Serbia’s state passenger rail operator Srbijavoz has contracted Siemens Mobility Austria for six Vectron multisystem electric locomotives as part of a broader renewal of the country’s passenger-rail fleet. The locomotives are due to arrive in June and July 2027, around the period of EXPO 2027 Belgrade. Their principal role will be passenger services on Serbia’s electrified network and international routes, where differing power, signalling and operating systems have historically complicated cross-border rail operations.
- Eight-year maintenance package accompanies locomotive procurement
- Locomotives designed for multiple European markets
- Different rolling stock for domestic and international operations
- Serbian freight operator already uses Vectron technology
- Thirty-year service requirement places emphasis on interoperability
- International services depend on infrastructure and cross-border arrangements
Srbijavoz acting director said the operator plans to use the new locomotives on services towards Budapest, while Vienna and other European destinations could follow as international timetables and infrastructure allow. The procurement was initially valued at RSD4.69 billion, or approximately €40 million. The tender also covers maintenance and associated support, meaning the headline value should not be treated as the purchase price of the six locomotives alone.
Eight-year maintenance package accompanies locomotive procurement
The tender requires maintenance for at least eight years or 1.2 million kilometres, as well as staff training. The locomotives have a required minimum operating life of 30 years.
The investment addresses an ageing part of Srbijavoz’s fleet. The operator has said that some locomotives currently used for passenger services are more than 40 years old, with increasing maintenance requirements affecting reliability and service quality. The new fleet is intended to provide modern traction with lower maintenance requirements, improved diagnostics and energy management, while reducing the likelihood of service disruption caused by locomotive unavailability.
For international operations, reliability has an additional operational importance because a locomotive failure can affect services across several railway networks rather than only a domestic timetable. The Siemens Vectron platform is already widely deployed across Europe. Multisystem versions can provide power of up to 6.4 MW and speeds of up to 200 km/h, with configurations supporting national signalling systems and the European Train Control System (ETCS). For Srbijavoz, the multisystem capability is particularly relevant because international services can encounter different electrical systems, train-protection requirements and operating rules across national borders.
Locomotives designed for multiple European markets
The original procurement envisaged operation in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Greece.
Technical requirements included authorisation for operation in at least Germany, Austria and Hungary, providing coverage for important international routes from Serbia towards Central Europe. The order is closely connected with developments on the Belgrade–Budapest railway. Serbia has completed and placed into operation its modernised section as far as Subotica, while direct high-speed passenger services between Belgrade and Budapest have remained dependent on testing and operational procedures on the Hungarian side.
As of August 2026, Serbian and Hungarian authorities were targeting the next phase of testing after 24 August, with passenger services expected after the remaining technical requirements are completed. The proposed 2026/27 timetable goes beyond a single Budapest connection. It includes multiple daily services between Belgrade and Budapest, with some planned international trains continuing towards Vienna. The Vectron fleet provides a form of rolling stock suited to these services that differs from the electric multiple units increasingly used on Serbia’s domestic high-speed network.
Different rolling stock for domestic and international operations
Srbijavoz’s existing high-speed electric multiple units are suited to fixed domestic routes, while locomotive-hauled trains can provide greater flexibility in the composition and length of international services. Such formations can accommodate different passenger coaches, sleeping cars and international rolling stock according to route requirements, passenger demand and bilateral operating arrangements.
This makes locomotive-hauled equipment particularly relevant for longer-distance services towards Hungary, Austria, Montenegro and other European destinations. The Siemens purchase is part of a wider passenger-rail investment programme. Srbijavoz and the Serbian government have contracted nine CRRC electric multiple units for the new Belgrade urban and suburban railway serving the EXPO and National Stadium corridor. The contract is worth €73.98 million, with four units scheduled for delivery during 2026 and the remaining five by February 2027.
In March 2026, Spanish manufacturer CAF won a contract for 30 Civity electric multiple units for the BG Voz suburban network. The contract is worth more than €300 million. The three-car trains will have capacity for 546 passengers, including 204 seats, and a maximum operating speed of 120 km/h. Financing includes sovereign-backed credit arrangements and export-credit support linked to Spain. Together, the Siemens locomotives, CRRC trains and CAF units represent headline rolling-stock commitments of more than €400 million, although the individual contracts have different maintenance arrangements, financing structures and delivery schedules.
Serbian freight operator already uses Vectron technology
The passenger order builds on an existing Siemens Vectron presence in Serbia. State freight operator Srbija Kargo began acquiring Siemens Vectron multisystem locomotives in 2018. Its initial contract covered eight units for almost €32 million, financed through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The procurement was later expanded to 16 locomotives.
The freight fleet provided modern cross-border traction for routes connecting Serbia with Central European markets. Siemens also has manufacturing activities near Kragujevac. The six locomotives ordered by Srbijavoz, however, will be manufactured at Siemens Mobility’s Munich-Allach plant in Germany, the company’s main Vectron production centre, with bogie and component manufacturing integrated into its wider European production network. The Vectron platform’s established presence among European freight and passenger operators also gives Srbijavoz access to an existing ecosystem of spare parts, maintenance procedures, training capabilities and aftermarket support.
Thirty-year service requirement places emphasis on interoperability
The 30-year minimum operating-life requirement means locomotives delivered in 2027 could remain in commercial service into the 2050s. That makes compatibility with signalling and future international operating requirements important beyond the initial routes planned for the fleet. ETCS compatibility is particularly relevant as European railways progressively adopt common signalling standards to reduce technical barriers between national networks. Serbia’s international railway corridors are also being modernised with this architecture.
The availability of compatible rolling stock is consequently an important component of the wider infrastructure investment already taking place. Serbia has invested heavily in railway reconstruction, including the Belgrade–Novi Sad–Subotica corridor. Further investment is under way on routes connecting Belgrade with Niš and on the planned railway towards Nikola Tesla Airport and the National Stadium. The rolling-stock programme adds new trains and locomotives to that infrastructure expansion, covering high-speed domestic, suburban and international passenger operations.
International services depend on infrastructure and cross-border arrangements
The commercial utilisation of the new locomotives will depend on the frequency and reliability of international services. Cross-border passenger operations require more than compatible traction. They also depend on bilateral timetables, border and customs procedures, track-access arrangements, train paths, suitable passenger coaches and commercial agreements with foreign operators. The Belgrade–Budapest corridor is therefore expected to provide an early test of the new international passenger-rail capacity.
Planned services for the 2026/27 timetable envisage substantially greater frequency than Serbia has offered on international routes in recent years, including trains continuing towards Vienna. The six Siemens locomotives are scheduled to enter service during 2027, providing Srbijavoz with modern multisystem traction for these routes while replacing part of a passenger locomotive fleet that includes equipment more than four decades old.
EXPO 2027, which runs from 15 May to 15 August 2027, provides a timing reference for the deliveries, although the locomotives are primarily linked to the longer-term international passenger network. The dedicated CRRC trains for the airport and National Stadium corridor have a more direct connection with EXPO-related transport requirements. The Siemens order instead adds international traction capacity to a passenger fleet that is being expanded across several segments, alongside the €73.98 million CRRC contract and the more than €300 million CAF procurement.
At approximately €40 million including long-term maintenance and support, the six-locomotive contract is smaller than Serbia’s wider railway infrastructure programme and the CAF suburban-train purchase. Its immediate purpose is to provide Srbijavoz with multisystem traction for cross-border passenger services as modernised railway infrastructure becomes available. The arrival of the locomotives in June and July 2027 will extend Siemens Vectron technology from Serbia’s freight railway into passenger operations, following Srbija Kargo’s fleet of 16 Vectrons and giving Srbijavoz equipment designed for services linking Belgrade with Budapest, Vienna and other European destinations.
