Alstom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Serbia for the construction of phase 1 of the first line of the future Belgrade metro.

In this project, Alstom will be responsible for a wide scope of works, including the metro trains themselves, digital train control systems, platform screen doors, the infrastructure (the track laying and the power supply solutions) and the integration of the transport system. The construction of the new metro network is expected to start at the end of this year, pending signing of the contract with the relevant Serbian authorities.

Antonio Moreno, Central and Eastern Europe managing director at Alstom, said: “We are immensely proud that Alstom’s solutions will be part of the construction of the Belgrade metro, which is a very important infrastructure project in the Balkan region.

“This project will greatly improve the transport offering available to Belgrade’s residents and will showcase Alstom’s leadership in metro solutions.”

The first two lines will cover a total of around 42km — the first 22km, the second nearly 20km.

The first line will run along the Sava river, crossing the Belgrade city centre, linking the Makisko Polje area in south part of the city, to the Mirijevo urban neighbourhood in the north-east.

The second line will connect Zemun railway station crossing the New Belgrade urban municipality, with an interchange with the first line in Mirijevo.

Alstom’s references include metro systems for Dubai, Riyadh, Hanoi, Montreal, Taipei, Panama and Singapore. Alstom has sold over 17,000 Metropolis metro carriages, operating in 55 cities around the world and carrying 30 million passengers every day.