China Economic Reporter Lu Bingyang reported in Beijing

China has made significant progress in the flagship project cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries. On October 3, local time in Serbia, the Novi Sad-Subotica section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway (hereinafter referred to as the "Nossud-Serbia Section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway") was completed and opened to traffic, marking the opening and operation of the Serbian section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway.

The operating time of the Belgrade to Subotica train is compressed from the original 5 hours to the fastest 1 hour and 19 minutes. China National Railway Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Railway Group") released the above news on October 3.

The National Railway Group said that the Nosou section of the Hungary-Serbian Railway opened this time starts from Novi Sad Station, Serbia's second largest city, and ends at the border city of Subotica Station. The line is 108.1 kilometers long and has 12 stations in total. Among them, Velbas Station is a new station, and the rest are renovations of existing stations.

Since the project officially started on July 1, 2022, railway builders from China and Serbia have used China's railway technology equipment and construction experience to optimize on-site construction organization, strengthen safety and quality control, and ensure the smooth progress of the project construction. During this period, static acceptance and dynamic acceptance tests were completed, and they passed the EU Internet (NoBo) certification, national standard compliance (DeBo) certification, and safety assessment (AsBo) certification, and obtained the use license of Serbia, meeting the conditions for opening and operation.

The entire Serbian section of the Hungary-Serbian Railway adopts the ETCS-L2 train control system independently developed by China Railway and certified by the EU Railway Interconnection Technical Specification (TSI). The entire line of the Hungary-Serbian Railway is equipped with equipment such as communication signals, power and electrification, rails, switches, and bridge steel structures. Since June 2018, during the construction and operation cooperation of the Serbian section of the Hungary-Serbian Railway, the participating units of China and Serbia have carried out high-speed rail technology exchanges and training activities, cultivating a group of high-speed rail construction and operation talents for Serbia; hiring local employees to create jobs; and purchasing local building materials to promote the development of industries along the route.

After the full Serbian section of the Hungary-Serbian Railway was opened and operated, the operation time of the train from Belgrade to the border city of Subotica was reduced from the original 5 hours to the fastest of 1 hour and 19 minutes. The passenger capacity, transportation efficiency and service quality have been greatly improved, which will greatly facilitate people's travel along the route and promote the development of tourism resources and urbanization along the route.

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A person from the China Railway Group told the China Business News that the Beno section of the Hungary-Serbian Railway in Serbia has been in operation for more than three years, and has sent about 11 million passengers in total. He also revealed that the construction of the Hungarian-Serbian Railway is being carried out in an orderly manner.

It is worth mentioning that the EMUs provided by Chinese companies are expected to be launched on the Hungary-Serbia Railway next year.

On June 7, 2024, the Hungary-Serbian Railway Express EMU developed by CRRC Changchun Rail Bus Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CRRC Changmai"), a subsidiary of CRRC, was unveiled at the Zemon Depot of Belgrade, Serbia. This is an important achievement in the docking of China's railway technology equipment and the European Railway Interconnection Technical Specification (TSI), marking the first time that China's high-speed EMU has entered Europe.

The Hungary-Serbia Railway Express EMU unveiled this time is based on the advanced and mature technical platform of Fuxing China's standard EMU, tailor-made for the Hungary-Serbia Railway, and has adaptive improvements combined with the local operating environment and line conditions in Serbia to meet the cross-border transportation needs of Hungary-Serbia Railway.

In addition, the reporter learned that the train is currently undergoing local testing and will be put into use on the Hungary-Serbia Railway after the test is completed.

According to the China Railway Corporation, the Hungary-Serbia Railway's high-speed EMU is a power-dispersed electric EMU with 1 first-class car and 3 second-class car, with a total capacity of 250 people. The body of the car is streamlined and is painted in three colors of Serbian flag color "red, blue and white". The black area on the side of the front of the car extracts the elements of the Serbian national emblem double-headed eagle. The EMU car is equipped with wheelchairs, bicycles, and large luggage storage areas, and is equipped with coffee machines, vending machines and other service facilities.

Wang Chengtao, deputy director of the National Rail Bus Engineering Research Center of CRRC Changke, once said that the high-speed EMU signed this time is an electric vehicle unit tailored for the Hungary-Serbian Railway based on the European railway interconnection technical specifications and European technical standards and the specific needs of the Hungary-Serbian Railway. It has the characteristics of intelligence, greenness and comfort. "According to European industry standards, this is also the first time that China's high-speed EMUs have been exported to Europe at a speed of more than 200 kilometers per hour."

Regarding the Serbian market, Ma Chunsheng, deputy general manager of the Overseas Business Department of CRRC Changke, introduced that since the construction of the Hungary-Serbian Railway in 2019, CRRC Changke has continued to promote scientific and cultural exchanges with the local government, until it promoted cooperation between China and Serbian countries in the field of high-speed EMUs.

The Hungary-Serbia Railway Expressway EMU project was signed by CRRC Changhe and Serbia's Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Construction on October 17, 2023, during the third "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum, including 20 (5 trains) high-speed EMUs, with 4 vehicles marshalling, 2 dynamics and 2 tows, with a maximum operating speed of 200 kilometers per hour.

In addition to providing EMUs for the Hungary-Serbian Railway, Chinese companies also come from China. The Nosu section of the Hungary-Serbian railway, which started construction on July 1, 2022, is 108.1 kilometers long. This section requires 278.35 kilometers of track laying, of which 176.19 kilometers are made of 50-meter rails produced in China, realizing the first domestically produced 50-meter fixed-scale 60E1 rails exported to the European market.

A person from the China Railway Corporation told reporters that in February 2023, China-made rails passed the acceptance of the plug-in square supervision, and at the same time, the TSI certification information of the rails was also recognized by the supervision agency. In June of that year, China-made rails were transported to the Sayerovo and Navichevo rail laying bases in Serbia, and then welded into 200-250-meter-long rails, and then laid by a long rail laying unit. It is worth mentioning that the track laying unit is also a special machinery independently developed and produced by China.

The Hungary-Serbian Railway connects Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and Budapest, Hungary. It is a flagship project for China to cooperate with Central and Eastern European countries. It is also the first project to adopt China's independent technical equipment and pass the EU Railway Connectivity Technical Specification (TSI) certification. The total length of the line is 341.7 kilometers, of which 183.1 kilometers in Serbia is 200 kilometers per hour; Hungary is 158.6 kilometers in length and 160 kilometers per hour.