
Belgrade - Sarajevo direct railway link resumed
14. December 2009. | 08:41
Source: EMportal
One train left Belgrade and one left Sarajevo on Sunday, to make the some 500-kilometer (310-mile) journey across ethnic borders, symbolically reconnecting the ancient links between the two cities.
A rail link has re-opened between the capitals of Serbia and Bosnia, almost 17 years after it was cut during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia on Sunday, December 13.
The line between Belgrade and Sarajevo was damaged in the fighting between Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims.
One train left Belgrade and one left Sarajevo on Sunday, to make the some 500-kilometer (310-mile) journey across ethnic borders, symbolically reconnecting the ancient links between the two cities.
Sunday's first train had only 17 passengers in its three carriages, nine of whom planned to travel to Sarajevo, while in the past time it used to have 12 or 13 coaches and 500 to 600 passengers.
The journey now takes two hours longer than did it before due to the many new borders between Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and dilapidated tracks worn out by war, neglect and poverty.
Railway officials say they hope the line, once popular with skiers and businesspeople, will attract more people during the winter holidays.
Nearly 18 years after war stopped it in its tracks, the train service between Belgrade and Sarajevo has resumed.
It was one of the victims of the wars that erupted as Yugoslavia fell apart. The authorities concede the railway line has been re-established for political rather than for commercial reasons, to try to restore ties between Serbia and Bosnia.
The new train had just three carriages
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