At the ceremony of connecting the last track on the Novi Sad – Subotica railway, a model of the Chinese high-speed train that will run on that section from next year was also shown.
Yesterday in Bačka Topola, the laying of new rails on the main section of the high-speed railway from Novi Sad to Subotica was ceremonially completed. Test runs will begin in mid-September, while passenger traffic on this section should be established in December 2024.
Apart from the three high-speed trains “Soko” of the Swiss manufacturer “Stadler”, which “Srbijavoz” currently has in its fleet, from next year, high-speed trains of the Chinese company CRRC will also run on this section, writes N1.
The model of the Chinese “Falcon” was exhibited at the ceremony in Bačka Topola yesterday.
Ivan Bulajić, acting general director of “Srbijavoz”, assures that everything will not remain only on the model, who told Bloomberg last month that five high-speed trains from China will arrive in Serbia during the next year.
“Last week in China, I attended the presentation of the first high-speed train that was completely completed and will be delivered to Serbia.” With the contract signed last year with the Chinese, we secured five high-speed trains, so they will be delivered and put into traffic during the next year – he said.
“As far as quality is concerned, I have no doubt that these trains are of exceptional quality,” said Bulajić.
Fast trains from China will, after the completion of the railway on the Hungarian side, run from Belgrade to Budapest, and the first man of “Srbijavoza” explains how the problem of the difference between our and the Hungarian contact network, i.e. the source of power supply for the trains, has been solved.
“Their (Hungarian) contact network requires that the pantograph, the device that collects electricity from the network, be of a different width than here. That’s why when we were writing the specification for Chinese trains (it is common for a train to have two pantographs and be of the same width), we asked for a train with four pantographs where two will be for the Hungarian width and two for our width, so that those trains that we are ordering to be able to traffic on another network without any problems,” said Bulajić.
Let us remind you that the contract for the purchase of Chinese CRRC trains, worth 54 million euros, was signed in October last year, during the visit of Minister Goran Vesić to Beijing.
The acting director of “Srbijavoz” points out that the purchase of three high-speed trains from the Swiss “Stadler” cost 57 million euros, and that five trains from China will be purchased for slightly less than that amount.
“The price difference is about 40 percent.” It is true that the capacity of the (Swiss) double-decker is greater, but if you also look at the seats, those trains are certainly 20 to 30 percent cheaper than the ‘Soko’ trains,” said Bulajić.
The total length of the railway between Belgrade and Budapest is 341.7 kilometers, and the train journey between the two capitals should, after the completion of all works, be shortened to two and a half hours.
