The lack of network and inadequate maintenance of railways over the last 35 years are the main reasons for the bottlenecks and poor quality of railway transport services in the Republic of Serbia. In order to mitigate the deterioration of the railway network and enable the operation of the railway infrastructure in these conditions, speed limits were introduced and resulted in reduced railway capacity.
The total length of the railway covered by this project is 22.8 kilometers. The project envisages complete overhaul and modernisation on that part of the railway.
After the reconstruction, the railway will be fully in line with the EU technical standards for much higher speeds than now.
At this line, trains can currently run at a maximum speed of up to 70 km/h, but due to the condition of the railway infrastructure, light runs of 10-20 km/h have been introduced in some places, with the aim of preserving traffic safety.
The cost of the project is almost 60 million EUR, and the worth of EU grant is 44 million EUR.
This railway is part of the important Corridor X connecting Europe in North – South direction, and it will connect Belgrade to Presevo (border with North Macedonia). The investments will continue in modernising railway lines between Belgrade and Niš with support of the EU, EBRD and EIB, while preparations are ongoing for rest of Corridor X. Trains will reach speeds of up to 200 km/h where technically feasible.