Country portraits
24. 05. 2023
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) now also operates in Serbia with own traction since 2023. This means we handle transport with our own locomotives and personnel. We take a look at this Balkan country which is extremely important in railway terms.
Rising up in the Black Forest, the Danube then flows south-east through Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and also through the Serbian capital of Belgrade. The imposing Beogradska Tvrđava fortress, the symbol of the Serbian capital Belgrade, can be found at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. Serbia is a key transit point for European countries as several traffic corridors run across the country. The most important of these is Corridor X, which links Central Europe with Southeastern Europe as well as the Middle East. Corridor X, with a railway of 2,528 km in length, is therefore of major importance to RCG.
Serbia is the most industrialised of the Western Balkan countries. The automotive and corresponding supply industry, as well as machinery and chemicals, are the most prominent industries. Good soils and climate mean that this Balkan country has agricultural land with an area of approximately five million hectares. As a result, agriculture is an important part of total exports and is responsible for around one-fifth of these.
RCG has also been on the move with its own staff and locomotives in Serbia since 2023, which is a milestone as this is the first time that we provide own traction outside the European Union. Expansion of our own traction network means we are able to provide high-quality, fast, efficient and customer-focused transportation from Turkey to Central Europe from a single source – for block train, single wagonloads or intermodal shipments. We recently celebrated our first testtrain in Serbian own traction.
