Oleg Belozerov, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways, and Zorana Mikhailovich, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia, have signed a memorandum on the joint implementation of projects for the ongoing maintenance of railway facilities infrastructure on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
The signing took place during an official visit of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to Belgrade on 17 January 2019.
On 17 January, a new contract was also concluded between Russian Railways International LLC, a subsidiary of OJSC Russian Railways, and JSC Infrastructure of Serbian Railways for the design and construction of railway infrastructure and a single dispatch centre for train traffic control.
The document provides for the implementation of work and the supply of materials within the framework of the second stage of the reconstruction, modernisation and construction of a double-track railway along the 40.44-kilometre section of the Star Pazova - Novi Sad stretch on the Belgrade - Budapest line and capable of handling trains travelling at speeds of up to 200 kph.
In particular, work will be carried out on the construction of electrical infrastructure, architectural structures and related facilities, power electrical facilities, work on the regulation of watercourses and arrangement of the land allocation and rights of way.
Under the terms of the contract, RZD International LLC will also develop a project for the reconstruction and modernisation of the 210-kilometre line Valjevo – Vrbnica - Montenegro border with a view to the carrying out the subsequent work.
In addition, RZD International LLC will design and build a single dispatch centre for train traffic control in the Republic of Serbia. According to expert estimates, the construction of such a centre will take about three years.
Since 2014, experts from the Russian Railways’ Holding have been carrying out the modernisation and reconstruction of a total of more than 200 kilometres of rail infrastructure in different regions of Serbia, including Trans-European Transport Corridor X and the Belgrade-Bar line, which connects Serbia and Montenegro. Most of the objects were commissioned ahead of the contract deadlines.
The construction of a viaduct on the floodplain of the Danube River and the Čortanovci double-track tunnel, as well as the reconstruction, modernisation and construction of a double-track railway on the Stara Pazova - Novi Sad stretch of the Belgrade - Budapest line, a distance of over 40 km, is designed for train speeds of up to 200 kph. More than 10 km have already been laid.
(Source: RZD)
