Passenger traffic on Budapest-Belgrade railway line to resume in mid-March

Freight traffic is expected to begin at the end of February, and passenger transport is scheduled to follow in mid-March on the Budapest–Belgrade railway line. Aleksandra Sofronijević, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Development, said, and also revealed additional details about the reopening of the railway line, according to Világgazdaság. The renovation of the line in both countries started in 2021 and the two capitals have not been connected with a direct railway line since then.

The Serbian minister said that tickets between Budapest and Belgrade will cost the equivalent of €32 in dinars, which is roughly HUF 12,000 one way at the current exchange rate. A return ticket will cost around 24,000 forints. The travel time between the two capitals is projected to be much shorter than the 7 or so hours it used to take before, with the railway companies putting it at just 3 hours and 15 minutes. By comparison, the Budapest–Vienna train takes around 2 hours and 40 minutes, and tickets purchased two to three weeks in advance cost between 10,000 and 13,000 forints.

Incidentally, this price differs from the fare previously announced by Sándor Font, a Fidesz member of parliament. A photo posted by Font on Facebook shows that a one-way ticket on the Budapest-Belgrade train will cost 26 euros, or approximately 10,000 forints.

The Serbian minister announced that Serbia and Hungary had agreed on all details concerning the opening of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line. The next step will be to connect the two countries' systems and to train locomotive drivers and staff, while technical work is already underway on the sections near the border. The high-speed trains are expected to stop for a half-hour border control at the Serbian-Hungarian border.

It has also been revealed that the track closure will end at midnight on February 27, and freight traffic will begin on the line, initially at a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Freight trains will provide insight for launching the passenger service, which is expected to start on March 15, departing from and arriving at Budapest's Keleti railway station.

At an early January briefing, Hungarian Minister of Construction and Transport, János Lázár announced that they are currently conducting test runs on the Budapest – Belgrade railway line. He also said at the time that the Hungarian section will be opened to freight traffic on February 20, and added that the goal was to open it to passenger traffic between the end of February and March 15.

Passenger service between the border town on the Serbian side, Subotica and Belgrade commenced last October. At the time, we reported on what traveling on the Serbian side of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line is like.

In a letter sent to our editorial office, the Ministry of Construction and Transport said that "the Hungarian side has proposed a cheaper fare of around €25 to the Serbian railway company, which is currently advocating for a slightly higher fare. However, the timetable and the final price of the service between Budapest and Belgrade have not yet been finalized and will be announced in accordance with the publication requirements, counting back from the start of passenger service, which is planned for mid-March."