Serbia will have almost 500 km of high-speed railways

The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, said at the Forum for Business and Scientific Cooperation between Serbia and Italy that Serbia is talking to the European Commission about an intercity train between Belgrade and Vienna. He also said that last week in Rome he discussed the inclusion of Italy in this project.

Illustration (photo: Pixabay)

– We would do 90 kilometers to the border with Croatia, we are now designing it and by the middle of the year we will have a project and as soon as we get the money we will call for a tender – said Vesić, as reported by the eKapija portal.

The minister noted that the high-speed railway from Belgrade to Novi Sad has been completed and that it will By the end of next year, Serbia will be connected to Budapest by a high-speed railway.

– We recently signed a contract with the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Commission construction of 228 kilometers of railway to the south of Serbia, i.e. from Belgrade to Nis. Designing for this railway is underway, it should be done by the middle of the year, and the first tenders should be announced by the end of this year and divided into three lots – stated Vesić.

He pointed out that it is the value of this project is around EUR 2.7 billionof which the EU provides EUR 610 million, EUR 500 million is from the Serbian budget, and the rest is money from loans.

He added that is negotiating with the European Commission to jointly work on the railway to Preševowhich is the continuation of the railway from Niš for 88 kilometers, so it would When all this is over, Serbia “will have almost 500 kilometers of high-speed railways”reports eKapija.

He indicated that in the coming period, three laws in the field of railways will be on the agenda of the Parliament of Serbia and that “with their adoption, all regulations in Serbia in this area will be harmonized with EU regulations”.

He pointed out that work will also be done on the reconstruction of regional railways, about 1,700 kilometers in total, the most important of which is the Belgrade-Bar railway, i.e. its part through Serbia, and announced the imminent opening of the intermodal terminal in Batajnica.

He also stated that he would tenders for the trip to Albania will soon be announced and that Italian companies can participate in them.

He pointed out that next week the document will be signed the same toll collection tags are valid in OB member countries, i.e. Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania.