Serbian Railways No. 431
An interminable delay: Not something you want to be facing just an hour into an 11 hour and 15 minute train journey. Especially one in Serbia, where timetables are viewed more as aspirational goals than something which is realistically attainable (or even targeted). "Two hours", I'm cheerfully informed by the lady at the ticket booth when queried on possible delays, "But just as likely four!"
I had read that some parts of the track were in such a state of disrepair that the train would be limited to just 18 mph. In 2006 a derailment 100 meters above a deep ravine ended tragically with the train plunging to the river below, injuring 184 and killing 47. So a trip which originally took 7 hours now takes in excess of 11. I was prepared for slow!
Something has clearly gone awry however. We've been stationary for 20 minutes and my fellow passengers have progressed well past the fidgeting stage. One gentleman is rhythmically butting his forehead against the windowpane, his undulating groans synchronizing perfectly with the dull thud of each strike. A rough looking character from the adjoining compartment becomes concerned at the dry state of the tracks outside the corridor window, and takes it upon himself to rectify matters by dredging up enough phlegm to hydrate them back to a sufficient state of saturation.
I consider retaking my seat and reading for a bit, however the elderly lady in our cabin has stretched herself across all three seats, seemingly fast asleep. I figure I may as well see if I can find out what's causing the dealy.
A number of passengers have already stepped off the train. Many are smoking (depressingly you're the exception if you don't - more cigarettes are consumed here per capita than anywhere else on the planet), a few are contorting their bodies in a series of ungainly stretching exercises, while others appear to have wandered up ahead in an attempt to uncover the mystery of the stalled locomotive. The latter I follow.
Men. About a dozen in all. Standing around observing another man who is swinging a large hammer willingly at a mechanical contraption just off to the side of the track. And there also the conductor, looking on pensively. Massaging the top of his head with slow circular motions of the right hand, his conductor's cap clasped tightly to the side with the left. His voice barely carries, but is that an exasperated tone I detect? This does not bode well...
Two hundred and fifty-four tunnels, two of which are over 6 kms in length. Four hundred and thirty-five bridges, the longest being the Mala Rijeka Viaduct, which extends 500 meters and is 200 meters high (2nd tallest rail bridge in the world). The train is Serbian Railways No. 431. The line is the Belgrade to Bar, departing 9:10am from the Serbian capital's Glavna Railway Station, and arriving at its destination, a seaport town on the coastline of Montenegro, at 8:26pm. By all reports one of the great rail journeys of the world.
It was all that and more.
We did eventually get moving again of course. Something had gone kaput and needed replacing. No one spoke a word of English but I'm guessing the culprit was the mechanism which switches between tracks. Train 431 arrived in Bar a touch after 10pm, crawling into the station only a couple of hours behind schedule. The time veritably flew by though. It has an uncanny way of doing that when you're having the time of your life.
Serbian Railways No. 431
An interminable delay: Not something you want to be facing just an hour into an 11 hour and 15 minute train journey. Especially one in Serbia, where timetables are viewed more as aspirational goals than something which is realistically attainable (or even targeted). "Two hours", I'm cheerfully informed by the lady at the ticket booth when queried on possible delays, "But just as likely four!"
I had read that some parts of the track were in such a state of disrepair that the train would be limited to just 18 mph. In 2006 a derailment 100 meters above a deep ravine ended tragically with the train plunging to the river below, injuring 184 and killing 47. So a trip which originally took 7 hours now takes in excess of 11. I was prepared for slow!
Something has clearly gone awry however. We've been stationary for 20 minutes and my fellow passengers have progressed well past the fidgeting stage. One gentleman is rhythmically butting his forehead against the windowpane, his undulating groans synchronizing perfectly with the dull thud of each strike. A rough looking character from the adjoining compartment becomes concerned at the dry state of the tracks outside the corridor window, and takes it upon himself to rectify matters by dredging up enough phlegm to hydrate them back to a sufficient state of saturation.
I consider retaking my seat and reading for a bit, however the elderly lady in our cabin has stretched herself across all three seats, seemingly fast asleep. I figure I may as well see if I can find out what's causing the dealy.
A number of passengers have already stepped off the train. Many are smoking (depressingly you're the exception if you don't - more cigarettes are consumed here per capita than anywhere else on the planet), a few are contorting their bodies in a series of ungainly stretching exercises, while others appear to have wandered up ahead in an attempt to uncover the mystery of the stalled locomotive. The latter I follow.
Men. About a dozen in all. Standing around observing another man who is swinging a large hammer willingly at a mechanical contraption just off to the side of the track. And there also the conductor, looking on pensively. Massaging the top of his head with slow circular motions of the right hand, his conductor's cap clasped tightly to the side with the left. His voice barely carries, but is that an exasperated tone I detect? This does not bode well...
Two hundred and fifty-four tunnels, two of which are over 6 kms in length. Four hundred and thirty-five bridges, the longest being the Mala Rijeka Viaduct, which extends 500 meters and is 200 meters high (2nd tallest rail bridge in the world). The train is Serbian Railways No. 431. The line is the Belgrade to Bar, departing 9:10am from the Serbian capital's Glavna Railway Station, and arriving at its destination, a seaport town on the coastline of Montenegro, at 8:26pm. By all reports one of the great rail journeys of the world.
It was all that and more.
We did eventually get moving again of course. Something had gone kaput and needed replacing. No one spoke a word of English but I'm guessing the culprit was the mechanism which switches between tracks. Train 431 arrived in Bar a touch after 10pm, crawling into the station only a couple of hours behind schedule. The time veritably flew by though. It has an uncanny way of doing that when you're having the time of your life.