If the latest announcements are to be believed, high speed train on the route Belgrade-Budapest it should go end of February or beginning of March.
As he recently announced Hungary Minister of Construction and Transport Janoš Lazar, freight traffic on this section should start on February 27, and passenger traffic between February 27 and March 15, if all technical and safety checks are completed.
Hungarian border guards are known for keeping passengers at the borders for a long time, and the control of passengers traveling by train should last about 30 minutes, with a joint inspection at the Kelebija station in Hungary, while the control of freight trains will be carried out at the Subotica-Kelebija border crossing, according to Tanjug from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia.
Application of EES
Given that Hungary is a member of the European Union and that the EES entry and exit system has been applied at its border crossings since last year, answering the question whether all passengers will have to get off the train for scanning, the MUP says that this is not within their jurisdiction.
This issue, therefore, remains within the competence of the Hungarian border police.
Entry/exit system (EES) is an automated IT system for recording citizens of countries that are not members of the European Union during short-term stays (up to 90 days in a period of 180 days), every time they cross the external borders of European countries that use this system.
With the introduction of the EES, the stamping of passports stops, and the crossing of the border is recorded through biometric data.
Implementation of the system began in October 2025, with a gradual introduction in the member states. Hungary is already implementing it.
The full implementation of the system is announced for April 2026.
Traveling with layovers for now
With the establishment of a direct line, the journey between the main cities of Serbia and Hungary should take about two and a half hours, while trains on certain sections would travel at a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour.
The trial operation of the railway began in December 2025.
Until a direct connection is established, passengers from Belgrade do Budapest they travel with two transfers. From the beginning of October 2025, when open high-speed railway to Subotica, it is possible to reach the Hungarian capital via Subotica and Szeged.
The trip from Belgrade to Subotica by high-speed train takes about an hour and a half, while the total journey to Budapest, including transfers, is currently about six and a half hours long.
Years of announcements and postponement of deadlines
The high-speed train between Belgrade and Budapest has been announced for years, with the deadlines being constantly postponed.
At the end of 2015, the then Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, stated that the railway must be opened by 2018. Then came new estimates and new deadlines, and 2025 was mentioned for a long time as a realistic deadline.
The implementation, however, was slowed down by several years of work stoppages, as well as the tragedy at the Novi Sad railway station, where on November 1, 2024, 16 people died in the collapse of the canopy, an event that further opened up issues of safety and responsibility in large infrastructure projects.
Source: Tanjug/Vreme
