Serbian Railways took over on Friday two more Russian diesel-powered trains out of 12 purchased trains which should arrive in Serbia by the end of the year and be put to use on non-electrified tracks.

At the promotion of the new trains, Director General of Railways Serbia Milovan Markovic expressed satisfaction that the contract with the Russian side is being realised according to the plans.

He underscored that with a pace such as this one, all 12 trains purchased with the funds of the European Railway Bank should be put to use on Serbian railroads.

Pointing out that this could improve regional and local traffic on non-electrified railroads, he stated that the new trains are up-to-date and can reach speeds of 120 kilometres per hour.

The first train arrived from Russia late in August 2012, Markovic said.

Both sets departed for Serbia on April 20 and arrived in Belgrade late on Thursday, and should be put to transport use in the course of the month.

This is the first time after three decades that Railways Serbia closed a contract on procurement of new trains.

Serbian Railways closed a contract on the procurement of diesel-powered trains with the Russian company Metrovagonmash.

The total value of the 12 train sets adds up to CHF 43 million.