Following repairs after the third theft of cables and equipment in May on the Novi Sad–Subotica high-speed railway line, the Soko train can once again reach its designed speed of up to 200 kilometres per hour.
The Serbian Railways Infrastructure Company announced on Wednesday that railway traffic on the Novi Sad–Subotica high-speed line has resumed operating at the planned speed of up to 200 km/h. “The specialist services have completed the repair and replacement of optical cables that were damaged and stolen six days ago in the area of the railway junction in Vrbas,” the statement said.
At that time, three optical cables were damaged and stolen, causing disruptions to the signalling and safety systems on the section between Novi Sad and Subotica, as well as delays to Soko trains on the high-speed line.
Serbian Railways Infrastructure once again appealed and warned that the theft and destruction of parts and equipment on railway infrastructure – particularly on a high-speed railway where trains travel at 200 km/h – endanger railway safety, human lives and property, and that the consequences could be catastrophic.
Frequent thefts
The aforementioned cable theft in Vrbas took place during the night between 6 and 7 May when, according to a statement previously issued by Serbian Railways Infrastructure, the cable ducts containing the cables were broken open and all three optical cables were cut and stolen. One cable was stolen over a length of 100 metres.
Already during the night between 8 and 9 May, a similar incident occurred in Sajlovo, near the newly built gallery, when three cables with a total length of around 150 metres were stolen, once again causing disruptions to railway traffic on the Novi Sad–Subotica high-speed line. This marked the third time in May alone that cables had been damaged and stolen on this section.
At the very beginning of the month, around 40 metres of copper conductors were also stolen at Subotica railway station, causing the Soko train to be delayed by seven to ten minutes that day, while other trains were delayed by three to five minutes. The conductors were stolen near the entrance to Subotica railway station from the direction of Naumovićevo.
All of the aforementioned thefts affect the electrical signalling systems, which activates the ETCS Level 2 automatic safety protection system. This system immediately reduces the permitted speed of trains in order to prevent more serious accidents.
(Vreme, 14.05.2026)