Belgrade's classic Balkan
station, built in 1884 and used by the Orient Express closed permanently on 30 June 2018. It was
well located, just a 10 minute walk to the Knez Mihailova,
the main
pedestrianised street running through Belgrade's old town, although it was uphill.
Unlike most main stations in Europe, there was no overall roof - the concourse
was open-air, although canopies covered the
actual platforms.
See Wikipedia entry.
See map of Belgrade showing station.
Belgrade's old main station,
eastern facade.
Belgrade Centar is the
city's new main station, a modern building several kilometres to
the south of the original station,
see city & station location map. It's often known as Prokop
after the area in which it's located.
From June 2018 to October 2023,
the station had only a few facilities, largely located underground alongside the
platforms. However, a new station building has been built on top of the
platforms which finally opened in October 2023. Belgrade Centar now looks
more like a capital city's main station.
You can read more about the Belgrade Centar station project at
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade_Centre_railway_station.
Platforms & tracks
The station has 10 tracks (kolosek
in Serbian, we British would call these platforms), numbered track 1 to
track 10, although track 1 is a through line without a platform. Just to
confuse you, the actual platforms (peron in Serbian) are also numbered,
but using roman numerals with different numbers from the tracks, so platform IV
is next to track 10, and on the other side of the station, platform II serves
tracks 2 & 3. It makes more sense if you look at
the
station plan!
A subway links all platforms.
Ticket office & facilities
The ticket office in the main
hall is open 06:00-22:00 every day for domestic & international tickets, but
closed for breaks 09:30-10:00 & 17:30-18:00. Credit cards are accepted.
There are toilets and an ATM
in the new main hall.
Tip: There are some
food outlets and shops at
Belgrade Centar, but the choice is limited so stock up for the journey before
going to the station if you can.
Ideally, have some Serbian dinars with you when arriving by train for the bus or
taxi to the city centre.
To/from Beograd Centar by taxi:
A taxi between Belgrade Centar &
the Hotel Moskva on the edge of the old town takes 11 minutes and costs around
600 dinars (€5), see
www.worldtaximeter.com/belgrade.
The
Beograd Pink taxi app for iPhone &
Android has been suggested as a good taxi app for Belgrade though I haven't
used it myself, feedback appreciated.
To/from Beograd Centar by bus:
Bus 36 runs a circular route
linking Beograd Centar and the old station near the old town. It runs
every 20 minutes, alternately clockwise or anticlockwise around the route.
From 1 January 2025, all public transport in Belgrade is free, no ticket needed.
Belgrade Centar station. That's Prokop
street on the left, on the south side of the station.
You enter the station from Prokop Street. Photo courtesy of
DiscoverByRail.com.
Belgrade Centar, new station
building and main entrance on Prokop Street. Photo courtesy of
DiscoverByRail.com.
The station's main hall, opened
in late 2023. Photo courtesy of
DiscoverByRail.com.
Ticket office. Photo courtesy of
DiscoverByRail.com.
Belgrade Centar platforms, with
tracks 3 & 4 in the foreground.
Courtesy of Iain Henshaw.
The passageway linking
the platforms. Courtesy of Jasmin Ring.
From June 2018 until October 2021, trains to/from Montenegro and the summer-only direct train to/from Sofia
used Belgrade Topcider station, located on the edge of
Topcider Park,
see city & station location map. However, the Montenegro trains
switched to using Belgrade Centar in October 2021 and the Sofia train is
suspended. Topcider station is currently not in use.
Novi Beograd (New Belgrade)
is to the west of
old Belgrade, the other side of the river on the line coming in from
Zagreb. Eastbound trains from Zagreb to Belgrade stop at Novi Beograd 7
minutes before arriving at Beograd Centar, and westbound trains
from Belgrade to Zagreb stop
at Novi Beograd 7 minutes after leaving Beograd Centar.
Novi
Beograd station is further from the city centre than
Beograd Centar (4 km versus 3 km), but
arguably has better transport links so you may prefer to get off here. If you have any feedback, please
let me know!
It might best to only use Novi
Beograd when when arriving from Zagreb, because of its decent tram links.
Then take a taxi from your hotel to
Beograd Centar
when leaving for Zagreb, as Novi Beograd hasn't got many facilities and isn't
the best place to wait for a train.
Novi Beograd has a small ticket office,
open 07:00-21:00, it can also sell international tickets including ones to
Montenegro.
There are now lifts between ground level and each platform, a recent
improvement.
How to get there by taxi:
You can use a taxi to get to and
from Novi Beograd for around 1100 dinars (€9), journey around 18 minutes, check
prices using
www.worldtaximeter.com/belgrade. The
Beograd Pink taxi app for iPhone &
Android has been suggested as a good taxi app for Belgrade though I haven't
used it myself, feedback appreciated.
How to get there by tram:
Trams 7 & 9 run every 5-10
minutes from Novi Beograd station to the tram stop at the site of the old
defunct Belgrade station (Glavna Zeleznicka Stanica), from where it's 10
minutes walk up the hill to the Hotel Moskva and old Belgrade's main
pedestrianised shopping street. The tram ride is 7 stops and should take
around 15 minutes. Ignore tram 13, this goes to the southwest of the city.
From 1 January 2025, all public transport in Belgrade is free, no ticket needed,
just hop on the tram!
The upgraded platforms at Novi Beograd,
showing the lifts to street level. The tracks sit on a
viaduct. Photos courtesy of Daniel Scanion.
Above left, lifts up to the
platforms. There are also stairs. Above right, the ticket office, at
street level below the tracks.
For a
hotel in Belgrade, check out the historic
Hotel Moskva. Opened
in 1906, anyone who is anyone who has visited Belgrade has
stayed here, from British author Graham Green to Ethiopian
emperor Haile Salassie. It was used as Gestapo
Headquarters in 1941-44. It was ideally located right in the centre of
Belgrade at the end of the pedestrianised main street
that leads to Belgrade fortress. Immaculate rooms, friendly staff and a
good cooked breakfast.
Book the Hotel Moskva.
Belgrade is not your typical
tourist hotspot, but it's a lovely city to visit with lots to interest the
visitor. Here's just a taster...
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Victor Plaza in Belgrade
fortress, with a great view of the confluence of the Danube & Sava
rivers. |
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Belgrade's parliament building. |
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Knez Mihailova is
Belgrade's main pedestrianised shopping street, leading from the Moskva
Hotel to the fortress. |
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In 2013, the Serbian
Ministry of Defence still hadn't been repaired after NATO bombing in the
1990s conflict. |
Marshall Tito's mausoleum is
a little way south of central Belgrade. Tito was Serbia's head of state
between 1945 & 1980. There's also a museum with many of the gifts which
Tito received during his lifetime.
Belgrade's original main station - closed 30
June 2018
