-“Serbian Railways” has marked today the completion of first phase of works in the Dimitrovgrad railway station on reconstruction and adaptation of the station facilities. The value of works amounts to somewhat more than EUR=2.4 million, and the entire project is being financed by assets from European Agency for Reconstruction. The works on sanation and reconstruction are to be continued, and the completion of the entire adaptation of the Dimitrovgrad railway station has been planned for mid-June 2009 – Milovan Marković, the Director General of “Serbian Railways” said, at the press conference held in the Dimitrovgrad railway station.

Mr. Marković stated that, the Dimitrovgrad railway station, by the agreement concluded between governments of our country and neighbouring Bulgaria, since December 2006, started to operate as a mutual border station in order to achieve fewer train stoppings at border-crossings, which assumes not only faster trains flow but also considerably higher safety level as well as passenger and freight control level.
According to Director General of Serbian railways, during previous two years, owing to new, joint organization of customs and railway affairs, stoppings of passenger trains were reduced from previous 120 minutes to 56 minutes, whereas freight trains in this station stop approximately for 6 hours instead of previous 15 hours.

Completion of the first phase of works in the Dimitrovgrad railway station represents the continuation of more intensive modernization and construction of railway Corridor 10 which is going to be carried out in 2009. The Government of the Republic of Serbia plans to provide EUR=1.7 billion for modernisation of railway Corridor X through our country by means of the budget and international loans in the forthcoming four years, and total amount of EUR=4 billion shall be invested in Serbian railways development, Milovan Marković, Director General of “Serbian Railways” announced.

The second phase of works in the Dimitrovgrad border station, which has already started, encompasses sanation and reconstruction of several more buildings and facilities. These are: station building, canopy on the platform and facility for freight car scales accommodation for the needs of freight transport. This stage entails fencing and decoration of railway area.

At the press conference in the Dimitrovgrad railway station, apart form Director General of “Serbian Railways”, the speakers were: Dejan Lasica, Assistant Minister within the Ministry of Infrastructure, Hoze Gustamante, the delegation representative of the European Commission in Serbia and Anton Ginev, Director General of the Bulgaria’s National Railway Infrastructure Company.