prijava
SARAJEVO, July 1 (FENA) - The seasonal high-speed train departed from Sarajevo Railway Station to Ploče after almost ten years. The Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fadil Novalić, said before the departure of the train that the ride on that section is one of the most interesting in Europe, but also in the world.
Novalić points out that it is quite clear that in developed countries the "backbone" of transport is railways, not road transport.
“And we take care of our railways, so that they can take on that role, and they have already taken on the role of freight transport. We are the regional leader in freight transportation when millions of tons are counted,” said the FBiH Prime Minister.
He emphasizes that the FBiH Government has serious and great plans and intentions when it comes to FBiH Railways and that since assuming his mandate he has been planning the restructuring of that company.
Today's ceremony, Novalić added, is dedicated to the increase of international passenger transport.
“We are now negotiating with the railways of the Republika Srpska and the Republic of Croatia to establish a talgo train to Zagreb as well,” Novalić concluded.
General Director of the Public Enterprise of the FBiH Railways, Enis Džafić, said that this is the first international talgo train on the Sarajevo-Ploče route and reminded that after 8.5 years, an agreement was finally reached with the Croatian Railway Passenger Transport to reopen an international line.
He announced that the Sarajevo-Zagreb line will also be established according to the new timetable. Until December, when the new timetable will come into force, work will be done on technical preparations, establishment of train capacity and personnel, which will be necessary for the re-establishment of that international line.
“Railways of the FBiH strives to fulfill its obligations towards the economy and passengers to make their transport as comfortable, economical and accessible as possible, and the proof of this is that in the last seven years we have recorded a constant growth in passenger traffic as well as an increase in the amount of transported cargo in freight traffic,” stated Džafić.
Director Džafić points out that the company was able to respond to challenges such as ensuring smooth traffic during the coronavirus pandemic when other modes of transport were interrupted, and the Ukrainian crisis showed that they are ready to quickly adapt to new requirements in the transport of goods.
“For the first time, transit goods from Bosnia and Herzegovina go to Serbia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia through the port of Ploče, which proves our stability,” he concluded.
Train Sarajevo - Ploče will run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The train departs from Sarajevo at 7:15 a.m. and arrives in Ploče at 10:36 a.m. The return of the train from Ploče is at 18:26, and the arrival in Sarajevo at 21:51. The price of a return ticket is 41.40 KM, and one-way ticket is 25 KM.
Passengers who want to travel by that train should buy a train ticket no later than the day before the planned trip by 2 p.m. and submit their first and last name, year of birth and passport number.
Tickets can be purchased at sales points in Sarajevo, Hadžići, Konjic, Mostar and Čapljina. This procedure is mandatory for the purpose of more efficient customs control and shortening the time when crossing the state border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Croatia in Čapljina.
The introduction of this line continued a 120-year-long story, which was interrupted in 2013.
The railway from Sarajevo to Ploče was started by Austria-Hungary, continued by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and completed by the SFRY. The railway was built in several stages and was one of the largest transport and infrastructure projects of the last century.
It is almost 200 kilometers long, with 27 railway stations, 71 bridges and 106 tunnels. The tunnels are about 37 kilometers long, and among them, with over three kilometers, the longest is the Ivan Tunnel, dug through the mountain of the same name.
(FENA) A. B.
