TA for Railways Infrastructure

Serbia’s geographical position makes it a regional transit hub, placing significant importance on the rail transport system for both goods and passengers. Unfortunately, years of underinvestment and poor maintenance have left the rail system in a deficient condition. This results in an underperforming service to the detriment of rail passengers and freight users that consequently undercuts the prospect of trade, industry and tourism flourishing. As Europe moves away from national operator models towards the separation of infrastructure and operator functions, the quality and reliability of the track infrastructure take on ever-increasing importance. The Serbian Directorate for Railways is still not fully carrying out its role as a regulatory body, so the separation of infrastructure management from the provision of transport services is still pending.

To help remedy this poor state, WBIF is assisting with a grant to prepare the action plan for implementing the railway component of the Serbian General Transport Master Plan (GTMP) and to provide the related support to the Ministry of Transport for use of the transport model for prioritizing railway investments. In particular, the project assists the Ministry of Infrastructure and Railways of Serbia in:

• revising the strategy for the development of rail, road, water, air and intermodal transport in the Republic of Serbia (2008-2015);
• providing simulation of transport models;
• organizing training for selected members of respective institutions; and
• development of a corresponding project pipeline.

Additionally, the project provides capacity building to establish effective coordination among involved Institutions in Serbia and to revise the legislative framework accordingly.

It is crucial for Serbian railways to increase their attractiveness in the region and regain market shares lost to other transport modes. The prioritised investments to be realised in Serbian railways, as an outcome of the technical assistance, will help prevent further deterioration of infrastructure assets beyond the point of recovery while increasing capacity and efficiency of the priority lines. The main beneficiaries of the project are all transporters and travellers through the SEE region.