January 21 (SeeNews) - Serbian state-owned railway operator Zeleznice Srbije cut its costs last year by 19 million euro ($20.6 million), 2 million euro more than planned, largely by reducing the employee count by 301, the country's transport ministry said on Thursday.
A deal with power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije on lower electricity prices and the operator's restructuring into four independent companies in August too helped bring down costs, the ministry said in a statement.
"We instigated reforms in the railway company last year. This year is critical for their continuation," Zorana Mihajlovic was quoted in the statement as saying.
Under a stand-by arrangement which Serbia signed with the International Monetary Fund in late 2014, the country has pledged to overhaul key state enterprises like Zeleznice Srbije, gas monopoly Srbijagas, power utility EPS and motorway firms Putevi Srbije and Koridori Srbije to ease their burden on public finances.
($=0.92 euro)