STORY: Serbia's high-speed railway to operate in 2024: President Vucic
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 21, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 22, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:15
LOCATION: Belgrade
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the construction site
2. various of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic visiting the site
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Serbian): ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, Serbian President
4. various of the construction site
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Serbian): ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, Serbian President
6. various of Serbian section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line

STORYLINE:

The Serbian section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, constructed by a consortium of two Chinese companies, is set to commence operations by the end of 2024, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday.

Vucic made the remarks during his visit to the construction site in Serbia's northern Vojvodina province, accompanied by Serbian state and provincial officials and China's Ambassador to Serbia Li Ming.

Vucic said he was satisfied with the progress of the construction of the Novi Sad-Subotica railway section. He thanked the Chinese companies for their efforts to complete the project ahead of schedule.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Serbian): ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, Serbian President
"I wish to say this is a significant change for the Serbian people and the entire country. For the people to understand, the travel from Belgrade to Subotica will be reduced to just 75 minutes.
This enhancement will attract more tourists, and I believe that we will continue with such ambitious construction projects."

The Novi Sad-Subotica railway section is constructed by a consortium of two Chinese companies.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Serbian): ALEKSANDAR VUCIC, Serbian President
"I wish to thank China Railway International (CRI) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) for doing an incredible job. We will continue transforming our country like this."

In March 2022, Chinese and Russian companies completed a revamp of the 75-km high-speed railway section between Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city.

The planned completion of the 108-km railway line between Novi Sad and Subotica, construction of which began in autumn 2021, represents a crucial milestone for the entire Serbian segment of the international railway, and holds significance for the Belt and Road Initiative in Central and Eastern Europe.

Vucic projected that, with the Hungarian part of the railway also completed by 2026, travel time between the capitals of Serbia and Hungary will be reduced to less than three hours.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Belgrade.
(XHTV)