Serbian Residents Block Roads Over High-Speed Rail Route Through Neighborhood

Residents of the Pantelej neighborhood in Niš, Serbia, have resumed blocking key city roads in protest against a planned high-speed rail route. The demonstration, which began Wednesday evening, is set to last three days, with protesters targeting a major intersection near the "Delta" shopping center for a one-hour blockade.

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Today's blockade is organized to inform the rest of the city about this problem. The goal of the blockade is to raise people's awareness about what this is about – it's not just a single track, it's a high-speed train. I want to raise people's awareness about the environmental problem, about the problems that arise from the speed of the trains that will pass through, the danger of train derailments, and that the bypass must be a bypass.

The core of the residents' grievance is the proposed route of the high-speed rail, which they argue will pass through a densely populated area, posing significant environmental and safety risks. "Today's blockade is organized to inform the rest of the city about this problem," said one resident, Marija. "The goal of the blockade is to raise people's awareness about what this is about – it's not just a single track, it's a high-speed train. I want to raise people's awareness about the environmental problem, about the problems that arise from the speed of the trains that will pass through, the danger of train derailments, and that the bypass must be a bypass."

Residents are not opposed to the railway itself, but insist it should not cut through their neighborhood. They advocate for a bypass route that would keep the train away from residential areas. Another resident stated, "We are not for the railway passing through the settlement; a bypass should be built." A third participant emphasized the lack of any valid argument supporting the current plan: "Simply put, four tracks of a high-speed train, four tracks of an international railway, electrified lines in a densely populated settlement cannot be a good project under any circumstances."

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We are not for the railway passing through the settlement; a bypass should be built.

This is not the first time residents have mobilized. An earlier plan, which involved completely closing Borska Street and constructing a pedestrian overpass, was abandoned after residents blocked the railway, submitted a petition, and filed over a thousand objections in the spring. However, a compromise solution proposed by Mayor Dragoslav Pavlović – a horseshoe-shaped overpass 80 meters from the current route – has been deemed unacceptable by the residents. They argue that this project does not move the railway out of Niš but merely relocates it from one populated part of the city to another, directly threatening the safety and quality of life for residents in Pantelej and surrounding villages.

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Simply put, four tracks of a high-speed train, four tracks of an international railway, electrified lines in a densely populated settlement cannot be a good project under any circumstances.