The rail journey in Serbia is going to be safer and more comfy when the state run railway company Srbija Voz uses a €100 million EBRD loan to buy up to 18 new trains.
The company is set to buy new four-car coaches, which will give comfortable and reliable regional passenger services on the electrified sections of the rail network.
These are likely to encourage more new passengers to change their travel habits from road to rail services, which will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
For long years,Serbia’s rail infrastructure has suffered from severe under-investment. Thus the preferred transport option left is road-based where as only five per cent of passengers using rail.
The EBRD has already supported Serbian railway to buy new passenger coaches and freight wagons which now connect some of the country’s biggest cities. As well as investing in the new fleet, the EBRD has also supported Srbija Voz in expanding and upgrading a railway depot in Zemun, as well as supporting the company to improve its IT systems, energy management and ticket sales.
As said by Susan Goeransson, Director, Head of Infrastructure, Europe at EBRD, “We are pleased to be one of the key partners of Srbija Voz in this great revitalisation process leading to more comfortable and safer travel for travellers in Serbia.”
Source : ebrd.com
