The first Chinese-made "Soko" in the process of being put into traffic

The first of five trains from China intended for the Belgrade-Budapest high-speed railway has arrived and is currently in the induction process, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said yesterday.

At the presentation of the results of his cabinet's 100 days of work, he repeated his earlier announcement that the high-speed railway to Subotica will be completed by the end of the year.

- And then we are waiting for our partners from Hungary to merge the rails and get a high-speed railway connection between Belgrade and Budapest - said Vucevic, as per the official website of the Government of Serbia.

As the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic announced at the beginning of June during the presentation of the Chinese-made "Soko", the first Chinese train on the Belgrade-Subotica high-speed railway will depart on December 1 at the latest, and the journey on that route, once the traffic is established, will last one hour and 10 minutes.

As he said, the train between Belgrade and Subotica will take two hours.

Vucic reminded the audience that five electric trains were ordered from China, adding that the last one should arrive in December 2025.

At the end of June, it was announced that the Chinese-manufactured "Soko" is going to the Czech Republic for certification, because, as per the rules of the European Railway Agency, certification is necessary so that these new trains can run on the high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest.

This 103-meter-long train has 250 seats, and the difference between first and second class is only in the number of seats. The Chinese "Soko" has a cafe, places for bicycles, and is adapted for people with disabilities.

A special feature, as previously stated by the relevant minister Goran Vesic, is the lithium battery which allows the train to continue moving in the event of a power failure, at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour, about 10 to 15 kilometers depending on the terrain configuration, which means that it can to reach the first station.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Government of Serbia

Milos Vucevic

Chinese-made Soko

trains made in China

Belgrade-Budapest railway