The main track on the section of the high-speed railway from Novi Sad to Budapest was connected on Thursday, with the installation of the last part of the rails at the Bačka Topola railway station, the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure announced.
The relevant minister, Goran Vesić, announced that the Novi Sad-Subotica railway, which is 108 kilometers long, will be put into traffic in December, one year ahead of schedule.
He stated that everything will be ready for the certification of the railway to begin by the end of June, as well as that test runs from Novi Sad to Subotica will begin in mid-September.
“The railway will be completed by the end of the current year, when it is expected to be put into trafficand one year before the agreed deadline”, said Vesić, with the assessment that it is about “the biggest and most important technological progress, which puts Serbia at the main point of the Western Balkans”.
When the railway to Budapest is completed, and work begins on the 230 km long Belgrade-Niš high-speed railway, the project of connecting the railway to Skopje and Thessaloniki will continue, the announcement states.
“When we connect the railway to Thessaloniki and Athens, we will have a high-speed railway more than 1,500 kilometers long from Budapest to Greece.” “Serbia will occupy the central place of development in the Western Balkans,” said Vesić.
Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević pointed out that by connecting the railway, which is being built by the Chinese company China State Railway Group CO, another step has been taken in the steel friendship and strategic partnership between Serbia and China.
China’s ambassador to Serbia, Li Ming, pointed out that with the joining of the railway line, a solid foundation has been laid for putting the entire Belgrade-Budapest railway into operation by the end of this year.
“Under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, bilateral relations between Serbia and China continue to deepen, economic and trade cooperation is stronger, and the results are getting better,” Li said.
Deputy General Director of China State Railway Group CO Wang Tongjun said that the company is already testing the railway at speeds of 200 kilometers per hour on the section from Novi Sad to Vrbas.
“This railway is a key project within the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative.” And the section from Belgrade to Novi Sad, put into traffic two years ago, brought many benefits to the citizens, stimulated the economic and social development of the north of Serbia and realized the dream of the Serbian people about a high-speed railway,” Wang said.
The length of the railway line from Novi Sad to the Hungarian border is 108 kilometers, and the value of the works is one billion and 160 million dollars.
With the completion of this line, as highlighted in the announcement, Belgrade and Subotica will be connected, and the journey from the capital to the border with Hungary will take 75 minutes.
