Serbian Government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a EUR 50 million loan agreement to finance the procurement of materials for track upgrade works across the rail network.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, the Director and EBRD Regional Head of the Western Balkans, Matteo Colangeli, and the acting director of Serbian Railway Infrastructure, Jelena Tanasković.
“The contract means that an additional EUR 50 million will be spent on the rehabilitation of around 200 km of existing railways in Serbia. How important it is for us, for the infrastructure and for the ministry in general, is best shown by the fact that we rehabilitate around 100 km of railways with our own funds every year and spend between EUR 20 and 30 million on it. Almost 1,000 km of railways have been reconstructed and modernised in Serbia so far. The biggest job still awaits us, because we plan to build and modernise about 2,000 km of tracks, in order to almost completely restore the entire railway network and achieve the goal – that the next years and decades will mark the decades of Serbian railways,” the minister said.
The minister stated that there are almost 3,400 km of railways in Serbia and that reconstruction and modernisation is necessary for many kilometers. “Through this project, we will reconstruct those railway routes that are not the subject of major projects, such as modernisation and electrification, but which are important, because the entire railway network needs to be reconstructed and brought to a condition where it can be used,” Vesić said.
The procurement of materials for track upgrade will ensure a better quality of the infrastructure on Serbia’s rail network, with a particular emphasis on improving operational speed and preventing derailments. The project seeks to enhance the reliability and safety of passenger and freight rail services, making the sector more attractive and promoting a modal shift towards rail transport.
“This loan will enable us to acquire materials for track upgrade including rails, sleepers and materials for the railway superstructure, thanks to which we will rehabilitate about 194 km of tracks throughout Serbia. With the help and support of the state, today we are realising a project of comprehensive modernisation of railway infrastructure, including the construction of a 200-km-per-hour, high-speed link from Belgrade to Subotica, and the EBRD is one of our most important partners for the construction of a high-speed railway from Belgrade to Niš,” Jelena Tanasković said.
The tracks that will be upgraded are sections of an almost 1,100 km railway network and the project will be implemented in the next two years.
In the last decade, Serbian rail infrastructure has faced a lack of investment in maintenance compared to the needs but now it is also focused not only on modernisation and expansion, but also on maintenance of the existing lines, including the new ones whichi in time will also need these services to ensure safe and fast transport. “It will be insisted that every company allocates more money for the maintenance of the infrastructure, especially because already this year a new 108 km of high-speed rail will enter traffic [the Novi Sad–Subotica–state border with Hungary] , which also needs to be maintained,” the minister said.
Serbia is implementing the “Rail rehabilitation and maintenance project”, for which borrowing from the EBRD for the “Urgent Reconstruction of the Railway Infrastructure of Serbia” programme in the amount of up to EUR 50 million, is the maintenance of the main and regional railways, the improvement of the quality of the railway infrastructure and bringing it to a functional state enables the safe development of railway traffic.
The goals include reducing the risk of accidents, increasing the safety of passenger and freight rail services, track maintenance, as well as increasing the speed and capacity of the tracks. The railway sections that will be covered by this project are to the greatest extent those on which a large number of accidents happened at Belgrade Shunting Stations “B” and “A” (Resnik and Rakovica), the junctions “B”, ” K” and “K1” (Jajinci), Jajinci – Mala Krsna – Velika Plana section, Belgrade centre – Pančevo – Vršac, route as well as Resnik – Požega – Vrbnica – state border, but also Lapovo – Kraljevo section.
The project also refers to the sections Ruma – Šabac – Rasputnica Donja Borina – state border – (Zvornik Novi), Platičevo – Rasputnica “1”- Rasputnica”3″-Štitar, Smederevo – Mala Krsna, then Mala Krsna – Bor – Rasputnica”2 “- Vražogrnac. It also includes but also includes sections in Niš, the Crveni Krst – Zaječar – Prahovo – state border, Pančevo – Zrenjanin – Kikinda, Subotica – Bogojevo – state border, Novi Sad – Odžaci – Bogojevo and Novi Sad, Sajlovo – Rimski Šančevi – Orlovat rail sections.
According to Matteo Colangeli, “rail is our priority when it comes to strengthening transport links in the region. In this context, investing in the rehabilitation of Serbia’s rail infrastructure through this loan is a critical step towards improving standards, reliability and confidence in the rail system. I would like to point out that nearly EUR 1.1 billion of financings was signed for the Serbian railways sector to date.”
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