Works on railway line from S. Pazova to N. Sad to start 2015

SREMSKI KARLOVCI - The modernisation of the railway line from Stara Pazova to Novi Sad in Serbia's Vojvodina province is scheduled to start at the beginning of next year, utilising around EUR 300 million worth of funds from a Russian loan, Serbian Railways Director Dragoljub Simonovic announced on Friday.

The design documentation for the railway line from Stara Pazova to Novi Sad will be complete by mid-year, after which an invitation to tender will be issued to contractors, Simonovic told reporters in Sremski Karlovci after a promotional ride on the Romantika vintage train, which is set to return to service after three years.

A second track will be added to the 43-kilometre railway line section, while the existing one is to be modernised, he said.

RZD International, which is part of the Russian state railway company, will be tasked with the job, with Serbian companies to account for more than 50 percent of firms involved, he said.

The works should be completed by the end of 2017, when the railway line will be able to accommodate trains running at speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour, Simonovic said.

He also announced that leading-edge machinery for constructing the railway line from Belgrade to Pancevo, also funded by the Russian loan, should arrive from Russia in early May.

The Russian loan totals USD 800 million, and the Serbian Railways are to buy 25 Russian-made diesel-engine trains for USD 100 million, with the first ones expected to arrive as early as in September, barring any procedural delays.

Also onboard the Romantika for a train journey from Belgrade to Sremski Karlovci were representatives of Russian Railways and Chinese investors interested in investing into a railway line...