SERBIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC – COMPARISON OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

The railway infrastructure is closely connected with economic development. The degree of its influence on a country?s economy is interrelated to its condition. The article analyses a situation in two post-Communist countries: Serbia and the Czech Republic in comparison with a number of selected European countries. The investments into the railway infrastructure are substantially subject to governmental activities as private investments are close to non-existent in the post-communist countries. The EU recognises the importance of the railway infrastructure and allocates subsidies by the way of structural funds into the construction of TEN-T network as well as into the reconstruction of the regional tracks. In the Balkan states, however, this role is adopted by the Russian Federation and newly by China; both the countries have realised the strategic position of the Balkan states in Europe while strengthening their role in this region. The countries of the former Eastern Block face a massive decline in the use of the railway, especially in passenger transportation. While the situation has been slowly improving in the Czech Republic, Serbia has been fighting a huge drop of interest in the railway since the beginning of the 1990s, which was mainly caused by its poor condition. The article points out the consequences that have arisen due to underestimated investments into the railway infrastructure in recent years deriving from the economic development of these economies. It highlights the necessity to consider the investment into the railway infrastructure from a long-term perspective and analyses the consequences of infrastructure destruction or sudden investment failures that have an immediate negative impact on the economy of the whole country.* This research was supported by Internal Grant Agency, FNH, VSE, IGA 506010.