Budapest – Belgrade railway line

Ferencváros – state border – Beograd-Glavna
Inđija junction
Routing in the area of ​​the Hungarian State Railways
Route number :	MÁV 150
Course book range :	MÁV 150 ŽS 30
Route length:	341 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	Hungary : C3
Power system :	25 kV, 50 Hz  ~
Top speed:	Hungary : 100 km / h Serbia : 120 km / h due to the condition of the superstructure on long sections only 30  km / h
Dual track :	Ferencváros – Soroksári út Inđija – Novi Beograd
Legend Körvasút from Kőbánya Felső, Kőbánya-Kispest, Kőbánya-Hizlaló rh. and Kőbánya Felső elág. from Budapest-Keleti from Budapest-Józsefváros 0.000 Ferencváros after Ferencváros Keleti rendező to and from Ferencváros Nyugati rendező according to Hegyeshalom to Budapest-Dunapart HÉV line Közvágóhíd – Ráckeve  from Budapest-Dunapart 1.900 Soroksári út Connecting track from the HÉV line   Soroksári út rendező 4.900 Pesterzsébet Gubacsi híd (Ráckevei-Duna; 146 m) Budapest - Kikötő HÉV line Közvágóhíd – Ráckeve  Kis-Burma from Ferencváros rendező pu. 8.9 00 0.000 Soroksár Nagy-Burma to and from Szemeretelep 3.500 Soroksár Terminál 15.100 Dunaharaszti 16.600 Dunaharaszti alsó 19.000 Taksony HÉV to Szigetszentmiklós-Gyártelep 24.200 Dunavarsány 26.500 Délegyháza Délegyháza-Újbánya Áporka 34.300 Kiskunlacháza Siding 43.000 Dömsöd 53.500 Kunszentmiklós - Tass to and from Dunapataj Bösztör elágazás 63.500 Bösztör 72.000 Szabadszállás 78.100 Fülöpszállás to and from Kecskemét alsó Csengőd elágazás 84.200 Soltszentimre 89.900 Csengőd 94.100 Tabdi 100.200 Kiskőrös to Kalocsa Feketehalom (until 2007) 110.200 Soltvadkert 116.400 Pirtói szőlők 119.100 Pirtó 127.200 Kiskunhalas to and from Kiskunfélegyháza Balotaszállás elágazás to Bátaszék 137.000 Balotaszállás 145.000 Kisszállás 150.800 Tompa 155.800 Kelebia State border between Hungary and Serbia from Bácsalmás from Vinkovci 167.2 00 173.479 Subotica 113  m. i. J. 172.655 Subotica teretna to Röszke to Novi Sad to Bogojevo Aleksandrovo predgrađe 111  m. i. J. Aleksandrovo ( block post ) 111  m. i. J. Siding Tatravagonka Bratstvo 164.185 Naumovićevo 110  m. i. J. Sidings fertilizer plant Azotara 159.981 Verušić from Csantavér 154.823 Žednik 110  m. i. J. 149,805 Mali Beograd Vojničevo 141.203 Backa Topola 110  m. i. J. 133.168 Mali Iđoš polje 109  m. i. J. 129.825 Mali Iđoš Kishegyes 125.123 Lovćenac 107  m. i. J. to Bačka Palanka from Sombor 113.750 Vrbas 84  m. i. J. to Stari Bečej Bačko Dobro Polje 100.543 Zmajevo 84  m. i. J. 95.061 Stepanovičevo 83  m. i. J. 88.386 Kisač 83  m. i. J. Rumenka (Re-routing) from Subotica and Orlovat Stajalište from Bogojevo and Sombor Rasputnica Sajlovo 84  m. i. J. from Subotica and Orlovat Stajalište Jugovićevo Novi Sad ranžirna to and from Bogojevo and Sombor 75.044 Novi Sad 83  m. i. J. Port siding Železničko-drumski most ( Danube ; 474 m) Franz Joseph Bridge ( Danube ; 432 m) Tunnel under Petrovaradin fortress Petrovaradin-Dunav 68.902 Petrovaradin 82  m. i. J. to Beočin 63,576 Sremski Karlovci 79  m. i. J. 59.355 Karlovački vinogradi 79  m. i. J. (Re-routing under construction) 55.790 Čortanovci Dunav Čortanovci Viaduct (2900 m) Čortanovci tunnel (654 m) Čortanovci tunnel (1100 m) 53,546 Čortanovci 134  m. i. J. 45,957 Beška 134  m. i. J. 45.055 Inđija pustara 135  m. i. J. 39.866 Inđija 111  m. i. J. to and from Vinkovci 33,066 Stara Pazova 84  m. i. J. Vojka 25.265 Nova Pazova 78  m. i. J. 18,822 Batajnica 78  m. i. J. to Beograd ranžirna 11,995 Zemunsko polje 83  m. i. J. Tehničko-putnička stanica Zemun 8,826 Zemun (since 1970) 94  m. i. J. (Re-routing) Bežanijska kosa tunnel (1921 m) 5.287 Tošin Bunar Airport and port sidings Zemun (until 1970) 2,887 Novi Beograd 79  m. i. J. to the new Beograd Centar train station via Novi železnički most as well as to Bar , Niš and Pančevo Stari železnički most ( Save ; 377 m) Beograd– Pančevo route Rasputnica Savski Most to and from Bar and Niš to Pančevo 0.000 Beograd-Glavna Swell:

The previously largely single- track Budapest – Subotica – Belgrade line , with a length of 341 km, is part of important international rail connections between Central and Southeastern Europe. It connects the railway nodes Budapest in Hungary and Belgrade in Serbia. International passenger trains run between the Budapest-Keleti and Beograd Centar stations , to which operations were relocated on July 1, 2018, when the old Beograd-Glavna station ceased operations after 134 years as Belgrade's main train station.

The traffic connection goes back to the political treatise at the Berlin Congress in 1878 , in which the resolutions for the establishment of a conventional train between Vienna and Constantinople were provided. Historically, it connected Serbia with the railway systems of Europe and the Ottoman Empire for the first time . During the construction and furnishing phase in a politically unstable region ( question of the Orient ), it played an essential military role. The traffic connection formed a main axis between Western and Eastern Europe until the First World War , a two-track expansion was started in 1910 and carried out from Subotica to Kunszentmiklós by 1918 . The entire double-track expansion of the connection, as planned by MÁV in 1916 , was no longer implemented. After 1945 it was degraded to a secondary traffic connection in passenger traffic, but was still a main axis in freight traffic, as it served one of the important transversal routes from the Hungarian inland to the Mediterranean and Mediterranean ports. Especially after the Belgrade – Bar mountain railway was opened in 1976 . Since Serbia is not (yet) a member of the EU, it is not (yet) a major route in the TEN-T plans.

With China's interest in the transport connection since 2015, as part of its Belt and Road ( One Belt, One Road ) and Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEE, 16 + 1) initiatives , plans to expand two-track high - speed line concretized. In the course of increasing Chinese exports via the China-operated port of Piraeus to 35 percent of the total cargo handling in the Mediterranean region, the Budapest – Belgrade – Skopje – Athens (–Piräus) transport link is of strategic importance for China for the export of its goods to Europe. As early as 2018, over six million TEUs are to be transported annually . It is planned to expand Piraeus by means of the railway connection via Budapest to become China's main gateway to Central and Eastern Europe. The expansion of the 181-kilometer section in Serbia began in 2017, but the project is barely progressing.

Chinese involvement is viewed critically by the European Union and perceived as direct competition of German interests within the European economic area. The connection is considered geopolitically explosive, especially for the German economy, since after an expansion it is in direct competition with the Duisburg port as the central hub in China-Europe rail freight transport. A cooperation with the port of Trieste provides for the further expansion of Duisburg as a central rail freight transshipment point for container freight from China. Tying the expansion of the Belgrade – Budapest transport link to EU directives was therefore interpreted as an attempt to secure German interests in China trade against peripheral countries in Europe. In general, the expansion of the route is the first major railway project that China wants to carry out in Europe and one of the concrete examples of the " One Belt, One Road " initiative.

history

Budapest Keleti pályaudvar train station (Ostbahnhof) is an important hub in the MÁV network

planning phase

The planning of the route resulted directly from the results of the Berlin Congress in 1878. The Principality of Serbia became a fully recognized state, the sovereignty previously restricted to the Ottoman Empire was abolished. Its territory increased by four regions in the south of 10,137 square kilometers. Austria-Hungary signed a bilateral agreement in advance with the Principality of Serbia on a railway connection, trade and Danube control in the Iron Gate. All these agreements between Austria-Hungary and Serbia were included in the files of the Berlin Congress. Serbia had undertaken to build a railway infrastructure within three years. The connection from the Ottoman Empire via Bulgaria and Serbia to the existing Austria-Hungary route network was considered. Due to the political problems that Austria-Hungary caused with the integration of Bosnia, the latter postponed the start of work in Serbia for two years. So construction did not begin until 1880. The convention was signed between Austria-Hungary and Serbia on April 9, 1880. The route from Hungary through Serbs was supposed to be completed on June 15, 1883 and a railway bridge over the Save was supposed to connect. The adoption of the convention was read out at a special parliamentary session of the Serbian government on May 13, 1880 in Kragujevac. A diplomatic back and forth arose out of conflicting priorities. Serbia favored the connection to the Aegean Sea, Austria-Hungary the one via Bulgaria to Constantinople. Austria-Hungary had to build the 340 km long route across its territory from Budapest to the connection in Belgrade. The route from the Savebrücke to Belgrade station would have to be assigned to the Hungarian Railways. Serbia was offered to maintain the route between the Savebrücke and Zemun and to operate Zemun as a communal train station. Serbia rejected both, as it would have lost the majority of the oriental trade. On May 20, the Serbian parliament passed the project with 26 positive votes and one abstain.

Execution phase

Opened in 1884, the old Belgrade Central Station was the starting point for Serbia's railways. It was closed on July 1, 2018.

The first groundbreaking took place on June 21, 1881 at the end of the bridge over the Mokrolušk brook (Mokroluški potok) at the end of Topčiderer Strasse , where today the “Mostarka petlja” motorway junction is located not far from the new Belgrade main train station “ Beograd Centar ”. The prince and princess of the Belgrade metropolises and political representatives of the Skupština attended the inauguration. A cannonade of ten cannons accompanied the groundbreaking. The French Union Générale acted as contractor for the work .

The work on the Serbian side proceeded quickly. In the summer of 1884, work on the Belgrade – Niš connection was nearing completion. On August 18 and 19 (old calendar, Julian date) 1884, test loads were carried out on the Savebrücke . On August 20 (Julian) 1884 the first train crossed the bridge. A preliminary operating permit for the bridge was issued on August 21 (Julian). The Serbian side completed the embankment with superstructure between the bridge and the main train station on August 7th. On the Hungarian side, this happened on August 29th. The Serbian king took the train from Beograd Glavna to Vienna on August 20 . The Belgrade – Pest timetable was published for the first time on September 2, 1884. The express train Pest – Belgrade – Niš therefore left Pest at 7:30 am Pest time and reached Belgrade at 3:15 pm Pest time.

Pig war

The railway line was central to the Serbian economy, which was based on the export of agricultural goods. After Austria-Hungary faced a Russophile Serbian government due to the violent change of power and regime in Serbia in 1903, the Danube Monarchy tried to force the Kingdom of Serbia to make political concessions through economic pressure in the so-called pig war through economic sanctions. Since the export of pork and other agricultural goods was only relevant via the Belgrade – Budapest rail link, the customs war was waged over the trade war in which the export of Serbian goods across the Sava Bridge was prevented. Serbia was then no longer forced to export its goods via Central Europe, but via the port of Thessaloniki. The pig war was particularly intense in 1906 and 1907, but the first negotiations took place in 1910 without any relevant rapprochement between the two countries. Although the blockade of the railway connection was not total, imports and exports as well as rail transit were severely restricted. This Austro-Hungarian-Serbian customs war led to the formation of camps in Europe and is important in the context of the First World War. A trade agreement concluded in 1904 between the German Reich and Serbia, before one between Serbia and the KuK monarchy was concluded, formed the initial impetus for Austria-Hungary to push Serbia towards a customs union. Since Austria-Hungary regarded the Balkans as its sphere of influence, it applied to the gate in 1906 to stop Serbian exports via Thessaloniki. The Ottoman Empire clearly rejected this on December 16, 1906. Italy, France and the United Kingdom support the Serbian position in the trade dispute, while Russia and the German Empire remained neutral.

The trade war also led to two major railway projects which on the eve of the First World War led to heated debates among the European powers as well as the most influential media on the continent and the British Isles. When Lexa von Aerenthal opened a railway connection bypassing Serbia with the Ottoman Empire in 1908 in Budapest on the Sandschak Railway question, Serbia countered, supported by Russia, by opening the Adriatic Railway question . Both railway routing projects, crossing at right angles, became central points of contention in the reorganization of the Balkans. They were therefore defused by the great powers at the London Conference in 1912 through treaties and controllable agreements. A general mistrust in the intentions of the camps remained, however, due to the unregulated railway issues and their military implications, which opened up through the potentially rapid transport of troops, especially when Germany turned against the interests of the United Kingdom in the Orient and India in the imperial project of the Baghdad Railway.

First World War

Between 1916 and 1918 the Balkan suit united the Central Powers

Mackensen with Bulgarian officers at the station in Niš, January 1916

Until 1914, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire acted as hegemons on the Balkan Peninsula. With the outbreak of the First World War, railway lines in the direction of the fronts that were forming as well as in the war plans took over decisive transport functions for mobilization, troops and supplies. Serbia, as the immediate starting point for Austria-Hungary's declaration of war, was attacked not from Hungary in 1914, but rather from Bosnia and Herzegovina.The Austro-Hungarian military was unable to manage a concentrated supply of troops via the main arteries, they had to use the troops via the Relocate and maintain the low-capacity Bosnian Eastern Railway , which turned out to be a catastrophic mistake by the Army Command in November 1914. Belgrade as a border town to Austria-Hungary was left by the Serbian government on July 25, 1914, on July 28, 1914, after the declaration of war, the railway traffic over the Sava Bridge to Austria-Hungary was stopped. The entire mobile railway infrastructure was evacuated from the Sava station to Topčider and Mladenovac. The railway traffic was handed over to the Serbian Army. The main station could not be used for troop transport and mobilization due to its direct location opposite the left-hand artillery batteries of Austria-Hungary. As a result, the Serbian army lacked a central railway junction for military tasks. The railways played a central role , especially during the fighting on the Kolubara . While Austria-Hungary could only supply its large army via the Bosnian Eastern Railway, but had to hold a large territory without rail connections, the Serbian army led French military equipment in a lightning operation from the Thessaloniki port via the standard-gauge main line. The catastrophic defeat of the Austrian 5th and 6th Army under Oskar Potiorek ended the Austro-Hungarian war initiative in the Balkans. The German Reich then took over the following military initiatives on behalf of Austria-Hungary. The Serbian campaign in 1915 now took place over Hungary and the Danube, troops could be mobilized over the main routes of the Austrian-Hungarian railways. The Serbian army and government were finally evacuated to Greece as Army Group Mackensen under August von Mackensen advanced . The railway infrastructure in Belgrade was destroyed from October 5, 1915 in the direction of Mala Krsna to Velika Plana and on October 6, 1915 to Lapovo . With the Serbian troops, all movable railway equipment, empty and filled wagons and locomotives were evacuated to the south. The German Reich was able to completely occupy Serbia by mid-November 1915. The Serbian railways were used for the purposes of the Central Powers in further warfare . Between 1916 and 1918 the German Reich built another parallel railway bridge over the Sava to meet the needs of the troops, which enabled a bifurcation in the direction of the Topčider station . A second track was built between Inđija and Zemun. For the German Reich, the achievement of control over the Serbian route network meant a global strategic advantage which, through the establishment of the Balkan Suit , made it possible to connect all its allies within a closed territory and internal transport routes among the Central Powers. In the run-up to the establishment of the Balkan suit, Kaiser Wilhelm II and high-ranking allies arrived by train in Niš on January 18, 1916. The conquest of Serbia opened up a long-awaited land connection to the Ottoman Empire for the German Empire.

Development 1948-2000

The importance of the traffic connection between Hungary and Yugoslavia decreased especially after Stalin's break with Tito in 1948 and the exclusion of the NFR Yugoslavia from the Comintern. The Hungarian uprising and the increasing westward orientation of Yugoslavia as well as its strong commitment to the movement of the non-aligned resulted in Yugoslavia remaining outside the Warsaw Pact and only an associate member in the Council for Mutual Economic Aid. Thus, an eastward orientation towards countries in the Council for Mutual Economic Aid was not preferred, both tourism and Yugoslav labor emigration were directed to and from Austria and Germany and then towards Italy and France. The Sava Corridor served as a transit route for Turkish and Greek guest workers and Arab migrants to the west. The railway lines were accordingly better developed on the Sava corridor towards the Alpine tunnel. It was only with the opening of the Belgrade – Bar line in 1976 that the transport of goods through Montenegro and Serbia from the Adriatic via Hungary to other countries in the Eastern Bloc increased. Spare parts for the fifth flotilla of the Soviet Union stationed in the Mediterranean were now transported via Hungary and Yugoslavia. A fundamental reorientation resulted from the loss of the Save Corridor as a result of the war in Croatia. With the imposition of the UN economic embargo on Yugoslavia in 1992, cross-border smuggling tourism increased sharply. Yugoslav day travelers to the numerous flea markets that are developing in Hungary (especially Józsefvárosi piac in Budapest as well as Szeged and Subotica) dominated the picture between 1992 and 2000 in towns near the border and Budapest.

War destruction

Burned out wagons in Belgrade train station, 1941

NATO reconnaissance photo of the destruction of the Žeželjev Bridge over the Danube, May 1999

Individual parts of the line had suffered severe war damage in 1914, 1941, 1944 and 1999. In particular, the old railway bridge over the Save was mined in 1914, 1918, 1941 and 1944 or destroyed during German or Allied air raids. The old Danube bridge between Petrovaradin and Novi Sad suffered the same fate in 1944. Its successor, the Žeželjev Bridge, built a little further downstream, was targeted five times by NATO aircraft in April 1999. As a result, the Danube remained completely blocked for several years. In a rare personal appearance by Slobodan Milošević during the Yugoslav presidential elections in 2000 , who had traveled with the party leadership in a train ceremoniously decorated with state emblems and equipped with ten modern Goša UIC Z1 cars, the newly built temporary bridge (Montažno-demontažni drumsko most) was inaugurated across the Danube in Novi Sad on May 29, 2000. Milošević also addressed the crowd with the promise of the construction of high-speed routes, a central theme of the Serbian socialists under his government.

“That's why we came by train. But not with just any train. We came here on a train made up only of locally-made cars. These were designed and completed in our factories. They were built for speeds of 200 km / h. Today there are only four countries in Europe that can independently build cars for speeds of 200 km / h. Without these cars there will be no high-speed routes. "

- Slobodan Milošević : Election campaign, Novi Sad May 29, 2000

After 2000

In principle, the transport connection was not only neglected because of the developments caused by war and sanctions in the 1990s, but was also no longer discussed by the EU as a strategic corridor for modernizing the European transport network. Alternatives in west-east rail transport emerged in bypassing the classic Balkan route ( Sava- Corridor- Morava-Vardar Corridor ) via Romania and Bulgaria in transport corridor IV, as in the railway bridge over the Danube . Although the transport route has become longer, fewer borders are crossed on this connection than on the West Balkan route. In addition, the route remains entirely within EU territory. A certain amount of rehabilitation on the part of the EU arose through infrastructure assistance in the Western Balkans as part of the Berlin Process (from 2014) and the required networking of primary transport routes from non-EU member states (WB6) to EU transport corridors (TEN-T) .

Investments by China and Russia

The Serbian section has been renewed since the end of 2017 on the 34.5 km long Belgrade – Stara Pazova (China) section and the 40.5 km long Stara Pazova – Novi Sad (Russia) section. Between Belgrade and Stara Pazova there is a four-track expansion, which serves the branch to the Sava corridor to Zagreb between Batajnica and Stara Pazova. As part of the Berlin process, the EU is also funding an intermodal cargo handling hub in Batajnica.

Investments by Austria

The Austrian Rail Cargo Group (RCG), as the freight transport division of ÖBB, implemented a central dispatcher node in Budapest Ferencváros for freight transport in the Balkans in February 2018. Incoming trains are to be controlled and rearranged here. The new central hub in the Hungarian capital is intended to simplify traffic from western to eastern and south-eastern Europe. So far, freight traffic from the Balkans has operated at various hubs: Villach, Budapest, Sopron, Štúrovo or Belgrade; since January 2018 this has been done centrally in Budapest. As a special RCG product, the “Balkan Express” serves a rail logistics connection in freight traffic between Western Europe and the countries of Southeast Europe and the CIS countries.

Flows of refugees on the Balkan route

Keleti in September 2015

As a result of the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War, the transport connection became the main gateway for war emigrants to Western Europe in autumn 2015. The Budapest Ostbahnhof had to be temporarily closed, the borders between Hungary and Serbia were increasingly controlled and militarily secured. After the Viktor Orbán government adopted a particularly restrictive policy towards migrants, the influx subsided noticeably. Alternative routes played a more important role afterwards.

Route description

Geology and landscape

The end of the traffic connection is the Prokop train station on Topčider Hill

There is no train station building at the Pirtói Szőlők stop

Hungarian steppe cattle on the route in Großer Alföld

The Budapest – Belgrade route mainly crosses the Bács-Kiskun County in the Great Hungarian Plain ( Alföld ) and the subsequent Serbian province of Vojvodina . The landscape is characterized by eternal fields, dead straight roads and endless expanses. Behind Budapest it leads first on the left side of the Danube on the Quaternary river terrace. It follows the terrace to Fülöpszállás and, south of it, at Csengőd, reaches the Hungarian steppe, which is characterized by Pleistocene loess and Eolian drifting sands, which it does not leave to the Serbian border or beyond. The route connects practically only agricultural regions in which intensive crops as well as fruit and wine growing dominate. The largest train station on the Hungarian section is Kiskunhalas , 130 kilometers south of Budapest, with a population of 30,000 . 20 kilometers south of Kiskunhals, the route reaches the border town of Kelebia (127.7 m above sea level). Behind the border, the landscape is still characterized by Pleistocene loess and sandy soils. Subotica is the border town on the Serbian side. The regionally important city is the center of the northern Batschka . It is home to a large Hungarian minority. Loess areas dominate south of Subotica. The route between Subotica and Bačka Topola runs practically horizontally at about 108 m above sea level. NN to the south. The loess plateau is still intensively cultivated. Sunflower fields, maize monocultures and other industrial plant crops dominate. Only before Vrbas does the route fall below 100 m above sea level. NN and the loess cover are thinner, sandy river alluvions increase. The landscape now has superficial accumulations of water with accompanying fringe forests and tall sweet grasses. Then the first large river terrace of the Danube begins, which merges into the alluvial surface of the Danube shortly before Novi Sad . At Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina, is on the left bank of the Danube at 80.4 m above sea level. NN also reached the first low point of the route, which is also one of the deepest on the route, especially after the planned closure of the old Belgrade Central Station in June 2018 (75 m above sea level). After crossing the Danube northeast of the Peterwardein Fortress (Petrovaradinska tvrđava), formerly known as the “Gibraltar of the Danube”, the route reaches Syrmia and nestles against the northern loess slope of the wooded Fruška Gora near Petrovaradin . It is the only time that the route is briefly led through forest areas. After the vineyards near the baroque episcopal town of Sremski Karlovci , for the first time it runs right next to the Danube for a short time. Behind Čortanovci , the Čortanovci Tunnel , which is led through geologically complex neogenic clay sands formed in the Pliocene, Pleistocene clay (limestone) sands and early Pleistocene loosing, crosses the eastern foothills of the Fruška Gora. Behind it extends the gently sloping Syrmian Loess Plateau, which later dominates the landscape as far as Novi Belgrade. A tunnel through the loosing terrace of the Bežanijska kosa opens the entrance to the Sava Delta on the Danube near Novi Beograd. At Novi Beograd train station, the feeder lines to the old and new Savebrücke and thus to the Beograd and Beograd Centar train stations are separated. After crossing the Sava on the New Belgrade Railway Bridge , which at the time of construction was the world's first cable-stayed bridge, the Belgrade Ridge, part of the Dinaric Orogen and the Balkan Peninsula in general are reached. The end point is the Beograd Glavna station on the Sava up to and including June 30, 2018, and the Beograd Centar through station from July 1, 2018 with currently eight platform tracks at a height of 98 m. NN on the northern slope of Topčidersko brdo .

The entire course of the route manages without major gradients. A noticeable rise is only on the flat, south-sloping plateau of the Syrmian Loosing Terrace, and extends between Batajnica and Inđija from 78.3 m above sea level. NN at 106.3 m above sea level NN. North of Inđija, the route rises southwest of Beška to 135.8 m above sea level. NN. It reaches in Čortanovci at 148 m above sea level. NN the vertex. It is thus a lowland railway whose greatest obstacles are crossing the Danube and Sava rivers.

Traffic guideline

Sremski Karlovci railway station

On Serbian territory, the route connects the largest metropolitan areas and industrial centers of Vojvodina with Belgrade. On the Hungarian side, apart from Budapest, there are only minor towns on the railway line. Therefore, the service is different on both sides of the border. While international trains in Serbia only stop at larger centers, the Hungarian railways also serve the smaller towns. In local traffic, the Železnic Srbije serve the agricultural areas of Syrmia and the Batschka.

The Belgrade – Sremski Karlovci connection is valued for tourism due to the historical importance of the baroque Danube town of Sremski Karlovci, the Fruška Gora National Park and the Danube terraces covered with wine. The historic wagons of the “Romantika” museum train, pulled by steam locomotives from the years 1917, 1922 and 1940, run between Sremski Karlovci and Belgrade on the last Saturday of the month during the season.

business

Goša UIC-Z1, interior first class

There are currently three daily direct connections on the railway line. Since 1991, the then Jugoslavenske Železnice had procured Goša-UIC-Z1 as a fully air-conditioned type Z passenger coach for 200 km / h, especially for international connections via Budapest and for the possibility of expanding the connection as a high-speed line as early as the 1990s . However, only a limited number was built. In terms of locomotive material, only the class 441 locomotives built by Rade Končar under a Swedish license, which can reach a maximum of 140 km / h, were used. Modern Flirt railcars also operate in regional traffic.

In the ŽS network, the Belgrade – Subotica route is the busiest in both freight and tourist traffic. Due to the failure to support and maintain the substructure and superstructure, the travel times were extended several times: Between 1991 and 1995 = 2h 30min, 1996 to 2000 = 2h 50min, 2001 to 2008 = 3h 10min, 2009 and 2010 = 3h 30min, since 2011 = 4h.

There is a stop every seven to eight kilometers on the MAV network. Some of the stops are only required for train crossings . The international express trains have 17 traffic stops on the Hungarian section, as many as the regional trains. With a two-track expansion, not all stops would have to be served. Since the entire route is currently (as of 2018) only used by three pairs of trains a day and, after an expansion, a maximum of two-hour intervals is expected in the long term, a planned double-track expansion to 160 km / h with the necessary safety systems for the MÁV in passenger traffic is hardly profitable operate. Since at the moment only China has an economic interest as well as financial and technical possibilities to expand the traffic connection in the planned planning, primarily the transit freight traffic will have to prove the economic profitability. After Budapest started operating a dispatcher hub for goods traffic on the transport link to Southeast Europe in 2018 , a similar system will be created in Topčider station in the area of ​​the ŽS. Preliminary contracts were signed by the RŽD and ŽS in April 2018.

Long-distance transport

In the 2018/19 timetable there were the following connections to Budapest and Vienna from the Beograd Centar train station:

Train number	Walkway	annotation
D 342/343	Beograd Centar - Novi Sad - Subotica - Kelebia - Kiskunhalas - Budapest-Keleti ( Ivo Andrić )
EC 344/345	Beograd Centar - Novi Sad - Subotica - Kelebia - Kiskunhalas - Budapest-Keleti - Győr - Hegyeshalom - Vienna Central Station ( Avala )
D 340/341	Beograd Centar - Novi Sad - Subotica - Kelebia - Kiskunhalas - Budapest-Keleti ( Beograd )	Night train with seated and couchette cars

The same train routes operated from and to the old Beograd-Glavna station until the closure on July 1, 2018 .

Historic train runs

Orient express

The Budapest – Belgrade route was also used by the Orient Express until the beginning of the First World War . It first operated on June 5, 1883, connecting Paris with Constantinople.

After the war-related suspension of the Orient Express, the Budapest – Belgrade connection was served by the so-called Balkan train from 1916 to 1918 .

Hellas Express

This section of the route was also used by the eponymous successor to the historical Hellas Express from 1991 . From 1991, Hungarian trains ran between Budapest and Athens under the name "Hellas Express". After a brief suspension of the Hellas Express due to the wars in Yugoslavia , it operated until 2008 and was then discontinued.

Freight transport

After China expanded the port of Piraeus into one of the 50 largest container ports, the direction of transport flows in freight traffic reversed. A previously unilateral transport from north-south is now opposed to south-north container traffic. However, only part of the container cargo volume is transported via the ŽS (Železnice Srbije / Srbija Cargo) route network. In 2018, the director of the infrastructure of the ŽS expressed the wish that in the future 10% of this could be handled via the ŽS network. With the growing importance of the cargo division of Železnice Srbije (Srbija Cargo, ŽS), contracts for the delivery of eight Vectron multi-system locomotives were signed with Siemens AG Austria on May 24, 2018 , which will be delivered in an accelerated process at the end of May 2018. The director of Siemens Srbija, Udo Eichlinger, stated that with the new Vectron locomotives, "rail transport from Thessaloniki to Europe is possible."

Track condition

A makeshift bridge over the Danube near Novi Sad was opened on May 29, 2000 during a central election campaign of the SPS

Apart from a few kilometers on the Fruška Gora ridge, the route could be laid out with little bends and inclines, making it well suited for higher speeds. Between Budapest Soroksári út and Inđija there was never a double-track expansion despite some preparatory work. The line has been continuously electrified at 25 kV and 50 Hz since the 1970s, albeit with different contact wire deflections and the required pallet widths. The railway infrastructure and transport companies involved have not yet been able to agree on a locomotive run-through, which is why most trains will be relocated in Subotica. Both infrastructure operators use their national train control systems.

Due to a lack of financial resources and long-term lack of investment, the superstructure, especially between Inđija and Kiskunhalas, is in a worn condition, both in the area of Magyar Államvasutak and in the area of Železnice Srbije . Most of this section is only passable at 30 km / h. The Danube bridge Žeželjev most near Novi Sad , which was destroyed by NATO air strikes in 1999, was opened to traffic again in 2018. An assembly bridge built by the Yugoslav Army in 1999 had to take over its function for 19 years.

modernization

Planning a high-speed route

New railway bridge over the Save in Belgrade. Nikola Hajdine & Ljubomir Jeftovic, 1979

In the mid-1990s, 23 Z1 cars from the Goša locomotive and wagon factory for high-speed trains were delivered to JŽ. For the first time, these had air conditioning systems, vacuum toilets and high-quality individual seats in open-plan cars. The cars were designed for maximum speeds of up to 200 km / h

In 1979 Nikola Hajdin designed one of the world's first cable-stayed railway bridges over the Sava to the new Belgrade Central Station in order to eliminate the bottleneck in the railway traffic in the old main train station in Belgrade . High-speed trains are expected to run on it for the first time before 2020.

An international high-speed line on the Belgrade – Budapest connection was first initiated on the Serbian side during the government under Slobodan Milošević in February 1991 as “Brze pruge Srbije” (“Serbia's Fast Line”). A bilateral preliminary contract signed in 1991 with the French railways. After this connection was recognized as promising by the EU in 1992, political imponderables in the region shattered these plans. During the initial execution, only the Batajnica-Iđija section was renovated, and the Beograd Centar (»Prokop«) through station within Belgrade was built over with a concrete slab in 1996. The Socialist Party of Serbia stated during its fourth congress on 17 February 2000 again the "Brze pruge Serbia" to the strategic goal of the 21st century. The plans continued to be announced later in the year on May 29, 2000.

Since the EU had not included any of the rail systems in the non-EU Balkan countries, including Croatia, which has been part of the EU since 2014, in the current EU plans for the expansion of rail connections, China's commitment is the key to better networking for both Hungary and Serbia two railway networks. In particular, Serbia, an EU candidate for membership, but due to the political consequences of the Kosovo war and the resulting unregulated legal situation, had no opportunity to receive general financial support for the construction of a new transport link not selected in the EU Ten-T projects. In addition, the EU invested heavily in the main railway corridor IV, which completely spared Serbian territory in order to connect it to the route network in Turkey and Greece via Romania and Bulgaria. Maneuvered in this way, Serbia accepted the commitment of China and Russia to modernize its own railway system, which suffered from decades of underfunding and overcapacity from the legacy of the former Yugoslav railways. Due to the lack of pressure from the EU, building contracts and financing to be booted in accordance with EU law, the modernization was implemented quickly. Hungary, on the other hand, had to postpone the start of modernization for several years after massive pressure from the EU and the opening of an EU-compliant tender.

The rail link between Belgrade and Budapest is to be modernized by Chinese companies between Belgrade Centar and Stara Pazova and Novi Sad and Subotica, and by RŽD International between Stara Pazova and Novi Sad. The 350 kilometer route should be covered in 2.4 hours. This currently takes eight hours. Construction work was originally scheduled to begin in the second half of 2015. Following the 16 + 1 summit with China, work began in a ceremony in November 2017.

expansion

An international high-speed line was discussed for the first time by the socialist government of Serbia under Slobodan Milošević under the marketing name "Brze Pruge Srbije" several times since the beginning of the 1990s. The original concept was based on an idea by Milutin Mrkonjić and was adopted in 1991 by the then Prime Minister Dragutin Zelenović. After this connection was recognized as promising by the EU in 1992, political imponderables in the region shattered these plans. Nevertheless, minor works were attacked until 1996: a rail junction in Syrmia between Stara Pazova and Golubinci as well as a viaduct between Stara Pazova and Inđija, a preliminary contract for the planning was signed with the SNCF in 1993 and 23 car sets Z1 for speeds of 200 km / h from the car - and the Goša locomotive factory handed over to JŽ. A locomotive for high-speed traffic was also under development at Goša.

In February 2013, Chinese railway planners took up the project again. Their estimates put the costs at around 2 billion euros. Maximum speeds of 300 km / h or more would be possible here. This makes it the only high-speed line in Serbia currently being planned, as part of the so-called Brze Pruge Srbije . It is carried out through loans provided by China for funds in the so-called China – CEE Fund (CEE = Central and Eastern Europe (an countries) / (Länder) Central / Eastern Europe (s)). A predominant use of Chinese technology is expected for construction and operation. The total run is 350 km, of which 184 in Serbia and 166 in Hungary. The sub-section to Niš south of Belgrade will be expanded in sections to 160 km / h . This section is important for transit traffic to Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.

After China had made positive comments about the rail project of the Hungarian and Serbian governments at the beginning of 2013, the project was approved by the Prime Ministers of China, Hungary and Serbia on November 26, 2013 at the China-Central-East-Europe Summit in Bucharest. At the meeting, the Chinese side initially proposed an upgrade to 300 km / h. For this expansion variant, the Prime Minister of Serbia stated that the Chinese side could also attract larger investors and also better intermodal networking of the container port of Piraeus in Greece, which the Chinese state-owned company China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO for short) at 50 % has leased for a period of 35 years. The Chinese side also sees such an investment in Europe as an important strategic component, in which high-speed lines and high-speed trains make a significant contribution to freight traffic between China and Europe and are also an advertising medium for the high-tech capabilities of Chinese industry.

Preliminary contracts for the construction of the high-speed line Belgrade – Budapest were signed on December 17, 2014 at the third China-Central-East-Europe summit in Belgrade between the Prime Ministers of China, Serbia and Hungary, Li Keqiang , Aleksandar Vučić and Viktor Orbán . In an additional agreement, the expansion of the entire Balkan route on the section of the Morava-Vardar corridor to the Thermaic Gulf and Thessaloniki was determined. Macedonia's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski co- signed the declaration of intent . Li Keqiang had already mentioned this project as a “route” for the mainland-sea connection between China and the EU countries via the cargo handling terminal in Piraeus as a strategic goal in an interview on December 14, 2014 in the daily Politika . Viktor Orbán said that this is currently the largest project in cooperation between the EU and China. The route length Budapest – Belgrade – Skopje – Athens amounts to a total of 1543 km.

Further more specific agreements were signed by the Prime Ministers of China, Hungary and Serbia on November 25, 2015 in Suzhou at the fourth China-Central-East-Europe Summit. With a planned two-year realization, construction was expected to start at the end of 2015. The China Railway Group (CRG) was awarded the contract for the tender to build the 160 km long Hungarian section for 1.6 billion dollars.

A commercial contract worth $ 319 million for the first 34.5 km section between Belgrade and Stara Pazova was signed on November 5, 2016 in Riga. Like the entire route, this is being expanded by Chinese companies for 200 km / h. Construction work on this section is scheduled to start in March 2017.

For the 40.4 km long Stara Pazova - Novi Sad section that follows the Belgrade – Stara Pazova route , the first preliminary contracts were signed on October 10, 2014 between the director of RŽD International Sergei Pavlov and the director of the CIP transport institute Milutin Ignjatović. This section of the route will be financed from a loan negotiated between Russia and Serbia in 2009 for 900 million dollars to Železnice Srbije and estimated at 338 million dollars. The commercial contract for the construction was signed on July 15, 2016 by the Serbian Minister of Infrastructure and the First Deputy Director of the Russian Railways Aleksandar Mišarin and the Director of Р vonД Интернешнл Sergei Pavlov. After a 30-month construction period, the line should be handed over ready for operation in 2018.

The two specific construction projects are the first in the region to enable express traffic. The travel time on the 75 km long route between the two most populous Serbian cities Belgrade and Novi Sad should be 40 minutes. shorten. Sergei Pavlov also spoke of an important project that will usher in a completely new level for the Serbian railways and also include the tourist significance of rail transport thanks to the culturally significant and unique Baroque episcopal city of Sremski Karlovci on the route .

Belgrade railway junction

Belgrade Centar train station is the new main train station in the capital of Serbia

In addition to the new lines, the old Belgrade train station was closed on July 1, 2018. The function of the new term is taken over by the Belgrade Centar station, which has been under construction as a through station since 1977 (mostly referred to as Prokop in Belgrade), although the station does not yet have a complete infrastructure. The Belgrade Centar - Stara Pazova route is being re-routed and is to be partially expanded to four lanes.

Beograd Centar – Stara Pazova

The first 34.5-kilometer section is expected to cost 350 million euros, 297.6 million euros of which will be financed by a Chinese loan from EXIM Bank. The work is carried out by China Railways International and China Construction Company. The section between Beograd Centar and Batajnica is being expanded for speeds of up to 120 km / h. Between Batajnica and Stara Pazova, where four tracks are being expanded, up to 200 km / h.

Stara Pazova – Novi Sad

The geologically most demanding section of the route through the Fruška Gora and along the Danube near Sremski Karlovci is being expanded to 200 km / h by RŽD-International. This requires the 1.1 kilometer long new Čortanovci tunnel and a 2.9 kilometer long viaduct (58 supports; up to 28 meters high) over alluvial surfaces in the Danube floodplain . An expansion to 200 km / h is only planned for the Stara Pazova – Novi Sad section. All other sections of the route will be rebuilt for speeds of up to 160 km / h. The previous section of the Novi Sad – Subotica line will be completely closed during the construction work. A diversion route is planned via Sombor.

The demanding construction work at Čortanovci is being carried out by engineers from the Russian Railways. DB experts are hired to monitor, the Dutch rail consultant Ricardo is entrusted with the certification. During construction work, the main Belgrade – Novi Sad line will be closed for six months from the end of 2018. All trains in the direction of Novi Sad and Hungary have to be diverted via Pančevo – Orlovat – Novi Sad. The cost of the Stara Pazova – Novi Sad section is estimated at $ 598 million. At Vrbas, the new line outside the city is to be guided on a 1.6-kilometer viaduct.

The total cost of the section is estimated at $ 247.9 million for the expansion of the double-track route with three viaducts and nineteen bridges, as well as $ 350 million for the tunnel in Čortanovci with the three-kilometer viaduct. The viaduct is supported by 2500 concrete foundations, a total of more than 80 km long, which are placed in the floodplain area in the Danube alluvial areas.

Novi Sad-Subotica

According to Zorana Mihajlović, the third and longest section of the route, 101 kilometers in length, will cost 943 million euros. The signing of the commercial contract is for the 6./7. Announced July 2018.

Hungarian section

On the Hungarian side, the tender for the building contract was published on November 28, 2017. Thereafter, the alignment is designed for a design speed of 200 km / h and operationally at 160 km / h. The EU will not make any funds available for the expansion of this section. The Hungarian-Chinese joint venture bears the entire costs. 86 months are estimated for the routing and handover.

The construction and financing of the Hungarian section is considered an important test of the Chinese “ Belt and Road Initiative”. After the EU urged the consistency of regulatory norms in building contracts, China passed the problem on to Hungary and EU institutions, which further fueled the tense relationship between the Orbán government and the EU. The transcontinental project thus had to be secured through bilateral agreements between individual countries and China, which ultimately uncovered political blockades due to competing interests. The Chinese project in the broader “Belt and Road Initiative” is also being discussed in the context of the transantlantic security policy, and the role of China's infrastructure measures in current recommendations for action (as of May 2018) in American foreign policy for the still politically unstable Balkans.

Expected economic effects

The route is generally not considered profitable for passenger traffic. The double-track expansion of the line, which is valued at three billion dollars, is necessary anyway, and the line should have been modernized at some point anyway. The first effect is primarily a faster connection between Budapest and Belgrade. In addition, Hungary expects that its proximity to Germany, the dominant trading location, will make it a primary regional logistics center that is significant even at EU level. Hungary's one-dimensional dependency would decrease, and domestic products could more easily be exported to the markets in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The head of the Hungarian National Bank György Matolcsy sees the reduction in transport routes and duration, the less overcrowding of the Balkan route compared to transalpine connections and lower labor and development costs on the Balkan route as the most important advantages. Hungary also offers cheap labor for the project, proximity to the major EU markets and an already well-developed transport infrastructure.

controversy

China's commitment to expanding and building the line is viewed critically by the EU. The EU demanded from Hungary that the building concession be granted in accordance with EU law. While the expansion in Serbia is perceived extremely positively, the upgrading of the rail infrastructure, which has been neglected for decades, is given great priority, the prospects for the Hungarian economy and infrastructure are far less clear. Hungary is at the other end of the Balkan transversal, the conditions of the routes between Piraeus and Belgrade are poor, the infrastructure is neglected. Travel times from Piraeus to Budapest can be done in four days at best and eight at worst. The cost of the Hungarian section of the route is estimated at three billion dollars. 85 percent of this comes from loans from the Chinese Exim Bank. With the interest, costs on the Hungarian part of the route will add up to $ 3.7 billion. Due to the necessary EU regulation, no expansion on the Hungarian side will be possible before 2021. Completion is not expected before 2023 or 2024. The rail connection does not serve any of the Hungarian centers, Szeged is not connected to the line. In addition, an expansion towards Serbia is not a priority for the Hungarian economy. This is more oriented to the west or east (Romania, Ukraine).

See also

• Railway line Budapest – Belgrade – Skopje – Athens
• Trans-European Networks ( TEN-T )

literature

• Bogdanović, Boško (ed.) 1929: Jubilarna knjiga državnih železnica Kraljevine Jugoslavije: 1919–1929 = Anniversary Book of the State Railways of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Belgrade, 506, CLXVIII S., 5th plate, 3 f. Kart.
• Loan agreement between the Chinese Exim bank and the government of Serbia for the construction of the Beograd Centar section - Stara Pazova (PDF)

Web links

• Detailed official aerial plan of the Beograd Centar - Stara Pazova section
• RTS - Mozaik vremena (from 26:15) : audio recording by Slobodan Milošević from May 29, 2000 on the occasion of the reopening of rail traffic in Novi Sad.
• Chinese news report on the Budapest – Belgrade connection . CCTV, June 6, 2016.
• On the New Silk Road - from Belgrade to Budapest - Hungarian documentation with Engl. Subtitles (YouTube)
• Possible variants of the high-speed route between Novi Sad and Beograd, as of 2015

Individual evidence

1. ↑ VPE Kft .: 150 vonalhoz tartozó pontok. Retrieved June 25, 2020 (Hungarian). 
2. ↑ 150 Budapest - Kunszentmiklós-Tass - Kelebia - Szabadka. In: Magyarország vasútállomásai és vasúti megállóhelyei. Retrieved June 25, 2020 (Hungarian). 
3. ↑ 830 Szabadka-Újverbász-Újvidék-India-Zimony. In: Magyarország vasútállomásai és vasúti megállóhelyei. Retrieved June 25, 2020 (Hungarian). 
4. ↑ Tibor Varkonyi: régi Újvidék. In: Magyarország vasútállomásai és vasúti megállóhelyei. Retrieved June 27, 2020 (Hungarian). 
5. ↑ dulevoz: 4K CABVIEW Subotica - Beograd (Northern Serbia) Train 343 (Budapest - Beograd). June 28, 2019, accessed June 25, 2020 . 
6. ↑ Stara železnička stanica Zemun na starim razglednicama i fot. In: Forum ljubitelja železnica. September 22, 2012, accessed August 30, 2020 (Serbian). 
7. ↑ Infrastruktura Zeleznice Srbije, June 15, 2016: "Инфраструктура железнице Србије" од 1. јула обуставља железнички саобраћатруктура сжобраћателуозинжобраћатануознжобраћатануознжраба
8. ^ Fritz Stöckl: From the KK Bosnabahn to "Omladinska Pruga" - the railways in Yugoslavia. (= The railways of the earth). Bohmann Verlag, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-7002-0431-X , pp. 17-77.
9. ^ East-Central Europe on the New Silk Road
10. ↑ Giorgi Frodi, Enrico Fradella 2018: The Belt and Road Initiative and Its Impact on Europe. Russia in Global Affairs, March 28, 2018: The Belt and Road Initiative and Its Impact on Europe
11. ↑ Wade Shepard: Another Silk Road fiasco? China's Belgrade to Budapest high-speed rail line is probed by Brussels . Forbes , February 25, 2017
12. ↑ South China Morning Post, May 13, 2017: Where the rubber meets the 'Belt and Road' - German ambassador answers the big questions
13. ↑ CNBC, April 16, 2018: Germany's problem with China goes well beyond trade issues
14. ↑ Der Standard, November 26, 2017: How China is buying influence in Europe with gigantic investments
15. ↑ Politico, January 11, 2018: How China put German rust-belt city on the map - Beijing's effort to knit Eurasia together with rail links depends on a traditional trading hub.
16. ↑ ^{a b} Asia Times, June 1, 2018: China's Belt and Road a dilemma for Germany
17. ↑ Der Spiegel, May 24, 2018: Globalization How dependent Germany's economy is on China
18. ↑ Milorad Ekmečić : Dugo kretanje između kljanja i oranja - Istorija srba u novom veku (1492–1992). Zavod za uđbenike, Belgrad 2008, p. 335.
19. ↑ Jezdimir C. Nikolić 1980: Istorija Železnica Srbije, Vojvodine, Crne Gore i Kosova . Zavod za novinsko-izdavačku i propagandnu delatnost JŽ, Beograd. P. 193
20. ^ T. J. Howkins, 2005: Changing hegeonies and new external pressures: South East European railway Networks in Transition. J Tran Geog 13: 187-197. Here p. 188
21. ^ Jean Nicod, 1982: Les transformations et le role structurant du réseau de transport intérieur yougoslave. Méditerranée, 1: 19-27
22. ^ T. J. Howkins, 2005: Changing hegeonies and new external pressures: South East European railway Networks in Transition. J Tran Geog 13: 187-197
23. ^ Guardian, Nov. 24, 1999 Damning the Danube
24. ^ BBC, May 29, 2000 Milosevic opens replacement bridge
25. ↑ Video of the election campaign event on the banks of the Danube, a train crossing the new bridge, May 29, 2000 (Video: YouTube)
26. ↑ Glas Javnosti May 29, 2000 redsednik SRJ Slobodan Milošević u Novom Sadu otvorio most Boška Peroševića
27. ↑ RTS, Mozaik vremena, May 24, 2014 (Beograd 1: audio)
28. ↑ Milosav Georgijević, Sanja Roknić, Vladimir Bojanić, Goran Bojanić 2008: Logistika kao privredna grana [1]
29. ↑ Xinhua, November 27, 2017 Belgrade-Budapest railway construction starts
30. ↑ Product: Reinforcement on the Balkan Route ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
31. ↑ Rail freight transport: ÖBB uses new GVZ in Budapest
32. ^ Vojvodina: Wayward Province on the Danube. In: DiePresse.com. April 3, 2013, accessed January 27, 2018 . 
33. ↑ THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF HUNGARY 1: 100,000, online version
34. ↑ Geological Survey of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia - Opšta Geološka Karta OKG 1: 100.000 : sheat L34-64 (List Subotica), L34-76 (List Bačka Topola), L34-88 (List Srbobrann), L34-100 (List Novi Sad), L34-101 (List Inđija), L34-114 (List Beograd) Osnovne geološke map Srbije 1: 100000 OGK web server
35. ↑ Туристички воз "Романтика"
36. ↑ Музејско-туристички воз “Романтика” установљен је 1996. године
37. ↑ Predrag Janković, Biljana Stantić Rakić 2013: “Železnice Srbije” kao učesnik u transportnom lancu i pokretač privrede. (PPT presentation)
38. ↑ Red voznje
39. ^ The Geopolitical Relevance of. Piraeus and China's New Silk Road for Southeast Europe and Turkey. Frans-Paul van der Putten (ed.) (PDF)
40. ↑ Politika, May 22, 2018 Радови на пругама обимнији него претходних 25 година
41. ↑ Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia, May 24, 2018 МИХАЈЛОВИЋЕВА: ВРАЋАМО СРПСКУ ЖЕЛЕЗНИЦУ НА МАПУ ЕВРОПЕ
42. ↑ Politika, May 24, 2018 Предузеће "Србија карго" купило осам "Сименсових" локомотива
43. ↑ Politika, March 26, 2018 Железницом преко Жежељевог моста почетком априла
44. ^ Hungary / Serbia: The international highway Budapest - Belgrade .
45. ^ Vreme, February 12, 2005 Brze pruge Srbije: Loša ideja iz naftalina
46. ↑ NIN, br. 2432, August 8, 1997 Rasprodaja Srbije
47. ^ Vreme, June 3, 2000 Milošević na novosadskom koridoru
48. ↑ The Chinese modernize the Belgrade – Budapest rail link. In: DiePresse.com. December 17, 2014, accessed January 28, 2018 . 
49. ↑ Construction of the Hungary-Serbia railway line started. Communication from November 29, 2017 on German.China.org.cn
50. ↑ Vreme, No. 1125, July 26, 2012 San o izlasku iz večite krize
51. ↑ Кинези повезују Србију и Мађарску  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Ministarstvo saobracaja Republike Srbije, February 19, 2013  
52. ↑ Ovo su najproaliji projekti u Srbiji - Euro Polis - Brze Pruge - Metro - Prokop
53. ↑ Politika, October 27, 2016 Vozove znamo da gradimo
54. ↑ Kineske kompanije žele da grade brzu prugu Beograd-Budimpešta China Radio International, February 20, 2013
55. ^ Strait Times, Nov. 26, 2013 China to work with Hungary and Serbia to modernize railway
56. ↑ Li Keqiang , Nov. 26, 2013 Greetings across rivers and mountains ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
57. ↑ Xinhua, Nov. 27, 2013 Economic interests, traditional friendship, cohesive forces in China-CEE relations
58. ↑ China Daily, Nov. 26, 2013 China to play a key role in Serbia-Hungary high-speed railway
59. ^ Danas, Nov. 25, 2013 U Bukureštu o brzim prugama Srbije
60. ↑ Kineske kompanije Žele since grade brzu prugu Beograd-Budimpešta
61. ↑ Website of the Prime Minister of the Government of Hungary, Nov. 26, 2013 Hungary, Serbia and China agree on developing Budapest-Belgrade railway ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
62. ^ Government of Serbia, Nov. 25, 2013 Joint project for modernization of Budapest-Belgrade railway agreed on
63. ↑ Dačić: Kina želi da investira milijarde, Srbija je u prednosti
64. ↑ Global Times, Nov. 27, 2013 High-speed train technology supports diplomatic efforts
65. ↑ China Daily, Nov. 27, 2013 Railway pact would put relations on fast track
66. ↑ Daily Mail, Dec. 17, 2014 Belgrade-Budapest railway part of Chinese 'express lane' to Europe
67. ↑ Tagesschau, December 17, 2014: Belgrade summit ended - China's bridge to Europe
68. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Dec. 18. 2014 Li Keqiang Meets with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of Macedonia, Unanimously Agreeing to Jointly Build Land-Sea Express Passage Linking China and Europe
69. ↑ Politika, December 14, 2014 Кина ће на састанку изнети следеће иницијативе: изградња експресне линије копно-море која спаја Кину и Европу, а ослања се на пругу Будимпешта-Београд и грчку луку Пиреј да би се оснажила регионална побезаност . German Translation: China will propose the following initiatives at the meeting: The construction of an express connection mainland-sea which connects China with Europe, and attaches itself to the section Budapest-Belgrade with the Greek port of Piraeus, thus strengthening the regional connection
70. ↑ Belgrade-Budapest rail construction agreement signed. In: Budapest Business Journal. Dec 17, 2014.
71. ↑ Project map of the section Budapest – Belgrade – Skopje – Athens - The Highway Institute Belgrade December 2014 ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF). 
72. ^ The State Council - The Peoples Republic of China, Premier Li Keqiang, Nov. 24, 2015 China agrees railway deals with Hungary, Serbia
73. ↑ Xinhuanet, Nov. 25, 2015 Belgrade-Budapest high-speed rail to begin construction by year end: Chinese Premier
74. ↑ Xinhuanet, Nov. 25, 2015 Spotlight: China, Central and Eastern Europe eye infrastructure-led all-round cooperation
75. ↑ CRI-English, Nov. 25, 2015 China Agrees Railway Deals with Hungary, Serbia
76. ↑ The Economic Times, Nov. 25, 2015 China Railway Group team wins $ 1.6 billion Hungary high-speed rail contract ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
77. ↑ Serbian Railways, November 7, 2016 Potpisan komercijalni ugovor sa kineskim konzorcijumom i Memorandum o razumevanju sa kineskom Eksim Bankom za izgradnju BRZE pruge Beograd-Budimpešta na Samitu u Rigi ( Memento of the original November 21, 2016 Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was used automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
78. ↑ РЖД-Интернешнл, News October 10, 2014 "РЖД Интернешнл" и сербский проектный институт CIP подписали договор на разработку рабочей документации для реконструкции и строительства железнодорожной линии Стара Пазова - Нови Сад. ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. RZD International and the Serbian Transport Institute CIP have signed the contracts to draw up plans for the reconstruction and new construction of the Stara Pazova - Novi Sad railway line 
79. ↑ RTS, July 15, 2016 Potpisan ugovor za prugu Stara Pazova - Novi Sad
80. ↑ Politika, October 10, 2014 Од Старе Пазове до Новог Сада за пола сата
81. ↑ Tanjug, October 10, 2014 Mihajlović: Krajem 2017. odnosno početkom 2018. trebalo bi da bude gotova pruga na deonici Stara Pazova - Novi Sad.
82. ↑ TANJUG, October 10, 2014 Pavlov: Ovo je početak otvaranja brzih pruga u Srbiji
83. ↑ Počela izgradnja brze pruge Beograd - Budimpešta
84. ↑ Politika, May 11, 2018 Највеће железничко градилиште у Европи
85. ↑ Pruga će biti zatvorena da ne mogu prići ni ljudi, ni mašine, ni životinje
86. ^ Railway Gazette, December 17, 2017 Stara Pazova - Novi Sad funding agreement
87. ↑ Михајловић: До недеље биће замењене све табле на ауто-путевима
88. ^ TED Official Journal of the EU TED - Hungary-Budapest: Construction work for railway lines
89. ↑ Yauheni Preiherman, Valdai Discussion Club, Russia in Global Affairs, online May 24, 2018 Infrastructure Connectivity and Political Stability in Eurasia
90. ^ National Committee on American Foreign Policy, May 4, 2018: Time for Action in the Western Balkans
91. ↑ NCAPF document "Time for action in the western Balkans". (PDF)
92. ^ East-Central Europe on the New Silk Road
93. ^ Hungary - A Key State on the Silk Road
94. ^ Reply by the EU Delegation to China on recent media reports related to the Belgrade-Budapest railway project
95. ↑ Politico, April 18, 2018 Europe's new 'Eastern bloc' Beijing's diplomatic masterstroke has put former Soviet countries on a collision course with Brussels.
96. ↑ Zoltán Vörös, January 4, 2018: Who Benefits From the Chinese-Built Hungary-Serbia Railway?