Construction of Belgrade Subway Line 2 planned for 2028 – Arrival of mole for Line 1 a “matter of days”

Construction of the second subway line will begin in 2028, announced Sinisa Mali, the Minister of Finance in a caretaker capacity, during a visit to the construction site at Makisko Polje, where the Bele Vode subway station, part of the first line, is to be built.

As Mali noted, the TMB, the so-called “mole,” will begin excavating the tunnel for the first metro line from this location.

– We will build the stations as we receive the construction permits one by one. The first line has 21 stations. The second line, running from Zeleznik to Mirijevo and on to Bezanijska Kosa, will have 24 stations, while the third will have 23 – Mali pointed out, as reported by B92.

According to the minister, the mole for the first line is currently near the Port of Pancevo, and it is only a matter of days before it arrives at Makisko Polje.



– The mole weighs 1,800 tons and is 108 meters long – Mali said.

He explained that the machine consumed a significant amount of electricity and that, therefore, it had taken time to ensure an adequate power supply without causing electricity issues for the local residents.

– We are building seven collectors to handle stormwater and sewage. Also, a new health center and a new school will be located very close by – he added. He pointed out that the Belgrade Subway would be driverless and automated.

– It will be a 70-kilometer subway network capable of transporting around 100,000 people. It will be a system that resolves traffic congestion in the city and integrates with the rail and tram networks – he stated.

Regarding current funding for the first line, Mali noted that the contract with Alstom was worth one billion euros, while the contract with the Chinese side, including the depot, was valued at 2.5 billion euros.

– By next year, Belgrade will have 15 stations on the first line currently under construction. We will complete this gradually by 2028, and in 2028, we will begin work on the second line. I expect construction work to be finished by 2029. System testing alone takes six to eight months; there are complex procedures involved. If something happens, we need to train emergency services, the police and so on – he explained.

According to the Minister of Finance, the construction of the first subway line might be “running a year or two behind schedule.”

– But once the tunnel-boring machines start, there is no stopping. You have a 70-person crew for one machine and another 70 for the second, that’s 140 people working three shifts daily to ensure the machines meet up near the Fairgrounds. There are both local and Chinese workers involved. We want our people to learn the process – he said.

Two TBMs were manufactured at CRCHI’s plant in the Chinese city of Changsha, where they completed factory acceptance testing (FAT) in April.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

CRCHI

Alstom

Belgrade Subway

first Belgrade Subway line

second Belgrade Subway line

Makiško polje

Makiš

Bele vode subway station

TBM

tunnel boring machine

subway mole

Siniša Mali