European Union Supports Modernisation of Freight Railway Transport in Serbia

A new EU funded technical assistance project worth €800,000 has been recently launched in Serbia to support the reconstruction of the existing and construction of the second track on the Ostružnica - Batajnica section of the Belgrade Marshalling Yard. The Technical Assistance assignment, including the preparation of Feasibility Study, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Preliminary Design, aims at the modernisation and sustainable development of the Serbian railway transport system, in order to meet the required EU capacity levels and quality standards relevant to the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

The project is of great strategic importance for the development of the transport network in Serbia and in particular for the reinforcement of the Belgrade Marshalling Yard as an important railway freight node in the Western Balkans. The 22 km long railway line Ostružnica – Batajnica is one of the key railway routes in Serbia, and it is significant for the international and transit traffic, as part of the Pan-European Corridor X in Serbia. The Lead International Financing Institution is the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the project benefits from a TA grant from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). The EIB also supports the project preparation through its advisory services under JASPERS partnership with the European Commission.

Railway Corridor X is one of the Pan-European corridors and also part of the indicative extension of the TEN-T Orient/East-Med Corridor to the Western Balkans. It connects Serbia with Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria and North Macedonia (and further south with Greece). For the modernisation of Railway Corridor X in Serbia, a total of €86.1 million EU grants have already been approved through the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

Miroslav Prokić, Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia: “The Ministry is grateful for another WBIF grant approved for further improvement of the railway infrastructure in Serbia. The bypass railway line level Ostružnica – Batajnica is very important both on national and international level, given the number of international freight trains served by this line. The Ministry will provide all necessary support in the implementation of activities within this subproject with the aim of its completion in planned timeframe”.