Hungary opens freight service on Budapest–Belgrade railway

Regular freight services have run on the Budapest–Belgrade line since 27 February 2026; the first train to run as far as Novi Sad was a Rail Cargo Hungaria freight train from BorsodChem. The Hungarian section Budapest–Kelebia (166 of 350 km) is double-track and electrified, which lets trains from Serbia bypass the congested Ferencváros junction and reach the BILK terminal directly. Without the Chinese ETCS Level 2 system, the line was limited in March to 100 km/h and one freight train per direction at a time; shortly before 13 August 2026 the supplier reported the system complete, and the tests between Budapest and Kelebia were due to finish within two weeks. Passenger services, originally planned by 15 March 2026, could start in autumn 2026 according to the transport ministers of Hungary and Serbia, provided the safety checks and a simulation run after 24 August 2026 are passed. (LOK Report, 13 Aug 2026) Update (26 Oct 2026): According to transport minister Dávid Vitézy, the load tests and ETCS trials on the Hungarian section are complete; regulatory approvals were expected for mid-October, so domestic service can start in the second half of October. International service at 160 km/h is planned for the timetable change on 13 December 2026, after about two more months of track-adjustment work. MÁV has published two EC train pairs Vienna–Budapest–Belgrade (journey time around 6 h 40), and Serbia initially plans eight train pairs (LOK Report).