On 16 October 2014 in Belgrade in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolić, two supplementary agreements to the 2013 contract for the construction and modernisation of Serbia’s railway infrastructure between RZD International (a subsidiary of JSC Russian Railways implementing overseas infrastructure projects of the holding company) and Serbian Railways was signed.
The agreement was signed by General Director of RZD International Sergei Pavlov and heads of directorates and transport infrastructure of Serbian Railways Negoslav Theofilović and Goran Maksić.
The total cost of these agreements is $150 million.
Supplementary Agreement No. 2.1 regarding the reconstruction of three areas of Trans-European Corridor X with a total length of 65 km was signed: Sopot Kosmajski-Kovačevac (18 km), Mala Krsna-Velika Plana (29 km), and Ruma-Golubinci (18 km). The price is about $50 million. The speed of the trains at these sites will be 120 km/h; currently the speed limit is 30 km/h. The documentation received all the necessary Serbian governmental approvals. The project will apply advanced Russian technologies to significantly reduce the time it will take to reconstruct the railway.
Supplementary Agreement no. 5 with a total cost of $100 million was also signed for the supply of 27 new diesel trains built by the Russian company Metrovagonmash. The agreement also provides for the supply of spare parts at a sum of $2.6 million. Under the agreement, the first train will arrive in Serbia 15 months from the date of its entry into force.
The diesel trains can reach speeds of up to 120 km/h and were produced specifically for 1435-mm-gauge rail. Each train has security cameras. Passenger cars are equipped with air conditioning, comfortable seating, equipment for persons with disabilities, and bathrooms. Exits and entrances can be operated on both low and high platforms. These trains meet the highest safety requirements.
In January 2013, an agreement on granting Russian state export credit to the Republic of Serbia for the modernisation of Serbian Railways was signed in Moscow. The loan amount is $800 million, and the total cost of infrastructure projects is about $940 million. Thus, Serbia will finance about 15% of the work.
The contract between RZD International (a subsidiary of JSC Russian Railways implementing overseas infrastructure projects of the holding company) and Serbian Railways on the construction of the railway infrastructure and the supply of diesel trains was signed on 23 May 2013. The contract provides for the construction and electrification of 15 km of the second track of the Belgrade-Pančevo railway line, the reconstruction of six sections of the Pan-European corridor with a total length of 112 km, the reconstruction of existing track and the construction of a second new track on the Stara Pazova-Novi Sad railway (44 km long), the reconstruction of the Serbian section of the Belgrade-Bar railway line with a total length of 200 km, and the supply of diesel trains manufactured by JSC Metrovagonmash (Russia).
The opening ceremony launching the construction and electrification of the second railway track from the Pančevo Bridge (Belgrade) to the Pančevo Glavna station (Pančevo) took place on 25 March 2014.
(Source: RZD)
