Belgrade–Bar railway

The Belgrade–Bar railway (Serbian: Пруга Београд–Бар or Pruga Beograd–Bar) is a railway connecting the Serbian capital of Belgrade with the town of Bar, a major seaport in Montenegro.

Belgrade–Bar railway
Overview
StatusActive
OwnerSerbian Railways, ŽICG
TerminiBelgrade
Bar
Service
Operator(s)Serbian Railways, ŽPCG
History
Opened1976
Technical
Line length476 km (296 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification25 kV, 50 Hz AC
Operating speed70 km/h (43 mph) (Currently)
75 km/h (47 mph)–120 km/h (75 mph) (Designed)
Belgrade–Bar Railway
electrification
25 kV AC
to Pančevo
Belgrade Main (0,0 km)
Gazela Bridge
Mostar interchange
Old Railroad Bridge
to Šid and Zagreb
New Railroad Bridge
to Pančevo
NIS Petrol
Topčiderka
Topčider
Košutnjak
Rakovica
Kijevo
to Batajnica
to Niš
Resnik
to Mladenovac and Niš
Boundary of Belgrade
Bela Reka
Barajevo
Stepojevac
Kolubara coal mine
Vreoci
Lazarevac
Lajkovac
Divci Airport
Valjevo
Gradac canyon
Gradac
Kosjerić
Požega
to Kraljevo
Uzići
Zlakusa
Sevojno
Užice Freight
Užice
Stapari
Sušica
Branešci
Zlatibor Tunnel (6168 m)
Zlatibor
Jablanica
SRB
BIH
(205,5 km)
Štrpci
BIH
SRB
(214,8 km)
Uvac
Rača
Priboj
Poljice
Pribojska Banja
Lim
Prijepolje
Prijepolje Freight
Vrbnica
Gostun
SRB
MNE
(301 km)
Bijelo Polje
Mojkovac Tunnel (3243 m)
Mojkovac
Kolašin
1032 m
Mateševo
Ostrovica Tunnel (3827 m)
Trebesica
Trebesica Tunnel (5122 m)
Bratonožići
Mala Rijeka Viaduct
Bioče
to Nikšić
2,6
Podgorica
Zetratrans
Aluminium Plant
Podgorica
to Shkodra
Golubovci
Zeta
Morača
Morača Bridge
Lesendro
Lake Skadar
Tanki rt Bridge
Virpazar
Sozina Tunnel (6172 m)
Sutomore
Bari, Corfu
Bar (476 km)
Port of Bar

Overview

Mala Rijeka Viaduct

The Belgrade–Bar railway is a standard-gauge railway, 476 km (296 mi) long. Of this length, 301 km (187 mi) of the railway goes through Serbia, and 175 km (109 mi) through Montenegro. It is electrified with 25 kV, 50 Hz AC along the entire corridor. It passes through 254 tunnels of total length of 114,435 m (375,443 ft) and over 435 bridges (total length 14,593 m (47,877 ft)). The longest tunnels are "Sozina", 6.17 km (4 mi), and "Zlatibor", 6.139 km (4 mi). The biggest and the best known bridge is Mala Rijeka Viaduct, 498 m (1,634 ft) long and 198 m (650 ft) above ground level.

The highest point of the railway is at 1,032 m (3,386 ft) above mean sea level, at the town of Kolašin. The railway descends to 40m above mean sea level at Podgorica in a relatively short distance, thus the gradient of 25 on this section.

A small 9 km (6 mi) section of the railway actually passes through Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the town of Štrpci, and three trains per day stop there in each direction (though no border police is normally present)

When the line was completed in the late 1970s, it took a train approximately seven hours to complete the trip from Belgrade to Bar. Today it takes 11 hours, due to speed restrictions, as the railway cannot safely sustain the projected speeds without being thoroughly rebuilt.

Stations

History

The decision to build the railway connection between Belgrade and Bar was made in 1952, as a national project of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. However, the construction was passed to the constituent Republics, SR Serbia and SR Montenegro, to build on their own.

The sections of the railway were completed as follows:

The construction works were concluded on 27 November 1975, by joining the railway tracks south of Kolašin. The railway was opened on 28 May 1976. Electrification was completed at the end of 1977.

Maintenance of the Belgrade–Bar railway suffered from chronic underfunding during the 1990s, which has resulted in the railway deteriorating and becoming unsafe. This culminated in the Bioče derailment, when a passenger train derailed, causing the deaths of 47 passengers. As a result, efforts are being made to thoroughly reconstruct the railway.

The Serbian part of the railway was targeted several times by NATO during its bombing campaign in 1999, seriously damaging portions of the railway. Also, the small section that passes through Bosnia and Herzegovina was blown up by SFOR ground forces. All of this damage was later repaired.

In 2016, Serbia commenced a thorough reconstruction of the entire section on its territory. The aim is to make the line able to support the maximum speed of 120 km/h as originally designed. The first section, from Belgrade to Valjevo, which represents 27% of the Serbian part of the line, was due for completion during the summer of 2017.[1][2]

See also

References

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