China's Belt and Road Railway Arrives Inside the EU as Budapest–Belgrade Line Prepares to Open

The Chinese-financed high-speed railway linking Budapest and Belgrade is entering its final weeks of commissioning, with freight services due to begin on February 27 and passenger trains expected to follow by mid-March. The opening will mark the completion of Beijing's flagship Belt and Road infrastructure project inside the European Union — and the most visible test yet of Europe's willingness to depend on Chinese-built transport corridors.

The 350-kilometre line, largely financed by China's Export-Import Bank at a cost exceeding $3.6 billion, will cut journey times between the two capitals from over seven hours to around three hours and fifteen minutes. Hungary's construction and transport minister János Lázár confirmed that the Hungarian section's signalling and control systems are now undergoing final dark-operation tests — full simulations without commercial traffic — coordinated from a new control centre in Kiskunhalas.

Serbia's section has been operational since October 2025 following its own protracted delays, including political fallout from the Novi Sad station canopy collapse. On the Hungarian side, infrastructure is complete across the 166-kilometre corridor, upgraded to double track with speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour. Freight capacity is already fully contracted, according to Lázár, underscoring the line's strategic importance as a rail artery connecting China's COSCO-owned port of Piraeus in Greece to central European markets.

The project has drawn persistent criticism over transparency and cost. Hungary classified its economic viability analysis for ten years. Independent estimates of the payback period range from 130 to over 2,400 years based on projected traffic volumes.

The line's opening comes as Europe's rail sector grapples with broader questions about Chinese involvement in critical transport infrastructure. Austrian operator Westbahn's deployment of CRRC-built trains on the Vienna–Salzburg corridor in November prompted industry backlash, while Hungary has separately raised a potential order for up to 100 Chinese-built electric multiple units. Brussels, meanwhile, has introduced new public procurement rules partly in response to CRRC's growing European presence.

For the EU's rail supply industry — an ecosystem that contributes €247 billion to the bloc's GDP and supports over three million jobs — the Budapest–Belgrade line represents something more uncomfortable than a single railway. It is proof of concept.