High-speed railway to link Budapest and Athens

Athens has also joined the high-speed train project from Budapest to the south. This will extend the railway linking the Hungarian capital to the Serbian capital in the first phase to 1,500 kilometres.

“Historic victory”

According to the Tanjug news agency, the Serbian transport minister called the agreement between President Aleksandar Vučić and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to extend the European Corridor X to Greece a “historic victory”, Index reports.

The Hungarian government had recently hoped that the first section of the line (between Budapest and Belgrade) would be completed next year. Serbia was a little more realistic, putting 2026 as the likely delivery date.

Prior to the signing of the Serbian-Greek agreement, Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesić guided his Greek counterpart, Christos Staikouras, along the section under construction, Blic reported.

The journey on the Falcon (Sokol) took just over half an hour to Novi Sad, 76 kilometres from Belgrade. From there, it will take a further 108 kilometres to reach Subotica, near the Hungarian border.

Belgrade-Budapest in 2027

This phase will be completed by March next year, said Vesić. He also announced a new deadline change: