Serbian Railways to purchase 21 trains - EUR 99 million deal inked with Swiss company Stadler Bussnang

State-owned railway operator Zeleznice Srbije (Serbian Railways) signed a EUR 99 million deal today with the Swiss company Stadler Bussnang to purchase 21 new electric passenger trains.

Serbian Railways CEO Dragoljub Simonovic said after inking the deal that new trains would significantly improve regional rail traffic on Serbian railways. He explained that starting autumn 2014, one train would be delivered and put into service every 15 days by August 2015.

Simonovic noted that the procurement was financed with the proceeds of a loan extended by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), adding that the realization of that loan was three years behind the schedule.

- As a result, Serbian Railways has so far paid EUR 5 million in penalties. That money could have been used to purchase two more trains - he stressed.

Peter Jenelten, vice president of the Swiss company, said that trains would be delivered to Serbian Railways as of October 2014. He stressed that Serbia would obtain 21 trains from the best-selling series of that company, adding that 890 trains of the kind had been sold to date to 13 countries in Europe.