By rosebell
Belgrade has received the first of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for its new Metro Line 1, with the machine arriving at the Port of Pančevo on 5 November 2026. Manufactured by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation (CRCHI), the TBM will be used to excavate the underground section of the first phase of the metro project.
The machine measures 108m in length, weighs approximately 1,800 tonnes and has a diameter of around 10m. Its delivery to Serbia involved a combination of sea, river and road transport. The main body was shipped from China to Europe before being transported along the Danube to Pančevo. Other components arrived from Romania’s Port of Constanța in a convoy of 29 trucks.
The TBM will be transferred to the future Bele Vode station site in Makiš for assembly and technical preparations. According to an October update from the Serbian government, tunnelling is expected to begin in late summer 2027.
The approximately 11km underground alignment will be excavated using two TBMs working towards the Belgrade Fair (Sajam) station from opposite directions. The first machine will advance from Bele Vode towards Sajam, while the second will launch from Karaburma, near Pančevo Bridge, and tunnel towards the same station. Belgrade Metro and Train reported that the second TBM was still being transported to Serbia when the first machine arrived.
Both machines have completed their Factory Acceptance Tests at CRCHI’s facility in Changsha, China.
The first phase of Metro Line 1 will connect the Makiško Polje area with Karaburma through central Belgrade. The Serbian government gives the phase a total length of 15.4km, while Alstom’s project announcement identifies 15 stations and approximately 11km of tunnels. The wider Line 1 is planned to extend between Železnik and Mirijevo.
Civil engineering works are being delivered under contracts with PowerChina. On 18 September 2026, the Serbian authorities signed the design-and-build contract for Lot 3 of the first phase, following earlier agreements for Lots 1 and 2. The government said this completed the contracting of the first-phase civil works packages.
Alstom is responsible for the automated railway systems under a €915m turnkey contract announced in March 2026. Its scope includes 32 three-car Metropolis driverless trains, signalling and telecommunications, power supply, trackwork, platform screen doors, depot equipment and a central control centre. The system will use Alstom’s Urbalis communications-based train control technology.
Coordination between the civil works and railway systems is being managed by INGEROP T3, appointed Master Integrator by Belgrade Metro and Train in July 2026. Its responsibilities cover design coordination, interface management, system integration, testing and commissioning.
With the first TBM now in Serbia, the project is moving towards the assembly and commissioning stage ahead of the planned start of underground excavation in 2027.
