Budapest-Belgrade high-speed railway construction ahead of schedule

The Budapest-Belgrade railway Construction reached a new milestone after the railway line between Novi Sad and Subotica in Serbia was completed, now the Hungarian government is planning to push through the project and complete it by 2025. Looking forward to further upgrading other infrastructure projects.

Track-laying works on the Hungarian side of the Budapest-Belgrade railway have resumed. It's part of the construction of one of Europe's major projects being built by China's Belt and road initiative.

The idea is to upgrade the 350-kilometer route between the two capitals, connecting them to another BRI project, the Port of Piraeus. This milestone would significantly reduce travel time between Belgrade and Budapest by half.  Putting into practice the revival of ancient trading routes.

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"This is the first high-speed train in the region," Political Director of PM Viktor Orbán, Member of the Hungarian Parliament, Balazs Orban, told CGTN. "It goes exactly on the traditional East-West trade routes, so I think it will have a very important impact on the region," he added.

The railway is expected to boost the country's economy and become a logistics hub for cargo from China. It is also likely to increase the number of travelers by three times. Although there has been criticism around its completion, recent developments suggest that it may soon be completed if all goes according to plan. The government said it would be done quickly and was already looking into more cooperation with China.

The railway is expected to become a logistics hub for cargo from China. Hungary said the project, that was originally planned to be operational by the summer of 2026, was ahead of schedule and Budapest is already looking into future opportunities to cooperate with China.

"We are going to finish the project in just one year, and we are looking for other opportunities and connection points, other infrastructural development projects, railways, highways, logistics centers," Orban said. "The Chinese know-how is very high in these fields," he added.

The construction project, valued at around $2.8 billion, is 85 percent financed by a fixed-rate Chinese loan, with the remaining funding provided by the Hungarian State.

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