Serbia to receive 22 mil EUR from EBRD for improvement of railway infrastructure – internet ticketing
EBRD continues to support modernization of Serbian railways with a credit of 22 mil EUR. Funds will be used for the improvement of infrastructure, as well as new ticketing system and improvement of energy efficiency, says EBRD.
Seventeen mil EUR will be invested in the expansion and improvement of railway depot in Zemun, in accordance to the contract signed in Belgrade by Minister of Finance Siniša Mali and acting DG of Srbija Voz Jugoslav Jović with the Director of Transport Team EBRD Sue Barrett.
Thanks to this investment, Zemun depot will become main location for maintenance of trains of Srbija Voz, including the maintenance of new high-tech train. Electric locomotives that Srbija Voz purchased in 2015 thanks to the EBRD credit were manufactured by Swiss company Stadler. First credit for the development of Zemun depot was signed in December last year.
Second part of the credit amounting to 5 mil EUR will finance procurement and installation of new IT systems that will improve resource management processes, ticketing and energy management. Existing systems are mainly based on manual and paper-based data processing. New technologies will enable more efficient and precise recording of information, which will contribute to productivity and cost reduction, as well as improving the energy efficiency of Serbia Voz company.
One of the most visible changes for the passengers will be new ticket sales system through ticket machines and internet and cellphone sales. This modernization will enable Srbija Voz to improve ticket sales and collect information on the number of passengers, improving the level of service and enable company to create attractive offers for the passengers.
In addition, installment of new energy management systems will help Srbija Voz to reduce energy consumption. New systems will follow energy consumption of company systems and trains and will register unplanned or excessive use of energy, which will give company a possibility of reacting to reduce energy consumption where possible.
In Serbia, EBRD is a leading investor with over 4.6 billion EUR invested in 222 projects. Help in the EU accession process is one of the bank’s priorities. By investing in Srbija Voz, EBRD supports reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as strengthening of regional integration.