Budapest-Belgrade Line Halves Travel Time to the Southern Border

After years of planning and construction, Hungary’s largest railway project of the last decade is entering the home stretch. From mid-March, passenger services will connect the Hungarian and Serbian capitals in record time.

The Hungarian government has published the results of the final series of tests. As Hungary Today reported, a special train subjected the section to dynamic testing. Track geometry and overhead lines were tested under real conditions at speeds ranging from 60 to 160 km/h. The result is a technical success. With the completion of high-speed tests between Soroksár, the 23rd district of the Hungarian capital Budapest, and Kelebia, a Hungarian municipality on the Serbian border, it is now certain that travel times to the south of the country will be drastically reduced.

The entire route is certified for the maximum scheduled speed of 160 km/h. This paves the way for one of the most modern rail connections in Central Europe.

For the residents of southern Hungary in particular, the new high-speed railway represents a revolution in everyday life. For the first time, it will be possible to travel from Budapest to the Serbian border without changing trains. Concrete figures on the time savings compared to current transport options have also been published:

• Kiskőrös: Passengers will reach their destination 43 minutes faster.
• Soltvadkert: The journey time will be reduced by 52 minutes.
• Kiskunhalas: Passengers will save 83 minutes.
• Kelebia (at the border): With a time saving of 104 minutes, the journey time will be reduced by almost two hours.

While the journey to Kelebia often took up to five and a half hours in the past, the new line promises to be a highly efficient alternative to car travel.

As Világgazdaság reports, there is still some uncertainty about the final ticket prices for the entire route between Budapest and Belgrade. While MÁV Director General Zsolt Hegyi promised the mayors of the affected regions a price of 26 euros, Serbian Infrastructure Minister Aleksandra Sofronijevic told RTS that the price would be the equivalent of 32 euros.

The Hungarian Ministry of Construction and Transport confirmed to the business news portal that it is currently negotiating with the Serbian side to achieve the lowest possible price of around €25.

The final fare structure is to be published when ticket sales are scheduled to start in mid-March.

Once operations are fully underway, the journey time between the two capitals will be only about 3 hours and 15 minutes. However, before the first regular passengers can board the modern “Soko” trains, they must still obtain formal approval for the Hungarian rail network and the staff must complete the relevant training.

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Nemes János

The post Budapest-Belgrade Line Halves Travel Time to the Southern Border appeared first on Hungary Today.

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