Transport in Belgrade

This article deals with the system of transport in Belgrade, both public and private.

Urban

Belgrade has an extensive public transport system, which consists of buses, trams, trolley buses and trains operated by the city-owned GSP Belgrade[1] and several private companies. All companies participate in Integrated Tariff System (ITS), which makes tickets transferable between companies and vehicle types. Tickets can be purchased in numerous kiosks or from the driver. They must be canceled inside the vehicle and are valid for one ride only. As of 1. February 2012. started to work BusPlus modern electronic system for managing vehicles and transportation tickets in public transport,[2] a system based on a vague contract which does not explicitly state the profit made by Apex Technology Solutions, and the giveaway of advertising space on bus stations.[3]

Buses

Ikarbus Bus in Belgrade
Ikarbus with trolleybuses in the background, Belgrade

The main Belgrade Bus Station is located at Železnička 4.[4]

City public bus transportation is operated by 7 main carriers:

There are 149 regular lines, 27 night lines and 2 night lines that have letter L behind a number: 304L and 601L. Night lines are 7, 15, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 37, 47, 48, 51, 56, 68, 75, 96, 101, 202, 301, 304, 308, 401, 511, 601, 603, 704, 706.

Presto: 15, 26, 96, 101, 601
Arriva (formerly Veolia): 47, 48, 68, 706
Autokodeks: 7, 51, 56, 202
Ćurdić: 32, 304, 603, 704
Lasta: 31, 37, 308, 401, 511
LUI Travel: 27, 29, 33, 75, 301


Night lines that are abolished are: nine, seven hundred and one. Night lines that are introduced are: thirty three, thirty seven, forty eight, ninety six, seven hundred and four, seven hundred and six. Night line 304 goes as trolleybus line 28 (Makedonska - Svetogorska - Takovska - Jaše Prodanovića - Cvijićeva - Dimitrija Tucovića) and her next route is: Batutova - Bulevar kralja Aleksandra - Smederevski put - Profesora Vasića - Palih boraca - Miloša Obrenovića - Vinča - Miloša Obrenovića - Palih boraca - Profesora Vasića - Smederevski put - Kružni put - Ravan - Leštane - Ravan - Kružni put - Smederevski put - Put za Boleč - Maršala Tita - Jumbina - Boleč - Jumbina - Maršala Tita - Put za Boleč - Smederevski put - Put za Ritopek - Maršala Tita - Ritopek. Night line 401 goes as tramway line 10 (Cara Dušana - Džordža Vašingtona - 27. marta - Starine Novaka - Beogradska - Trg Slavija - Bulevar oslobođenja - Trg oslobođenja - Vojvode Stepe - Bebelova - Baštovanska) and her next route is: Paunova - Bulevar oslobođenja - Put za Avalu - Vase Čarapića - Beli potok - Vase Čarapića - Put za Avalu - Put za Pinosavu - Pinosava.


Each of the regular lines is operated by GSP and by one of the other carriers, while night lines are conducted only by private carriers.

Private carriers were introduced in 1990s after many strikes in GSP, which had the monopoly till then. There were many unsuccessful efforts by the city after 2000 to unify them into the same ticket system. Finally, in 2004 it was agreed that ITS (integrated tariff system) will be introduced. These 6 companies will carry the public transportation till 2012, when the City Government will decide whether GSP is going to remain the only transport company.

City Bus Lines:[7]

Tramways and trolleys

Main article: Belgrade tram system
New Belkommunmash trolleybus for GSP
CAF Trams in Belgrade

The first tram line was introduced in 1892. The current extent of the network track is unchanged since 1988, though with some re-routings of the tram lines. Trams and trolleys are operated exclusively by GSP Beograd, and there are 11 regular tram lines, 5 local tram lines (7L, 9L, 11L, 12L and 14L), 7 regular trolleybus lines and 2 local trolleybus lines (22L and 29L). Belgrade has 11 current trams, 1 discontinued tram and 4 discontinued temporarily established trams (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7L, 9, 9L, 10, 11, 11L, 12, 12L, 13, 14 and 14L). Interestingly, tram line 2 (dva) is a circular line around the downtown, so often downtown is referred to as krug dvojke (the circle of line 2).

Tram Lines:[7]

Tram network and termini:

All the revenue service track is constructed as parallel double track with terminal loops. There are 8 revenue service loops in the system: Kneževac, Omladinski stadion, Kalemegdan, Ustanička, Tašmajdan, Block 45, Banjica, Banovo brdo. There are further 9 auxiliary loops: Pristanište, Slavija, Autokomanda, Trošarina, Radio industrija, Gospodarska mehana, Topčider, Railway station, Rakovica. Only the first three are actively used for cutting short during the schedule disruptions. The loops Slavija and Autokomanda are located in roundabouts and are normally used for the revenue thru-traffic. Other auxiliary loops are used only as alternatives during the closures. The last two loops (Rakovica and Railway Station) are defunct. The track at Rakovica is disconnected from the main line. The loop at Railway station was recently reconstructed but is completely out of use due to unworkable design. Interestingly, the circular line 2 does not use loops at its terminus at Pristanište. It makes the service stops on the main line instead.

Tram depots:

There are 3 tram depots in Belgrade. Sava is the central active service depot built in New Belgrade in 1988. Dorćol ("Lower depot") is the historical electrical cars depot from 1894 which is used only for auxiliary and overhaul purposes. It is co-located with the active service trolleybus depot. The two single-track lines leading to it are the only exceptions to otherwise parallel double track network in the system and are not used in the revenue service. The third "Upper depot" is the historical horse-drawn cars depot from 1892. It retains its track but was recently disconnected from the main line. The depot is completely void of trams and is now housing only the overhead wiring maintenance unit. The plans to adapt it into the public transportation museum have never materialised.

Trolley Lines:[7]

The first trolleybus line was introduced in 1947 to replace trams on the central corridor Kalemegdan-Slavija. The network extent is unchanged since late 1980s, though with minor relocation of the central terminus from Kalemegdan to Studentski trg in late 1990s. Belgrade has 7 current trolleybuses, 1 discontinued trolleybus and 1 discontinued temporarily established trolleybus (19, 21, 22, 22L, 28, 29, 29L, 40 and 41).

Trolley network and termini:

There are 4 revenue service terminal loops in the system: Studentski trg, Konjarnik, Banjica 2, Medaković 3. The peripheral termini Učiteljsko naselje, Kruševačka and Zvezdara have no purpose-built loops: the trolleybuses are circling around the city block instead. Additionally, there are 3 auxiliary loops in the system: Slavija, Crveni krst and Banjica 1. The auxiliary loops are actively used for cutting short during the schedule disruptions (the line number carries the suffix "L" on the departures to be cut short). Crveni krst and Banjica 1 can be used only in the direction towards the peripheral termini, Slavija can be used in both directions.

Minibuses

In April 2007, six minibus lines were introduced (E1-E7, except E3) which criss-cross Belgrade. Minibuses are all air-conditioned, smaller and generally quicker than buses. However, tickets are bought inside a minibus and they are more expensive than ordinary ones – minibuses are out of integrated tariff system. Minibus City Lines:[8][9]


Night Lines:[7]

Rapid transit

Voz underground station Vukov spomenik

Belgrade is one of the last biggest European capitals and cities-millionaires, that has no metro/subway or other rapid transit system.

Metro

Main article: Belgrade Metro

Construction of metro was expected two times but still delayed. The Belgrade Metro is considered to be the third most important project in the country, after work on roads and railways. The two projects of highest priority are the Belgrade bypass and Pan-European corridor X.

Cityrail

Main article: BG TRAIN

On September 1, 2010, as "almost" metro and its 1st phase, the first line of Belgrade's new urban BG:Voz system, separate from suburban commuter Beovoz system, started its operation.[10][11] First line, for the time being, connected Pančevački most station with Novi Beograd station and used the semi-underground level of Beograd Centar rail station, two underground stations (Vukov Spomenik and Karađorđev park) and tunnels in the city's centre that were built for ground rail tracks to Novi Beograd. The line had just 5 stations (Pančevački most, Vukov spomenik, Karađorđev park, Beograd Centar and Novi Beograd, which shares with Beovoz), 8 kilometer length and about 16 minutes time of travel. Train frequency was from 30 minutes with 15 minutes frequency during rush hour. The line uses the similar to suburban Soviet/Latvian electric rolling stocks with upper current collectors including ER31 with 3 doors along the side of vagon. From April 2011. line has been extended to Batajnica. New line have about 18500 passengers every day. A new line from Prokop to Resnik is planned for 2012.[12][13]

Suburban

Lasta buses on suburban lines departing from Lasta Bus Station.

Buses

Suburban bus transportation is conducted by SP Lasta.[5] Beside Lasta, certain number of suburban lines are operated by other carriers, too. Suburban transport on the territory of Belgrade is performed within the integrated tariff system 2 (ITS2), with over 300 lines and 2,500 daily departures. The network of suburban lines spreads radially from Belgrade to the centers of the suburban municipalities, from which Lasta's local lines can be used to reach smaller places. Suburban buses depart from the Lasta Bus Station in Belgrade and from the terminus of Šumice near Konjarnik in the neighbourhood of Zvezdara and another in Banovo Brdo. Lasta transports passengers in the local transport in the areas of the Mladenovac, Sopot, Lazarevac, Obrenovac, Grocka, and Barajevo municipalities. Bus Lines:[14]

Railway

Beovoz EMU

Similar to German S-Bahn, France RER etc. suburban rail system Beovoz is operated by Serbian Railways, the national railway company.[15] Currently, Beovoz has six lines with 41 stations and 70 km length:

Two underground stations near the downtown (Vukov spomenik and Karađorđev park) used by lines 1,2 and shares by BG:Voz cityrail.

Taxi

Taxi service is operated by 24 taxi companies, and it's not very expensive (start is about 1.5 euros (150 Dinars). Every Belgrade taxi company has to have 2 signs: a company unique sign and a smaller blue sign with 4 white numbers – a unique number of each vehicle of Belgrade taxi.

Bus

Belgrade is connected by intercity bus lines with all major towns in Serbia, while during summer and winter tourist seasons there are also special seasonal lines. There is a good connection with the cities in Republika Srpska and Macedonia. The international bus lines to Western Europe are mainly focused on Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, where buses can be taken for all other destinations.

SP Lasta, besides suburban transport, carries passengers in intercity transport on regular lines in Serbia and Montenegro and Republika Srpska and in international transport, as part of the Eurolines organization.

Train

Public transportation in Belgrade. Parts of the bypass, railway junction and bridges across Save and Danube are under construction or part of the general urban planning. The proposed Metro lines are based on the final Metro plan from 1982 from the Belgrade Metro planning group.

The Belgrade railroad network is currently under reconstruction . The massive reconstruction scheme of the Belgrade railway junction calls for completion of the new central Prokop railway station that is to replace the historical Belgrade Central Railway Station (Главна Железничка Станица, Glavna železnička stanica) situated near the downtown and Sava river. Belgrade is directly connected by train with many European cities (Salonica, Istanbul, Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Kiev, Moscow).

In addition, there are 5 more railway stations in Belgrade (Centar – Prokop, Dunav, Rakovica, Novi Beograd, Zemun). Some long distance and international trains do not call at Central Station, but at Novi Beograd.

A new central railway station has been under construction since 1977 at the site named Prokop. The new railway station will be called "Beograd Center"; upon its completion all Belgrade rail traffic currently handled by the old railway station situated near the downtown district will be transferred to the new station freeing thousands of square meters of prime real estate along the Sava and substantially easing the rail travel into Belgrade. After years of delay, this ambitious project is set to be completed in the next few years pending the new international tender for its completion set to be announced by the government at the beginning of March 2006. The train terminals will be situated underground while the vast passenger terminal will be above ground featuring commercial spaces, possibly a hotel and other amenities. Most of the rough work on the station's train terminals has been completed thus far. Belgrade has been restricted in its use of its vast waterfront precisely because of the large rail infrastructure that hug the river banks of the Old Town. Completion of this station is signaling a major boom in Belgrade's waterfront development.

Air

The international airport, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport,[16] is located 12 km outside the city. It is connected with the city by the Belgrade – Zagreb highway. Bus line of public transport number 72 and A1 connect Airport with downtown. Airport provides connections with many cities in Europe, Asia and Africa. A major expansion of the airport in Belgrade has been detailed with a development deal signed with DynaCorp. Inc. to build a regional air cargo hub, but the plan has failed. Belgrade airport also plans to build a third passenger terminal and another runway; however this may not be feasible in the immediate future.

Batajnica Air Base is a military airport located in the Batajnica suburb of Belgrade.

River

Sava port

Belgrade has a commercial port on the banks of Danube named Luka Beograd.[17] There is also a tourist port on the banks of the Sava welcoming various river cruise vessels from across Europe. Belgrade has several impromptu sporting marinas near the islands of Ada Ciganlija and Ada Međica harbouring small sail boats and sporting/recreational vessels. There are no regular passenger lines from the Belgrade Port (Luka Beograd), although tourist and individual lines run occasionally. Answering to the need for a real sporting/recreational marina a detailed plan for a marina in Dorćol on the banks of the Danube has been presented to the public, and an international tender for its development has been announced.

Bridges

A view over the Sava river. From bottom to top: Ada Bridge, New Railroad Bridge, Old Railroad Bridge, Gazela Bridge, Old Sava Bridge

There are nine bridges over the Sava and two over the Danube river, listed below:

Sava

Danube

Roads

Mostar interchange

Belgrade is connected by motorways to Zagreb to the west, Novi Sad to the north and Niš to the south. The motorways feed traffic into a large interchange popularly called Mostar. A wide boulevard, Ulica Kneza Miloša (Prince Miloš Street) connects the interchange to the city centre.

A traffic decongestion project named unutrašnji magistralni prsten ("inner ring road") is set to begin with the goal of easing the congestion in the city centre and on the motorways.

References

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