Launch of passenger traffic on Belgrade-Budapest HSR line announced for autumn

SUBOTICA - A Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail line is due to be opened to passenger traffic this autumn, Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Aleksandra Sofronijevic and Hungarian Minister of Transport and Investment David Vitezy announced on Thursday after a meeting in Subotica, northern Serbia.

The meeting addressed technical requirements for making the rail line safe and secure to use.

"An agreement was reached that, after August 24 this year, once all the required trials are executed, a simulation trip be carried out from Belgrade to Budapest and from Budapest to Belgrade, including all border and customs procedures, so that we know finally and definitively that the high-speed rail line is good for use, and safe and secure for all our citizens," Sofronijevic said.

She noted that Serbia's soonest possible integration with the EU through rail transport was a shared interest.

Vitezy said a Chinese supplier had informed the Hungarian government that it had completed its work on the system and that, therefore, tests on a Budapest-Kelebija section had been launched.

"Tests and checks will be completed within two weeks and, if everything is alright, as the minister said, we can expect a launch of passenger traffic soon afterwards," Vitezy said.