Back on Track: Serbia Looks to Russia for Fresh Upgrade to Railway Network

Since the DP-S (Diesel Train-Serbia) began running on Serbian railways, ridership has risen by 70 percent in the country's Central Banat district. The increase, from 1,100 to 1,800 passengers per week, may seem small in absolute terms, but it is significant in an area with a largely outdated railway infrastructure.

The new trains are only a part of a project by Russian Railways International to rebuild Serbia's railway infrastructure as part of a $940 million project, much of it paid for with a Russian export loan. Trains from the same product line have already run in Hungary, although the DP-S is Metrowagonmash's first train; in the past it has constructed railbuses.

The company is currently building one kilometer of new railways per day, and expects running speeds for the new trains to reach 120 kilometers per hour. While this is not exactly high-speed rail, it is certainly a large improvement in a country where some segments of track are over 100 years old.

Other than building railways and shipping new trains, Russian Railways is also repairing Serbian schools, with two already renovated and a third one in the works. The company also offers scholarships for training new railway engineers and technicians with Serbian Railways, with 15 students already prepared to study in Russia.