Mali: New rail line to transport around 10,000 people a day

BELGRADE - Serbian caretaker Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday a new rail line that would connect the Belgrade suburb of Zemun polje, the city airport and the National Stadium was expected to carry some 10,000 people a day, or 3.5 million people a year.

"We expect the rail line to transport around 10,000 people a day, which is 3.5 mln people a year," Mali said during a tour of the rail line with caretaker Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Aleksandra Sofronijevic.

He noted that the environmentally friendly transport route would reduce the burden on roads and the road network, and added that the completion of the project would make a decades-old dream of connecting central Belgrade with the Nikola Tesla Airport come true.

"The journey to Prokop (Belgrade's central train station) will take 20 minutes," Mali said.

"The New Belgrade railway station is being completed, huge construction works are underway, and it will be finished by the EXPO, as will a new Belgrade bus station," he said.

The first 11 km of the 18.3 km rail line has been completed, with the remainder to be finished by the end of this year.

Speaking to reporters, Mali said the route would be opened to traffic in March or April next year.