First Section of Renovated Belgrade-Budapest Railway Opens to Traffic

The first upgraded section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway, from Belgrade, capital of Serbia, to its district Zemun, recently opened to traffic.

China Railway 21st Bureau Group Co., Ltd. and China Railway Construction Electrification Bureau Group Co., Ltd., both subsidiaries of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, contributed to the construction of the section.

The section will greatly ease local people's travel to downtown. A Serbian driver working at the project said that the new railway will bring great convenience for people in affected areas. They no longer have to worry about traffic congestion.

The operation of the first section lays a solid foundation for opening of the other sections, which project builders are now in full swing constructing.

A result of the Belt and Road Initiative and the first China-built and developed railway in Europe, the new Belgrade-Budapest railway project is the first of its kind to meet both Chinese and European standards.

With a total length of 350 kilometers, the original railway between Belgrade and Budapest, capital of Hungary, was first built in the late 19th century.

The renovation project was intended to make it a double-track electrified railway dedicated to both passenger and freight transport.

With a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour, the renovated railway will shorten travel time between the two capitals to less than three hours.

Passengers get on the train at a train station of the Belgrade-Zemun section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

A view of the train stopped at a station of the Belgrade-Zemun section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

A view of the railway section between the downtown station and the new Belgrade station [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)