The Belgrade Metro (/Beogradski metro) is a planned rapid transit system in Belgrade, Serbia currently under construction. The construction of the full metro system has been delayed repeatedly, mostly due to lack of funding.
Belgrade's metropolitan area has a population of around 1.7 million people, making it the largest city by population without a rapid transit system in Europe. Traffic congestion is common and dated infrastructure has put additional strain on the city. At the same time, the suburban railway system BG Voz, which runs underground through the city centre, is only considered to have a role of an S-Train. The construction of a metro is meant to alleviate these problems in the near future.
As a result of the decades of misfortune concerning the construction of the metro system, using play-on-words, Belgrade has been jokingly called "half of a subway" (in Serbian: "metropolis" – metropola; "subway" – metro; "half" – pola), or the project has been humorously referred to as "Waiting for Metro" (), which in Serbian rhymes with the title of Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot (Serbian Latin: Čekajući Godoa), in which the titular character actually never arrives.
History 1920s
A subway was mentioned for the first time in 1923. It was envisioned by the first urban plan of Belgrade adopted after an international design competition.
1930s
In 1938 the first three routes were proposed: Bulevar kralja Aleksandra-Zemun, Kalemegdan-Autokomanda and Topčider-Viline Vode (Railway station "Dunav"). The Kalemegdan line was planned to be a touristic line, which would be connected with the regular above-ground tracks and continue to Avala, a mountain outside the city. The plans were abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II.
1950s
After the war ended, the city's authorities concentrated on reconstructing the demolished urban infrastructure, pushing the introduction of trolleybuses. City planners have contemplated the possibility of introducing a metro to Belgrade's transit system since the early 1950s, but there were no real projects in that direction. Several ideas have been discussed since the 1950s "General Urban Plan" discussions as to how to build the metro. The first proper plan came in 1958, when architect Nikola Dobrović suggested a line that runs along Kalemegdan, Terazije, Slavija, and Čubura.
1960s
The first specialised traffic surveys for the purpose of the future subway were conducted in 1965, only three years after the first such surveys were conducted in Chicago. In 1968, a comprehensive plan came about, led by Savo Janjić. The plan envisioned three lines, totaling a length of , with 35 stations.Јanjić, p. 98–104 and grid plan. The neighbourhoods, projected for the inclusion in the metro grid were: Zemun, New Belgrade, Zvezdara, downtown, Dorćol, Čubura, Banjica, Čukarica, Palilula, Višnjica with the later addition of Braće Jerković and Dunavski Venac.
According to the city's general urban plan (GUP) in the 1960s, Cvetni trg was envisioned as the location of the future central underground subway station of Belgrade, which would also replace the Belgrade Main railway station. Tunnels would conduct traffic in the north to south direction. However, the railroad authorities opposed the project, so the plans were abandoned.
1970s
Proper work on creating the metro project began with the tenure of mayor Branko Pešić. In 1972, the decision was made to build the new Belgrade railway junction, which would include tunnels under Vračar and Dedinje. Upon completion of the railway junction, construction of a subway system was planned.
For that purpose, the Subway section within the city administration was formed in the early 1970s, headed by Branislav Jovin, Belgrade's chief urban planner at the time. Jovin, and members of his team, visited Munich, Germany, prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics. Munich was chosen specifically as a city with one of the best traffic schematics in Europe, while its subway, Munich U-Bahn, which was finished in 1971, was constructed using the fastest and most modern techniques of the day.
The Section produced the most comprehensive of all metro plans in 1976. The planners envisioned five different metro lines and four additional regional lines. Over 150 experts worked in the section. Geotechnical and geodetic surveys were conducted before the plans were drafted. First lines were supposed to be Zemun-Vukov Spomenik (via New Belgrade and Terazije; with later extension to Mali Mokri Lug) and Kalemegdan-Autokomanda, and it was planned that they would be finished in eight or nine years. The projected price of the first of metro was €1 billion (in 2009 rates). The other three planned lines were Dorćol-Braće Jerković, Bežanija-Jajinci and Dorćol-Kneževac. From those outer stations, Belgrade would be directly connected via trains with the towns of Zrenjanin, Ruma, Požarevac and Pančevo.
The plan envisioned that Zemun and Terazijska Terasa would be connected by the 1980s, and for that purpose an additional, metro bridge over the Sava was to be built, which would extend from Nemanjina Street. The entire grid was to have of tracks and 84 stations while the final deadline for the completion of all lines and other planned objects above the ground was 2021.
1980s
In December 1981, the plan Metro Belgrade was finished and was presented to the city council in 1982. One of the ideas was that the Soviet Union could build the metro, and in doing so free itself of debt owed to Yugoslavia. This was however opposed by the republics Slovenia and Croatia. Due to their objections, this plan was not carried out.
The city organized a compulsory, self-imposed tax (samodoprinos) charged on the salaries of all employed Belgraders. Set specifically for the construction of the subway, the fund grew to $200 million. In comparison, Vienna, Austria, built its first metro line in 1967 for $100 million. Suddenly, the idea was declared "too expensive" and the chief city executive Radoje Stefanović suspended the original subway construction plan from 1976 in favor of the expansion of the existing Belgrade tram system network in 1982 ("With trams into the 21st century" project). According to architect Dragoljub Bakić, Stefanović summoned the engineers who had worked on the project for 12 years, told them to dig a hole and bury all the metro projects in it.
This brought the first chapter of the idea to build a subway system in Belgrade to an ignominious end. The same project was later re-launched a number of times, but it was used for short-term political gains. In 1986, new chief city executive Živana Olbina restored the subway section.
1990s
The economic crisis facing Yugoslavia in the late 1980s became worse in the 1990s. War in the neighbouring republics and economic sanctions only helped to make things worse. Mayor Milorad Unković rejected the project in 1991 and accepted the concept of the light rail transit (LRT). Yet, discussion of a metro system returned, after the completion of the Belgrade railway junction, in 1995. According to officials' talks on the bridge across the Sava for the metro was planned in 1998.
At first, two underground stations, Vukov Spomenik and Karađorđev Park were opened in 1995 and integrated into the suburban rail system of Beovoz. These are located in tunnels which were constructed for the abandoned metro project and they resemble conventional column metro stations.
Mayor Zoran Đinđić in 1997 revitalized the idea of the full subway, but as he was soon ousted from the office, the new chief city executive Spasoje Krunić later that year suspended the subway section again.
2000s
On 3 July 2004, the BELAM project was presented to the public. A feasibility study from 2004 estimated that the construction of the full subway would be unprofitable as the city is not growing as much as it did in the 1970s, thus the number of commuters is not growing that much either. The project of LTR, partially above and partially under the ground was favored. Price is also taken in account as the study claimed that the LTR line Zemun (Tvornička street)-Konjarnik (Ustanička street) line would cost half the amount, or some €500 million. The project of LTR was pushed by mayor Nenad Bogdanović. After hiring two companies to do a study; Juginus, a local company from Belgrade, and the Spanish Ineco, a conclusion was reached that a light rail system should be built. Construction was included in the city's new general plan of 2003 and construction was intended to start in 2006. The opening of the first section was due for 2012 with all two lines to be completed by 2021. Ineco projected that the train will go above the ground through the longest street in central Belgrade, Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra, but by 2009 that idea was dropped.
This decision was severely criticized by a large number of urban planners, led by Branislav Jovin, while architects close to city authorities were advocating the construction, resulting in a substantial polarization between the opponents and proponents of the light metro plan. Announcements were made that the construction would start next spring. Yet, this never came, and the plan for the construction of the light railway system inconspicuously faded out.
As time went on beyond 2004, the plan was altered. The light metro was to have three lines. Construction was supposedly set to begin in 2008, with the first line opening in 2013 at a cost of €450 million.
Later, mayor Dragan Đilas returned to the idea of the full metro, contrary to the light version. In late 2008, he announced that a metro along the lines of the 1976 plan would be more likely than a light metro. At the session of the National Council for Infrastructure, the Belgrade Metro is, according to the Minister of Infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjić, the third most important project in Serbia, after road and railway networks. Though the Metro became a national issue, there were still no definite plans.
In 2009, a Russian delegation visited Belgrade and a loan of €500 million for the subway was arranged. However, it failed as Belgrade had no finished project. It was announced that it will take at least two years to finish the project and whether it will be the full or the light metro was still not decided.
2010s 2010–2013
In 2010, it was stated that the construction of the metro would begin in two years. The first line would be an east–west line, going above ground in Novi Beograd and underground in the centre and neighbouring districts. The second line was planned from north to south, going underground in the centre through the already-constructed tunnels. The two lines would cross in the city centre near the incomplete main railway station Beograd Centar (Prokop).
Funding has not been allocated for the project yet, but it is expected that French or Russian funding sources will be used.
In November 2011, it was stated that the metro would be built with close cooperation/assistance from French companies. The Egis Group would produce an overall metro concept for the city, while the company Alstom envisaged being responsible for tracklaying, electrification, signalling equipment and rolling stock. Again, it was also announced that construction would start in two years.
Some sources say that the system will initially have , and 55 stations, while others say it will have and 25 stations. The average speed should be . The construction work should take 10 years, as was previously estimated, with each kilometer (0.6 miles) costing some €60 million.
In December 2011, the French government talked about allocating €1 billion worth of credit for financing the construction of the metro.
In 2011, it was said that the first metro line was expected to open in 2017 and run from Ustanička street in Central Belgrade to Tvornička street in Zemun.
2014–2019