Everything about the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed train: is it safe, when does it leave, how much does it cost

The biggest Hungary's apprehension about dealings with Serbia and China there was security on the fast train, so the deadline for "Sokol" was postponed several times.

Hungarian Minister of Transport David Vitezi announced that the testing of the system on the Hungarian section has finally been completed high-speed trains Belgrade - Budapest. He added that domestic traffic could start already in the second half of October, and international traffic, which is of interest to travelers from Serbia - from December.

The official documentation necessary for the establishment of passenger traffic, and based on the results of the examination, is expected by mid-October, the Hungarian minister explained. Until then, the contractor, the Chinese, has more work to do.

"It is a job that will last almost two months: the regulation of the station tracks and switches, as well as the tracks on the open railway, will be carried out, so that the railway will be suitable for traffic at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour in the long term," explained Vitezi.

From the beginning, the safety problem was that it turned out that the railway could not withstand higher speeds, although, paradoxically, it was built for that very reason.

Train price, timetable, stops

The announced price for a direct high-speed train on the Belgrade-Budapest route is 25 to 26 euros in one direction.

A total of eight pairs of trains per day are planned (which means eight departures from Belgrade to Budapest and eight in the opposite direction).

Out of a total of eight pairs, two pairs are direct high-speed trains (morning and evening departures) that do not stop at transit stations in Serbia, and the journey lasts between three hours and eight minutes and three hours and 17 minutes.

The remaining six pairs of trains have stops along the way, namely Novi Sad, Vrbas, Bačka Topola and other stations, and the journey takes about three and a half hours.

Testing "Sokola" on the route Belgrade-Budapest, without passengers

Where will passport control be?

Passport control at the Belgrade-centar station will be carried out only for those trains that travel directly to and from Budapest.

Namely, eight pairs of passenger trains are planned to operate between Belgrade and Budapest, of which two pairs will operate on the route Belgrade-Budapest-Vienna. Of these, there will be two direct departures for Budapest, which will not have stopovers through Serbia, but will travel directly to the capital of Hungary, in the early morning and evening hours. Other trains will have stopovers.

In October, the Hungarian Ministry specified for the N1 how the border control of trains that will have transit stations in Hungary will be carried out.

"When it comes to border controls, the Hungarian and Serbian authorities cooperate at the local, regional and central level. According to the current decision, all international pairs of trains will stop in Kelebija, where the Hungarian and Serbian authorities will jointly carry out border controls, while the trains are standing in the station," stated the Hungarian police.

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