Train Belgrade – Bar. One of the most beautiful and dangerous railway routes in the world

One of the most scenic and incredible rail routes on the Balkan Peninsula. The train winds its way through the mountains from Serbia to Montenegro, offering its passengers breathtaking scenery.

I am not a particular fan of railway transportation. When I have to travel by rail across Ukraine, even at the stage of buying tickets through the Ukrzaliznytsia website, I start to “spit” at the thought that I will have to spend 8, 10, or even 24 hours doing nothing, in a stuffy carriage, watching my neighbors unpack another smoked chicken or eat boiled eggs. However, this route won my heart back when I first read about it in some LiveJournal community dedicated to traveling. And when I was in Serbia, I couldn’t refuse to drive along it.

I had originally planned my route through Bosnia, however it was after remembering this train that I abruptly changed it. In order to appreciate this beauty you only need a desire, a little money and a lot of patience! Why – I will tell you below. And to begin with – some trivial facts that you could read in Wikipedia yourself, but with my pictures 😀

The train service itself is a bit longer, ending at the port of Bar, which is in Montenegro. However, the train does not go there and we will not count it.

This route was conceived as a national project of Yugoslavia in 1952, and construction was completed in November 1975. On May 28, 1976, the first train ran along the Belgrade – Bar route. It was the famous “Blue Train”, the personal train of Marshal Josip Broz Tito. On it, the President of Yugoslavia traveled to the sea with his wife.

In 1977 the whole track was electrified. And in this form it lasted until 1990. Then came the painful procedure of the breakup of Yugoslavia and innumerable Balkan conflicts, some of which (Kosovo, for example) are still ongoing. All this affected this route as well. In the 90s, due to lack of funding, the road fell into a terrible state. In addition, it was repeatedly subjected to NATO bombings, explosions as a result of sabotage, etc. Thus, the route became very unsafe. In 2006, it was the scene of a terrible train accident near Bioche (Montenegro), where 47 people were killed when a train derailed. Because of this, measures are now being taken to increase security along the route.

But let’s not talk about the bad stuff. Let’s look out the window.

After reading about the train on the Internet, I learned that it runs twice a day. One during the day and one at night. And it never closes its windows. This was a huge plus for me, as I was going to take a series of stunning shots like many other travelers.

Almost all the reports I saw on the Internet were from people who took the night train. It is understandable, not everyone was ready to spend the whole day. And the night train allowed you to save money on a hotel.

I decided I was smarter than everyone else, so I took the day train. I decided I’d sacrifice a daylight saving for a story! So I took a seated car… There was a mistake. The second class car of the day train was air-conditioned, very comfortable and… With perfectly closed windows that don’t open! I will write more about my impressions of this trip in a separate report, but for now I will continue about the journey itself….

The train travels unbearably long and is regularly late. This is due to the poor condition of the roadbed, tunnels and bridges. And while it is quite interesting and even exciting to ride for a long time with such scenery, it is unpleasant to be late. My train was delayed for 2 hours and the landlady of the apartment where I lived in Montenegro said that I was the lucky one. It can be delayed for 5, 10 and even 15 hours!

The length of the route is 476 kilometers. Yes – yes, exactly these 476 kilometers the train crawls for at least 13 hours, or even all 28, if you are unlucky! But what hours it is! What landscapes behind the window! Earlier this way was overcome in 7 hours.

Most of the route runs through Serbia (292 kilometers), with another 175 through Montenegro. The figure is slightly different from what is written in Wikipedia and on many websites, but there is a nuance. This nuance was probably noticed by those who count quickly in their minds. Missing a small section of 9 kilometers! In fact, this stretch of road runs through the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through Štrpci and Jablanica stations (I passed it in 2013, when I was traveling from Sarajevo to Mostar by bus). However, it does not make stops there and there is no Bosnian border control. In this way we avoided mishaps like, for example, on the Chernivtsi – Ocnita route, where the train crosses Moldovan territory several times. I don’t know how things are now, but a few years ago passports were stamped diligently!

UPD Corrected – there is no train on the route Chernivtsi – Oknitsa at all. It’s a pity, it was a busy thing! But there is an electric train Chernivtsi – Sokyriany, it goes through Moldova. I’ll have to try it out 🚆

Throughout these 476 kilometers train 254 tunnels, with a total length of ~114 kilometers. The longest tunnels are Sozina (6 kilometers and 170 meters) and Zlatibor (6.139 kilometers).

There are even more bridges here. Magnificent viaducts and bridges that connect the mountains…. 435 bridges with a total length of 14.6 kilometers. The most famous and longest of them is the Mala Rijeka Viaduct. At the time of its construction, it was the highest railroad bridge in the world. Its height is 200 meters. It held the palm of superiority until 2001.

I can say that I didn’t go by train for nothing. An airplane is certainly faster. But how many beauties I saw….. These landscapes and my acquaintance with the terrible climate on the Montenegrin coast in the summer convinced me once again that in this country you have to see the mountains!

Look at these mountain houses! How can you not be moved? Isn’t it beautiful?

Passing by the lakes, the passengers become ecstatic. Most of them pile into the corridor and start taking pictures. The locals have not been taking pictures for a long time, but they watch this amazing nature with no less interest!

The road below is like a toy road. Cars drive along it and photographers stop on these crazy serpentines to take pictures of the viaduct our train is traveling along!

Most people travel across the country. Or on the route from Belgrade to Podgorica. And in Podgorica almost all passengers change, they are replaced by vacationers who flew to the capital of Montenegro and now go to the coast, to the sea.

Unfortunately, at this point it is already dark and it becomes quite difficult to capture all the beauty. I even tried to make a video so that you, dear readers, could appreciate the enormity of these views. I apologize in advance for the quality.

About a dozen kilometers in, the train descends from the mountains to the coast. You start to get earaches, like in an airplane! The altitude difference is very serious!

In a separate article about transportation in Serbia, I have put all the technical details of the route and told you how to buy tickets for this and other trains, fare prices and many other nuances. Among other things – how not to be left without a seat, why you need a “reservation” and whether you can buy a ticket for this train online.

In the meantime, I can only say that the Belgrade – Podgorica – Bar railroad route is, in my opinion, one of the most scenic in the world, and you should definitely take a ride on it if you get the chance.