The Budapest and Belgrade railway, which is being funded by China's Belt and Road Initiative, has reached a new milestone.
It is currently set to be completed in 2025.
#ChinaEurope2024
It is currently set to be completed in 2025.
#ChinaEurope2024
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NewsTranscript
00:00When Laszlo moved to Hungary from neighboring Serbia in 1997, the journey
00:06back home by car or train will take all day. The trip itself is about six to
00:12seven hours. The waiting at the border plus the change of train, it's a whole
00:16day trip. But when the new train line is completed, his journey will be cut by
00:21half, something Laszlo sees as a positive move. I didn't like the fact that
00:28the International Train Service is gone. When the announcement was made that they
00:32were going to renovate this Belgrade-Budapest line, I was concerned.
00:36However, seeing how it's going in Serbia, I think it's a good modern experiment.
00:42Track laying works on the Hungarian side of the Budapest-Belgrade railway have
00:47resumed. It's part of the construction of one of Europe's major projects being
00:52built by China's Belden Road Initiative. The idea is to upgrade the 350
00:58kilometer route between the two capitals, connecting them to another BRI
01:02project, the port of Bireas, putting into practice the revival of ancient
01:08trading routes. This is the first high-speed train in the region. This
01:16goes exactly on the traditional east-west trade routes, so that will
01:25have a very important impact on the region. This railway project will boost
01:31the country's economy and it will become a logistics hub for cargo coming in from
01:37China. It is also likely that the number of travelers will increase three times.
01:43But there has been criticism over its completion, with the government saying
01:49that it will be done soon and that they're already looking into further
01:54cooperation with China. We are going to finish the project in just one
02:03year time and we are looking for other opportunities and other connection
02:11points as well, other infrastructure development projects as well, railways,
02:16highways, logistic centers. The Chinese know-how is very much on a very
02:24high level in these fields. The Hungarian government hopes that once this project
02:29takes off, other projects will follow on the same tracks.
02:33Evangelos Cipsas for CGTN, Budapest.