Serbian Railway Operator Starts 33 Mln Euro EIB-Funded Repairs - Media

The reconstruction is part of a larger 80 million euro project financed by the European Investment Bank that includes construction of 10 kilometres new railroads plus reconstruction of a 58-kilometre section in the country’s southeast.

The repairs are expected to be completed by May if the weather is good, Tanjug reported.

A total of 23 kilometres of tracks will be repaired, after which the maximum speed of traffic will increase from 120 to 160 kilometres per hour.

Zeleznice Srbije signed in September a 5.7 million euro deal with Germany's Siemens and Belgrade-based Telefonkabl for supply of equipment and reconstruction works on the EU-defined Corridor X linking the country to Western Europe and the Middle East.

This is the bank's second loan to the Serbian railways in four years. Thanks to a 70 million euro EIB loan which the bank provided four years ago, the Serbian railways renovated a total of 62 kilometres of railroad and upgraded electrical and safety and signaling systems.

Serbia’s railways company transported 2.9 million tonnes of cargo in the first quarter of the year, up 21% on the year and 16% above target.