Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday inaugurated the Novi Sad-Subotica section of the Hungary-Serbia high-speed railway, marking the opening of Serbia's section of the landmark regional project. A train departed from Belgrade in the morning and arrived in Subotica in about one hour, where a grand opening ceremony was held. Vucic hailed the railway as a generational achievement that "will forever be written into the history books." The president underlined the project's realization through close cooperation among Serbia, Hungary and China and highly commented on China's role as a partner in Serbia's modernization drive. The Serbian section was built by China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), with a designed speed of 200 km per hour. The opening of the Novi Sad-Subotica section will cut the train travel time from Belgrade to Subotica from more than 5 hours to just 1 hour and 19 minutes, significantly enhancing convenience for local residents. According to constructors, the project has already created over 1,000 jobs in Serbia, upgraded the country's signaling system to the European Train Control System, and included extensive environmental protection measures. The Hungary-Serbia railway stretches 341.7 km, including 183.1 km through Serbia. The Belgrade-Novi Sad railway section started operation in March 2022. Shotlist: Belgrade, Serbia - Oct 3, 2025: 1. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, officials at platform; 2. Vucic talking, shaking hands with officials; 3. Vucic, officials boarding train; 4. Various of officials in train; Subotica, Serbia - Oct 3, 2025 5. Various of train station, banner on Serbia-China friendship; 6. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Aleksandar Vucic, Serbian president (ending with shot 7): "It's important not only for public transportation and passengers, but also for the freight services. And it's also important for our economy, for attracting more investors into Serbia in the long run. I'm profoundly grateful to our Chinese friends, and we plan to keep on working with them in the future as well."; 7. Audience, Serbian national flags; Serbia - Oct 3, 2025 8. Various of train, passengers boarding train; 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Aleksandar Adamovic, passenger: "It brings possibilities to live in Subotica and to study in Novi Sad, to live in Subotica and to study in Belgrade. It is much cheaper now maybe to study in bigger cities and live in your own place, because the railway ticket [price] or price of maybe a yearly railway ticket will be at lower cost than renting a flat in a bigger city like Belgrade or Novi Sad."; 10. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Dragisa Elezovic, passenger: "The benefits of building a railway are too numerous to count. For residents' travel, for land appreciation, for easier construction, for everything that is needed for an ordinary person, it is a daily benefit for us."; FILE: Serbia - Date Unknown 11. Aerial shots of high-speed train running. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]