Vučić Demands Punctuality from Serbian Railways, Orders Director Dismissals

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has set a high bar for the national railway service, demanding it surpass the punctuality of German and Swiss railways. During an inspection of a newly built unified train traffic control center, Vučić expressed frustration with delays, stating that while major disruptions are understandable, minor delays of 30 to 40 minutes are not.

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Understand when an accident happens that a train is delayed 200, 300 minutes, but I don't understand otherwise. People come to the station, and the train is delayed 30 or 40 minutes.

He directly instructed the Minister of Transport, Aleksandra Sofronijević, to dismiss any directors who are not performing their jobs effectively. "If they don't know how to do the job, dismiss them. You dismiss them, don't let me do it," Vučić stated.

The new control center, which monitors and manages 540 kilometers of railway, is a key part of modernizing the infrastructure. The goal is to eventually bring the Belgrade-Subotica line under its management within six to seven months. Vučić highlighted the critical importance of the Belgrade-Niš and Valjevo-Vrbnica lines, noting that the latter, stretching 210 kilometers, has been in a "desperate state" since 1976. A working group will be formed to address the poor condition of the Valjevo-Vrbnica section and the route from Kosjerić to the Montenegrin border, representing a significant investment of nearly two billion euros.

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Aleksandra, dismiss directors if they don't know how to do the job. You dismiss them, don't let me do it.

Work is also underway on the Belgrade-Niš line with European partners, with the first 19-kilometer section between Stalać and Đunis expected to be completed by March 2027. Mansurbek Sultanov, Director of Russian Railways in Serbia, confirmed that the unified control center project is 83% complete and will eventually oversee 3,357 kilometers of railway. The project is a joint effort by Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije, with Russian companies RZD International and RZD International Belgrade as contractors.

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The Valjevo-Vrbnica railway is in a desperate state, as no one has touched it since 1976.