(Data map) Train to spring Photo by Shi Gangze of China News Agency

Text/Liu Wenwen

On March 2022, 3, the Belgrade-Novi Sad section (hereinafter referred to as the Benoy section) of the Hungarian-Serbian railway in Serbia was put into operation, marking significant progress in the construction of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, a key project of the "Belt and Road" between China and Central and Eastern European countries. Since then, Serbia has officially entered the ranks of high-speed rail countries, and the Balkans have opened a new era of high-speed rail.

After one anniversary, what changes has this railway brought to the lives of people along the line? What new achievements has China's high-speed rail "going global"? The country is through train, and tells you the answer in a few numbers.

From 40 to 200! Serbia begins the era of high-speed rail

Looking at the 200 km/h high-speed railway speeding by, who would have thought that the average speed of the Hungarian-Serbian railway in the past was only about 40 kilometers per hour.

Originally, the Hungarian-Serbian railway was built at the end of the 19th century, connecting Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and Budapest, the capital of Hungary, due to disrepair and serious aging of line equipment, the average speed was only about 40 kilometers.

The old Hungarian-Serbian railway severely restricted the economic development of Serbia and Hungary. In 2013, China, Hungary and Serbia announced cooperation in upgrading the Hungarian-Serbian railway to improve the infrastructure of Central and Eastern European countries and promote economic cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries.

The renovated and upgraded Hungarian-Serbian railway is a passenger and freight co-line double-line electrified railway, of which the Serbian section is designed for a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour, which is jointly built by China Railway International Co., Ltd. and China Communications Construction Co., Ltd. A year ago, the Benoy section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway was successfully renovated and safely operated, with a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour, and Serbia has since entered the ranks of high-speed rail countries, and the local people have finally fulfilled their long-standing "high-speed rail dream".

Data show that since the opening of the Benoy section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, more than 50 mobile trains have been operated every day, sending an average of more than 8200,14400 passengers per day, and the highest daily sending of 293,<> passengers, with a total of more than <>.<> million passengers transported in the past year.

Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University, told China News Agency that the opening of the Benoy section has greatly facilitated the travel of people along the route, accelerated the efficiency of cargo transportation, and played an important role in enhancing local infrastructure operation capabilities, promoting Serbia's economic development and infrastructure connectivity in Central and Eastern Europe.

From 90 to 30! Train witnesses "life in two cities"

Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia, with the blue Danube River running through the city, rich in history and culturally diverse, known as the "Athens of Serbia".

In the past, the journey from Belgrade to Novi Sad by taxi or general speed train took a long time and poor conditions. After the opening of the Benoy section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, the travel time of trains between the two places has been shortened from more than 90 minutes to about 30 minutes, and the time and space distance has been greatly reduced. With the convenience brought by the high-speed rail, the local tourism economy has become "fired", cultural exchanges have become smoother, and more people are willing to visit Novi Sad, a historical and cultural city.

At the same time, the lifestyle of the local people has quietly changed. Due to the fast speed and frequent trains, many people have since lived in one city and gone to another to work or study. Zoran Petronijevi?, project engineer for the Serbian section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway is one of them.

Zoran lives in Zemun. In the past, it took him 20 minutes to get from Zemun to Belgrade by train, 100 minutes to Novi Sad, and only 9 minutes and 45 minutes respectively after the opening of the Benoy section. Today, he travels between Zemun and Novi Sad by train every day, and feels the great convenience brought by the opening of the Benoy section of the railway.

"Now I save almost one hour compared to the past, I take the train to Novi Sad to work during the day and take the train home at night to spend time with my family." Zoran said.

Accounting for more than 54%! China's railway technology and equipment "advance" into Europe

The Hungarian-Serbian Railway is the first project to connect China's railway technical equipment with the technical specifications of EU railway interconnection, and it is also the first project of China's high-speed railway to enter Europe.

"With the completion and opening of the Benoy section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, China's railway technology and equipment represented by China's independent intellectual property rights of the high-speed railway train operation control system have been widely used in Europe." Liu Gang, head of communication signals for the Serbian section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, said in an interview with the China News Agency.

According to reports, during the construction of the Benoy section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway, a large number of advanced technologies and equipment of Chinese railways, including traction transformers, wireless blocking centers, dispatching centralized systems (CTC), transponders, etc., have been applied in batches, and Chinese elements account for more than 54%.

Liu Gang continued that over the past year, the practice of safe and efficient operation of the Benoy section of the Hungarian-Serbian railway has fully proved that the technology and equipment such as catenary, communication signal, and train control system with "Chinese origin" have withstood the test of complex operating environment. The effective integration of Chinese solutions and European standards has demonstrated to the world the overseas adaptability of China's railway wisdom.

Yang Guanling, deputy chief engineer of the Serbian section of the Hungarian-Serbian Railway, told China News Agency that as an important international line, the Hungarian-Serbian Railway has added a new stroke to the joint construction of the "Belt and Road". Taking this as a microcosm, as China's railways "go global", the extensive and criss-crossing transportation lines and high-speed rail networks not only bring closer cooperation between countries, but also bring more confidence and strength to the world economic recovery.