Serbia - General Information

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Country Name

Serbia (Srbija)

National railway system

National Railway Operator

Železnice Serbije (ŽS - Железнице Србије). ŽS was divided into four subsidiaries in July 2015: ŽS Infrastructure, Srbija Voz (passenger operations), Srbija Kargo and ŽS Holding.

Infrastructure Authority

Infrastruktura železnice Srbije

Language

Serbian.

Currency

The Dinar is the normal currency, with Euros also being accepted. Most banks and border stations have currency exchange facilities.

UIC code

Numeric 72; alpha SRB

Timetable

Journey Planner

Srbija Voz offers several useful search options:

  • Direct Trains - display all trains between two specific stations on the ŽS network
  • Station Timetable - display train departure or arrival lists for each ŽS station
  • BG:Voz Timetable - displays a PDF of the suburban train services around Beograd, though only in Serbian. Note these services also show up in the other journey planner options.

Downloadable Timetable

Timetable – “Kurir” offers a list of timetable PDF files to download, by individual route. International services are listed in their own PDF file. This has not yet been updated to the 2022/23 timetable.

Printed Timetable

Red Vožnje. Printed in Serbian throughout.

Engineering Information

Engineering information and other timetable changes are listed under "Timetable Notes" on the main Journey Planner page, though only in Serbian.

Network Statement

All recent network statements can be found at the Network Statement page.

Maps

Printed Maps

Web-based Maps

Gauge

Standard.

Beograd Tramways are metre gauge.

Electrification

25kV 50Hz.

Beograd Tramways are 600 V dc.

Rule of the road

Right.

Other Railways

None.

Tourist Lines

A long section of the former Beograd - Sarajevo 760 mm gauge line, about 30 km west of Užice, has been re-opened: the "Sarganska Osmica", between Sargan and Mokra Gora stations, including a "figure of eight": timetable details on the ŽS website.

A short section of 600 mm gauge forestry railway has been rebuilt, also near Mokra Gora.

Metro

None

Trams/LRT-Systems

Beograd

A basic line diagram is available at the UrbanRailNet Site along with a link to the local operator.

Recent and future changes

Future

On 7 July 2018 a €943m agreement was signed with the Chinese for modernisation of the route between Novi Sad and the Hungarian border. Work was expected to start in 2019. The Chinese had already been appointed main contractors for the modernisation of Beograd – Stara Pazova. The Russians are modernising and double tracking Stara Pazova – Novi Sad, including the construction of a new tunnel at Čortanovci, 3 viaducts, 19 bridges, and a new station at Beška. Beograd - Novi Sad was expected to re-open by December 2021, with a non-stop journey time of 27 minutes.

Work has started on upgrading sections of the Beograd - Niš - Preševo (- Skopje) line, which forms part of Trans-European Corridor X. As at July 2016 work was focused on the Niš to Preševo section. Extensive work was under way in the Beograd area in October 2017. The plan was for Beograd - Niš to have been upgraded to 160 km/h by 2025.

As at January 2020, modernisation work was in progress on the Serbian section of the Subotica - Horgoš - Röszke - Szeged (Hungary) line.

Openings

Two new deviations totalling 14.16km are under construction between Indija and Novi Sad, originally planned for opening 7 December 2019 with the rest of the reconstructed section from Stara Pazova to Novi Sad.

Novi Sad to Orlovat Stajalište re-opened to passenger traffic on 25 October 2018 with two services each way[1]. There is no service in the 2021/2022 timetable, but this may be a result of the engineering works affecting the main line at Novi Sad.

The Table 12 route between Šabac and Loznica re-opened to passenger traffic on 1 September 2018; services were planned to be extended to Zvornik Novi in Bosnia-Herzegovina from the December 2018 timetable change[2]. However as far as is known this did not happen, but services have resumed between Loznica and Zvornik.

The first phase of Beograd’s future main station - Beograd Centar (also known as Prokop) - was inaugurated on 26 January 2016.

Banatsko Milosevo to Subotica reopened to passenger trains from the start of the 2015-2016 timetable after a period of closure for engineering works. The Border crossing from Bogojevo to Erdut (Croatia) also opened 14 December 2015. Services have also resumed between Stalač and Kraljevo.

The Table 85 route between Niš and Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje closed south of Kosanička Rača in the late 1990s. Due to poor track condition, from 14 May 2004 severe speed limits were imposed on table 75 trains between Doljevac and Kuršumlija, and the single train pair beyond Kuršumlija to Kosanička Rača was cancelled. The service was reinstated a few weeks later but later was removed again. From 2009 one train pair was advertised beyond Kosanička Rača to Merdare but it was not clear that these regularly run: in May 2010 they were replaced by buses. In October 2011 an overnight return working between Niš and Kuršumlija was advertised. In the 2012/2013 timetable one daily train was advertised to make a return journey between Niš and Merdare. It ceased running beyond Kuršumlija in early 2014 owing to a tunnel being damaged by flooding. Following repairs, the service resumed on 29 November 2014. However no services were shown over the whole route from Niš to Merdare in the 2021/2022 timetable.

Closures

Passenger services (table 60) between Rudnica and Kosovska Mitrovica Sever (Kosovo) ceased at some point and Kosovska Mitrovica Sever no longer appear in the journey planner list of stations.

Passenger services resumed between Požarevac and Majdanpek (the middle section of the [Beograd] – Mala Krsna - Zaječar line) from 19 February 2019, but they did not appear in the 2021/2022 timetable.

Table 34 (Subotica- Horgoš - Kanjiža) disappeared from the 2019-2020 timetable. Line reconstruction continues to see lines closed temporarily, including Subotica - Senta, Beograd Centar - Mala Krsna, Pančevo - Kikinda and Niš - Zaječar.

Beograd Glavna Železnička Stanica terminus closed on and from 1 July 2018, following completion of the relevant development work, originally scheduled for 2014/2015, at Beograd Centar (Prokop station). Most of the former railway land has now been developed, leaving the old former station for the time being.

The December 2017 timetable change on 10 December 2017 saw passenger services withdrawn between Pančevo varoš – Pančevo Vojlovica, Rasp. Ćuprija – Paraćin (thereby ending services over the southern part of the new cut-off) and Rakovica – Mala Krsna.

Table 44: The service between Vršac and Stamora Moravița (Romania) was withdrawn from 1 August 2017, thereby ending all passenger services between the two countries.

All services on Table 90 Niš - Preševo - Tabanovci (North Macedonia) are subject to significant alterations due to engineering work.

The following services ceased from or before the start of the December 2014/2015 timetable:

  • Table 33: Subotica - Senta - Banatsko Miloševo (service since resumed)
  • Table 34: Horgoš - Kanjiža
  • Table I: Kikinda - Jimbolia (Romania) (withdrawn with effect from 1 September 2014)

The suspension of the Beograd to Bucureşti Nord service on 10 February 2012 removed the only services between Beograd (Beograd Spoljna) and Beograd Dunav via the Sava river line.

On the Table 45 route between Požarevac and Zaječar via Majdanpek, services between Požarevac and Majdanpek ceased from or before the start of the December 2010/2011 timetable. One daytime train restarted between Požarevac and Majdanpek in the 2012/2013 timetable, but it was reported in September 2013 that this train pair was not operating. No service is shown in the 2014-2015 timetable.Service resumed by the 2016-2017 timetable.

The following services ceased from or before the start of the December 2009/2010 timetable:

  • Table 12: Šabac - Loznica (service resumed on 1 September 2018)
  • Table 31: Novi Sad - Orlovat Stajalište (this had closed in the late 1990s and re-started with the 15 December 2002 timetable. Service resumed on 25 October 2018)
  • Table 73: Kraljevo - Stalač (service since resumed)

The following services ceased from or before the start of the December 2005 timetable:

  • Table 11: Šid – Bijeljina
  • Table 12: Loznica – Zvornik Grad (already closed for some time)
  • Table 24: Sombor – Apatin Fabrika
  • Table 43: Zrenjanin – Vršac – Bela Crkva (Boka - Bela Crkva had already closed)

The single early morning working over the Vražogrnac avoiding line (Trnavac – Rgotina) ceased from the start of the 15 December 2002 timetable.

A number of passenger services ceased between the late 1990s and 2005:

  • Table 22: Gajdobra - Bačka Palanka
  • Table 23: Karavukovo - Bač
  • Table 32: Novi Sad - Bečej
  • Novi Sad - Beočin
  • Table 35: Čoka - Novi Kneževac
  • Table 41: Kikinda - Banatško Aranđelovo
  • Table 42: Sečanj - Jaša Tomić
  • Table 46: Požarevac - Kostolac
  • Paraćin - Stari Popovac

Historical Information

NATO air strikes in March - June 1999 caused much damage to the country's railway system. The main routes have been restored, including a temporary road and rail bridge over the Dunav (Danube) river at Novi Sad. This is being replaced by a new bridge, which is likely to be finished around the end of 2017.

A new route from Valjevo via Zvornik (in Serbia) to Tuzla (in Bosnia-Herzegovina) was started before the break-up of Yugoslavia. Completion of the Zvornik to Tuzla section was interrupted by the war in 1991 but has since been finished. The line carries no regular traffic. Note that this line is shown wrongly, or not at all, on many maps, and actually runs from Rasputnica [= junction] Donja Borina, just south of Brasina on the line to Zvornik Grad, via a cross-border river bridge to Zvornik Novi (where there is a large works) then on to Caparde and Kalesija before ending at Živinice, which is on a freight line south from Tuzla. Work on the Valjevo to Zvornik section was stopped - some construction work can be seen at the Valjevo end - but there are optimistic plans of a restart using EU finance.

There were optimistic plans by ŽRS to connect the isolated Bijeljina - Velino Selo - Šid ŽS line to the Doboj - Šamac line, branching off just north of Milosevac on the Šamac line and running through Brčko to Bijeljina. This would have provided a direct link to Serbia, to eliminate the need to cross into Croatia or the Muslim-Croat Federation, and would have connected the western and southern parts of the Republika Srpska. Nothing has been heard of this project for many years.

Special Notes

The timetable (Red Vožnje) includes lines over which services have been suspended for many years and also trains with the note "privremeno ne saobraća" - temporarily not running and which therefore do not appear in the journey planner.

Late running is very common on the lines south from Beograd, because schedules do not appear to allow for engineering work, single line working and speed restrictions. Branch connections may be held, but this cannot be guaranteed. Schedules are very slow on some secondary lines, because of the poor condition of infrastructure.

The Beograd - Bar line passes through Bosnia-Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) for a short distance, including a station at Štrpci.

References

  1. ^ Serbian line reopens, www.railwaygazette.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  2. ^ Serbia reopens line to the Bosnian border, www.railwaygazette.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.

See also