BUDAPEST, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Testing of the European Train Control System (ETCS) on the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway has been completed, marking an important step toward launching passenger services, a senior official said Thursday.
Construction of the Hungarian section is nearing technical completion, Hungarian Minister of Transport and Investment David Vitezy said in a Facebook post. The ETCS testing followed a full-load test conducted over the weekend.
The proper functioning of the ETCS is a prerequisite for launching passenger services, he said. Based on the test results, the necessary official documentation is expected by mid-October.
Meanwhile, contractors still need to complete track adjustment work to ensure that the railway can maintain operating speeds of up to 160 km per hour over the long term.
According to the construction schedule, track adjustments on the section between Hungary's Ferencvaros and Kunszentmiklos-Tass stations are expected to be completed by the end of October, paving the way for the launch of domestic passenger services and subsequent operations.
Vitezy said that if domestic passenger services run smoothly during the first few weeks, the next phase is planned for December, when trains would operate at speeds of up to 160 km per hour and international passenger services between Budapest and Belgrade would begin.
Although extensive testing, corrective work and verification have been completed, there is further work to do, he said.
The 350-km long Budapest-Belgrade railway, linking the Hungarian and Serbian capitals, is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly developed by China and countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It is also the first project to align Chinese railway technology and equipment with the European Union's railway interoperability standards.
The Hungarian section, spanning about 158.6 km, is an electrified railway designed for both passenger and freight transport, with a maximum design speed of 160 km per hour. Freight services on the section officially began on Feb. 27 this year. ■