On Thursday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that traffic between Belgrade and Subotica (Szabadka) on the Serbian portion of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line will officially start on November 24, a year earlier than planned. The announcement came as President Vučić traveled by test train from Novi Sad (Újvidék) to Subotica to inspect the nearly completed section of the railway.
The new railway will enable passengers to travel the 184 kilometers between Belgrade and Subotica in just 70 minutes. When the entire railway line is fully operational, the journey between Budapest and Belgrade will be reduced to no more than 2 hours and 40 minutes. Vučić credited the swift and efficient completion of the project to the support of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), a major Hungarian political party in Serbia, emphasizing the strong collaboration between the two nations.
“My friendship with István Pásztor has built this country,” Vučić stated, referring to the late president of VMSZ, who played a pivotal role in fostering cooperation between Serbia and Hungary. He added that the relationship between the two countries would continue to flourish, with Bálint Pásztor, the current VMSZ president, at the helm.
However, President Vučić noted that the inauguration of the renovated Subotica railway station would be delayed by a few days due to an issue with signage. The current signs only display information in Serbian and English, but given Subotica’s significant Hungarian population and the official use of Hungarian in the area, Vučić declared that Hungarian-language signs must also be included before the station can open.
The Budapest-Belgrade railway is part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between Serbia and Hungary, with both countries overcoming past conflicts to build what Vučić called a “sincere friendship.”
Testing of the railway line between Subotica and Novi Sad, which began on September 23 and will continue until October 10, has focused on assessing track conditions and speed capacity, with trains expected to reach speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour. The section between Novi Sad and Belgrade has been operational since March 2022, reducing travel time between the two cities to just 36 minutes.
