Budapest–Belgrade–Skopje–Athens railway

The Budapest–Belgrade–Skopje–Athens railway, a China-CEE "hallmark" project (2014) of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative,[1] is a planned high-speed railroad international connection in Central and Southeast Europe – between Budapest (Hungary), Belgrade (Serbia), Skopje (Macedonia), Athens and its China-run port of Pireus (Greece). Planned speed is 160 km/h between Budapest and Belgrade, current line between Thessaloniki and Athens is 200 km/h with upgrades to 250 km/h ongoing.[2][3] The chinese planners do not comment on the other tracks' realizable speeds. Originally, they spoke of up to 300 km/h throughout.

The first section, the Budapest–Belgrade railway – a $2.89 billion, 350 kilometer high-speed rail line – should have been finished in two years, but is lagging behind.[1]

Up today (2017/18), this China-CEE project is in collision with and/or parallel to the EU planning of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).

EU planning

New proposal of the Athens–Budapest part of the "Balkan Route" / Corridor X (red) compared to the old planning (green)[4]

In a 2012/13 EC report, Priority Project 22: Railway axis Athens–Sofia–Budapest–Vienna–Prague–Nuremberg/Dresden (PP22),[4] the planners included their considerations of the Balkan route, which follows Pan-European Corridor X (Corridor X) through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and Greece (Thessaloniki–Skopje–Belgrade–Budapest/Zagreb–Ljubljana–Graz/Salzburg) and shortens the present Athens–Budapest route via Bulgaria and Romania by 330 km. The total length is around 1.030 km compared to 1.362 km for the current southern Athens–Budapest part of PP22. Moreover, there are also a number of technical advantages of this proposed part of the Balkan route: 89% of it is electrified, as against 75% of the present PP22 route and the tracks are designed for higher maximum speeds overall. Nevertheless 64% of the planned line is still single track, compared to 54% of the present part of the PP22 route.

The planners appeal to the politicians: "In the medium term it may become necessary to tailor priorities in line with what is feasible, both for the European Union, the main provider of funding, and the Member States concerned. In this respect, Croatia’s accession to the European Union in July 2013 and discussions with the [r]epublics of the former Yugoslavia in connection with the review of TEN–T policy present a useful opportunity to develop rail links between south–east and central Europe via the western Balkans."[4]

See also

References

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