Serbia - General Information
Country Name
Serbia (Srbija)
National railway system
National Railway Operator
Železnice Serbije (ŽS - Железнице Србије). ŽS was divided into four subsidiaries in July 2015: ŽS Infrastructure, Srbija Voz (passenger operations), Srbija Kargo and ŽS Holding.
Infrastructure Authority
Infrastruktura železnice Srbije
Language
Serbian.
Currency
The Dinar is the normal currency, with Euros also being accepted. Most banks and border stations have currency exchange facilities.
UIC code
Numeric 72; alpha SRB
Timetable
Journey Planner
Srbija Voz offers several useful search options:
- Direct Trains - display all trains between two specific stations on the ŽS network
- Station Timetable - display train departure or arrival lists for each ŽS station
- BG:Voz Timetable - displays a PDF of the suburban train services around Beograd, though only in Serbian. Note these services also show up in the other journey planner options.
Downloadable Timetable
Timetable – “Kurir” offers a list of timetable PDF files to download, by individual route. International services are listed in their own PDF file.
Printed Timetable
Red Vožnje. Printed in Serbian throughout.
Engineering Information
Engineering information and other timetable changes are listed under "Timetable Notes" on the main Journey Planner page, though only in Serbian.
Network Statement
All recent network statements can be found at the Network Statement page.
Maps
Printed Maps
- European Railway Atlas (All-Europe Edition) by M.G. Ball.
- European Railway Atlas (Regional Series - The Balkans) by M.G. Ball.
- Mapa Kolejowa Serbii, Kosowa, Czarnogóry (Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro) by W. Kolondra.
Web-based Maps
- Map of Serbia and Montenegro dated December 2020.
- Maps and Plans - Serbia
Gauge
Standard.
Beograd Tramways are metre gauge.
Electrification
25 kV 50 Hz.
Beograd Tramways are 600 V dc.
Rule of the road
Right.
Other Railways
None.
Tourist Lines
A long section of the former Beograd - Sarajevo 760 mm gauge line, about 30 km west of Užice, has been re-opened: the "Sarganska Osmica", between Sargan and Mokra Gora stations, including a "figure of eight": timetable details on the ŽS website.
A short section of 600 mm gauge forestry railway had been rebuilt, also near Mokra Gora, by 2001 but this appears to have been closed for some years.
Metro
None
Trams/LRT-Systems
Beograd
A basic line diagram is available at the UrbanRail.Net site along with a link to the local operator.
Recent and future changes
Future
On 7 July 2018 a €943m agreement was signed with the Chinese for modernisation of the route between Novi Sad and the Hungarian border. Work was expected to start in 2019. The Chinese had already been appointed main contractors for the modernisation of Beograd – Stara Pazova. The Russians are modernising and double tracking Stara Pazova – Novi Sad, including the construction of a new tunnel at Čortanovci, 3 viaducts, 19 bridges, and a new station at Beška. Beograd - Novi Sad was expected to re-open by December 2021, with a non-stop journey time of 27 minutes.
Work has started on upgrading sections of the Beograd - Niš - Preševo (- Skopje) line, which forms part of Trans-European Corridor X. As at July 2016 work was focused on the Niš to Preševo section. Extensive work was under way in the Beograd area in October 2017. The plan was for Beograd - Niš to have been upgraded to 160 km/h by 2025.
As at January 2020, modernisation work was in progress on the Serbian section of the Subotica - Horgoš - Röszke - Szeged (Hungary) line.
Openings
After a decade, services re-started on 4 January 2023 from the Dunavski platforms at Pančevački most to Pančevo Vojlovica, reopening the short branch from Pančevo Varoš to Pančevo Vojlovica.
Two new deviations totalling 14.16km are under construction between Indija and Novi Sad, originally planned for opening 7 December 2019 with the rest of the reconstructed section from Stara Pazova to Novi Sad.
Novi Sad to Orlovat Stajalište re-opened to passenger traffic on 25 October 2018 with two services each way[1]. There is no service in the 2021/2022 timetable, but this may be a result of the engineering works affecting the main line at Novi Sad.
The Table 12 route between Šabac and Loznica re-opened to passenger traffic on 1 September 2018; services were planned to be extended to Zvornik Novi in Bosnia-Herzegovina from the December 2018 timetable change[2]. However as far as is known this did not happen, but services have resumed between Loznica and Zvornik.
The first phase of Beograd’s future main station - Beograd Centar (also known as Prokop) - was inaugurated on 26 January 2016.
Banatsko Milosevo to Subotica reopened to passenger trains from the start of the 2015-2016 timetable after a period of closure for engineering works. The Border crossing from Bogojevo to Erdut (Croatia) also opened 14 December 2015. Services have also resumed between Stalač and Kraljevo.
The Table 85 route between Niš and Fushë-Kosovë/Kosovo Polje closed south of Kosanička Rača in the late 1990s. Due to poor track condition, from 14 May 2004 severe speed limits were imposed on table 75 trains between Doljevac and Kuršumlija, and the single train pair beyond Kuršumlija to Kosanička Rača was cancelled. The service was reinstated a few weeks later but later was removed again. From 2009 one train pair was advertised beyond Kosanička Rača to Merdare but it was not clear that these regularly run: in May 2010 they were replaced by buses. In October 2011 an overnight return working between Niš and Kuršumlija was advertised. In the 2012/2013 timetable one daily train was advertised to make a return journey between Niš and Merdare. It ceased running beyond Kuršumlija in early 2014 owing to a tunnel being damaged by flooding. Following repairs, the service resumed on 29 November 2014. However no services were shown over the whole route from Niš to Merdare in the 2021/2022 timetable.
Closures
In the 2023-24 timetable there are no services over the following sections of line: 25 Vrbas - Sombor, 40 Pančevo - Zrenjanin, 71 Mala Krsna - Velika Plana, 80 Niš - Dimitrovgrad, 85 Niš - Merdare, 90 Niš - Preševo. The ONLY international border open to passenger services is to Montenegro.
Passenger services (table 60) between Rudnica and Kosovska Mitrovica Sever (Kosovo) ceased at some point in summer 2021, and Kosovska Mitrovica Sever no longer appears in the journey planner list of stations.
Older Changes
For details of older changes see Serbia - Older General Information.
Special Notes
The timetable (Red Vožnje) includes lines over which services have been suspended for many years and also trains with the note "privremeno ne saobraća" - temporarily not running and which therefore do not appear in the journey planner.
Late running is very common on the lines south from Beograd, because schedules do not appear to allow for engineering work, single line working and speed restrictions. Branch connections may be held, but this cannot be guaranteed. Schedules are very slow on some secondary lines, because of the poor condition of infrastructure.
The Beograd - Bar line passes through Bosnia-Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) for a short distance, including a station at Štrpci.
References
- ^ Serbian line reopens, www.railwaygazette.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ Serbia reopens line to the Bosnian border, www.railwaygazette.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
