest will be only two hours and 40 minutes away from Belgrade once the railway is finished – he said.

He pointed out that it would mean a lot for the development of business connections of the southern and the central Europe and that fast trains would not long after also be operating on the railways from Belgrade to Nis and Subotica.

The prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, said that the construction of the fast railway between Belgrade and Budapest would be completed by 2025.

He said that he believed that, if the two countries cooperate with each other, they will have a better chance of succeeding in the future. He pointed out that Vucic and he had invested a lot of effort in the preceding years to rebuild the friendship between Serbs and Hungarian.

– It is a whole new approach – Orban said and added that it was the way the relations between the two countries should develop.

The prime minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, said that she was proud of the project and pointed out that the quality of Serbian citizens’ lives would further improve when it became possible to travel that way from Belgrade to Nis and Presevo.

The president of the Assembly of Vojvodina, Istvan Pasztor, said that the project of connecting Belgrade and Budapest was a symbol of friendship.

– These are very important steps toward the realization of the general intention toward bringing a new quality to citizens’ everyday lives. This is one of the many endeavors we are undertaking together – Pasztor said.

The construction of the railway section from Belgrade to Novi Sad, for speeds up to 200 km/h, began in late 2017, and it cost around USD 935 million.

Regular passenger traffic on the Belgrade – Novi Sad railway, 74.9 kilometers long, begins on March 20, and the ticket in one direction will cost RSD 300 during the promotional period, whereas children up to seven years of age will not pay for the transport.

The Belgrade Center – Stara Pazova section, 34.5 kilometers long, was built with the proceeds from the loan of the Chinese Exim Bank, and the agreement was worth USD 350.1 million. The works were executed by the consortium of China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company.

On the Stara Pazova – Novi Sad section, 40.4 kilometers long, the works were done by the Russian company RZD International, and the total value of that project is USD 585.5 million. The financing was secured from the Russian loan for the modernization of Serbian railways.

18 departures from both cities

On the fast railway, passengers will be transported by an older model of an electric train, as well as two new Stadler bilevel trains with 314 seats.

The full price of a return ticket, as announced earlier, should be RSD 1,600, whereas a one-way ticket should cost RSD 1,000.

Each day, there will be 18 departures from both cities, the first ones at 5.25 AM from Belgrade and 5.28 AM from Novi Sad. The final trains will set off from Novi Sad at 10.02 PM and from the Belgrade Center Station (Prokop) at 10.20 PM.

Three types of trains will operate on the railway: ‘Intercity”, “Regio-Express” and “Regio”, which will differ in the number of stops they will make, and consequently in the travel times between the two cities.

The “Intercity” trains will be the fastest ones and reach the destination in 36 minutes, as they will have only one stop, in New Belgrade.

A trip on the “Regio-Express” will take 49 minutes, and the train will make seven stops: New Belgrade, Batajnica, Nova Pazova, Stara Pazova, Indjija, Beska and Sremski Karlovci.

“Regio” trains will be the slowest ones. A trip will take 55 to 57 minutes, and there will be 11 stops: New Belgrade, Tosin Bunar, Zemun, Zemun Polje, Batajnica, Nova Pazova, Stara Pazova, Indjija, Beska, Sremski Karlovci and Petrovaradin.

The trains will run fastest, at 200 km/h, on the part between the Batajnica station and the Karlovacki Vinogradi junction, 41.4 kilometers long.

Section between Novi Sad and Kelebija to be completed in three years

The funds for the works on the third section of the fast railway from Novi Sad to the Kelebija checkpoint on the Hungarian border, 108.2 kilometers long, which started back in November 2021, are secured from a Chinese loan, and they should be completed in three years. The construction will cost USD 1.2 billion.

The construction of the Belgrade – Budapest railway will cost a total of EUR 4 billion.

This is one of the first projects within China’s global initiative “Belt and Road”, agreed as a joint project of China, Serbia and Hungary.

The Belgrade – Novi Sad railway was closed from February 2019 due to the reconstruction.

Vlada Republike Srbije

China Railway International co. ltd. Serbia ogranak Beograd

China Communications Construction Company ltd Beograd

RZD International Beograd

STADLER RAIL DOO KRAGUJEVAC

Skupština Autonomne Pokrajine Vojvodine

president of Serbia

Government of Hungary

Exim bank

Stadler

Aleksandar Vucic

Viktor Orban

Ana Brnabic

Istvan Pasztor

Batajnica

Nova Pazova

Beška

Petrovaradin

Zemun Polje

Tošin bunar

Karlovački vinogradi

Belgrade Novi Sad railway

Belgrade Budapest railway

Belgrade Center Stara Pazova railway

Stara Pazova Novi Sad railway

fast train

Soko

prokop

electric train

intercity

Regio Express

Regio

Belt and Road