STATE-owned public transport operator Belgrade Metro and Train (BMV) has signed a turnkey contract worth €915m with Alstom for delivery of the initial phase of Belgrade’s first driverless metro line.
The first section of fully automated Line 1 will run for 15km between Makiško Polje in the south of the city and Karaburma in the northeast, serving 15 stations, with 11km of the new line running underground.
Under the contract, Alstom will supply 32 driverless three-car Metropolis metro trains, signalling and telecommunications systems, traction power supply equipment, track, platform screen doors, depot equipment, a centralised operations control centre (OCC), and comprehensive cybersecurity systems.
The line will be equipped with Alstom Urbalis CBTC, enabling fully automated, high-capacity operations, with headways of up to 90 seconds. The Metropolis trains will be manufactured at Alstom’s Valenciennes site in France.
The project is being partially funded by the French government and Alstom has already started the design phase.
“Metro Line 1 will fundamentally change how nearly two million residents navigate their city, providing a reliable and safe alternative to road transport,” says Andrew DeLeone, president of Alstom Europe.
“This project is not just about mobility, it is about delivering the modern infrastructure necessary for Belgrade to sustain its growth and meet its long-term economic and climate objectives”.
Three lines planned
Alstom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Serbian government for the construction of the initial phase of Line 1 in January 2021. A total of 65km of new construction is planned, including the 7km second phase of Line 1 from Karaburma to Mirijevo, and the 20km Line 2 from Mirijevo to Zemun railway station via New Belgrade. The construction cost of the lines 1 and 2 is estimated at €7bn.
Last February, BMV awarded a consortium led by China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC) a contract to develop and prepare technical documentation for Line 3, which would run for 23km serving 22 stations.
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