Serbia to reconstruct around 500 kilometres of rail lines

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic said on Friday that she expects that the reconstruction of around 500 kilometres of rail lines will be completed over the next three years and that the public railway company will be fully reformed.

"It is estimated that, once we finish the infrastructure projects that are underway, we will manage to reduce budget subsidies by 50 percent at the end of the third or the fourth year," Mihajlovic said.

In terms of railway transport, Serbia will forge even stronger ties with the countries of the region, Mihajlovic told a conference on regional railway infrastructure, staged in Belgrade by the Internet magazine Balkanmagazin.

Starting from July 1, four companies will be operating within Serbian Railways, Mihajlovic said, adding that the subsidies will be gradually reduced as the reforms progress.

Serbian Railways CEO Miroslav Stocic said that the company's annual revenue totals EUR 218 million, with subsidies accounting for EUR 110 million.

Photo Tanjug/Oksana Toskic