Serbia has begun construction of a €153.6m ($166.2m) railway bypass around the city of Niš as part of its modernisation and reconstruction project on the Niš – Dimitrovgrad railway.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić marked the beginning of construction on the 22km bypass during a visit to the preparatory works site with EU and government representatives.

The project consists of building a single track, electrified bypass line from Niš – Ranžirna station to Sićevo station, and the electrification of the Crveni Krst section of the line that connects to the bypass.

Construction of the bypass will be carried out by a consortium including Extra Auto Transport and China Road and Bridge Corporation with a deadline of 7 May 2027.

Once complete, the new line will allow trains to quickly get around central Niš, at speeds of up to 120km/h, and improve travel times to and from the city, the third largest in Serbia.

The wider Niš – Dimitrovgrad project is part of Serbia’s contribution to Corridor X, rail project running between Austria and Greece seeking to improve connections in southern Europe as part of the Pan-European transport corridors scheme.

The project is partly backed by the European Union which has provided €35m of the funds for the bypass and will contribute another €80m for the remaining work on the modernisation project.

Work on the rail line, which ends at the border between Serbia and Bulgaria, comes shortly after the country announced another rail project along its borders with the development of a crossing to North Macedonia as part of the Corridor X project.