Belgrade project from 1970s finally coming to an end – New BG Voz station to be built in Karaburma and neglected tunnels to be rehabilitated, works worth EUR 22.2 million

The Serbian Railways Infrastructure company has submitted a request to the Ministry of Environmental Protection for a decision on the need for an environmental impact assessment for the phase-based implementation of the project to build the BG Voz Karaburma station and the railroad from the Vracar tunnel tubes to the future station.

This is one of the key projects of the planned Line 3 of the BG Voz system, which should connect Makis with the Pancevo Bridge, and the new Karaburma station will represent its final point in the northeastern part of Belgrade.

The preliminary design for the BG Voz Karaburma railroad station was developed by the design team of the Project biro Utiber company and the CIP Institute of Transportation, with the aim, as stated, of considering the spatial possibilities for the implementation of the project in accordance with the valid planning documentation.

According to the preliminary design, the cost of building the station is estimated at 2.61 billion dinars, or about 22.2 million euros.

The project envisages the construction of a complete railroad infrastructure in the area between the Pancevo Bridge and the existing, never-used Karaburma tunnel tubes, which branch off from the Vracar tunnel. The new station will be connected to the existing railway, road and utility network, and good integration with the future Karaburma railroad subway station is also planned. It seems that this will be the only connection of the future first subway line with the city railroad, since the construction of the BG Voz station on the viaduct above the Fair has been abandoned.

The station will have three boarding and disembarking tracks in the first phase, with the possibility of later adding two more tracks and an additional platform. A total of five tracks are planned through different phases of the complex’s development.

The platforms will be 220 meters long, and the designed speed of trains on this section will be up to 80 kilometers per hour. A new section of the railway line, approximately 1.4 kilometers long, is planned from the Vracar tunnel to the station.

The tunnels have been waiting for trains for decades

A special part of the project concerns the rehabilitation of the Karaburma tunnels, which were built in the 1970s and 1990s, but were never put into operation.

The left tunnel tube is 675 meters long and was built between 1975 and 1977. The right tube, almost 687 meters long, was built from 1996 to 1998.

Although experts assessed that both structures were generally in good condition and without serious deformations, it was determined that they were burdened by a major problem of groundwater intrusion. The tunnels were built without proper waterproofing, and intensive leaks were recorded at the working joints.

In some parts of the left tunnel, especially on the sections constructed in open excavation, significant damage to concrete and corroded reinforcement have been registered, which will require extensive rehabilitation.

The project envisages the construction of a waterproofing and drainage system, as well as resolving the issue of draining large quantities of leachate and groundwater. The documentation states that the construction of a special hydrotechnical plant for processing and pumping water is not excluded.

Station with commercial facilities

The station building will be located between the tracks and the access road, in the immediate vicinity of the planned subway station. A ground-floor building measuring 13 x 83 meters, with a gross area of approximately 1,089 square meters, is planned.

The facility will contain passenger, official and technical parts, as well as commercial facilities, including retail and catering outlets.

Due to the complexity of the project, phase-based implementation is envisaged, with each stage representing a separate functional unit. The order of execution of individual phases will be defined in the subsequent design phases.

In February last year, the Secretariat for Urban Planning and Construction announced a public presentation of the Urban Planning Project to determine public interest in the construction of the Karaburma BG Voz station with accompanying railroad infrastructure in the territory of the Palilula municipality.

By the way, the BG Voz traffic currently operates on four lines (line 1 Batajnica-Ovca, line 2 Resnik-Ovca, line 5 Mladenovac-Ovca and line 6 Lazarevac-Ovca). On the stretch from Makis, along the existing railway route, through the tunnel under Cerak all the way to the Pancevo Bridge, i.e. the new official location (Karaburma railroad station), the introduction of line 3 of BG Voz is planned.

I. Z.

Infrastruktura Železnice Srbije Beograd

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Project biro Utiber d.o.o. Novi Sad

Saobraćajni institut CIP d.o.o. Beograd

Serbian Railways Infrastructure

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Project biro Utiber

CIP Institute of Transportation

BG Voz

Karaburma railroad station

urban planning project to build the BG Voz Karaburma station