Heading to China: freight traffic on the renovated Szeged-Röszke railway line resumes
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After a thirty-year hiatus, freight transport along the Szeged-Röszke railway line has resumed, with the first cargo train passing through Serbia on Monday evening before proceeding to the port of Piraeus and on to China, Dávid Vitézy, the Ministry of Technology and Industry state secretary for transport, told a press conference at the site.
The project received 40 billion forints (EUR 100m) of government support.
The completion of the renovation has paved the way for the full reconstruction of the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line which, he said, catered to growing demand for a competitive and environmentally friendly mode of transport connecting Europe to China and, more broadly, to Asia via Turkey via Balkan routes.
The development of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line will provide a solution for both land transport needs, via Turkey, and combined water and rail transport needs. Thus, the most important rail transport routes from Asia will pass through Hungary, opening up huge potential for economic development, he said.
The renewed Röszke line, together with the investment on the Serbian side, will reconnect Szeged and Subotica on a modern railway line. The development will continue on the Hungarian side, the renovation of the section – including the overhead line – should be completed by next autumn, and passenger transport can start then, Dávid Vitézy said.
