Serbian Railways Halt All Train Services Nationwide on Protest Day

The abrupt cancellation mirrors two previous occasions when the government of President Aleksandar Vučić suspended train services on days of large student-led protests. In March and June of the previous year, the official justification was “anonyme Bombendrohungen” (anonymous bomb threats). Despite the travel disruptions, tens of thousands of people still attended those demonstrations.

A Familiar Pattern

On Saturday evening, a major protest was planned at Slavija Square in central Belgrade under the motto “Du und ich auf dem Slavija, weil die Studenten siegen werden” (You and I at Slavija, because the students will win). The demonstration was the latest in a wave of mass protests that began after a deadly railway station canopy collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people.

The student organizers leading the protests blame the Vučić government’s negligence and widespread corruption for the Novi Sad disaster. The government has responded with violence against demonstrators and arbitrary arrests of organizers and supporters, frequently labeling them as “blockers.”

Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) faces mounting pressure. The president has previously stated he would accept a possible electoral defeat, but recent changes to electoral laws addressed only five of 25 recommendations from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Rasa Nedeljkov of the non-governmental election watchdog CRTA dismissed the adjustments as “kosmetischen Änderungen” (cosmetic changes).

Mounting Pressure on Vučić

Andreas Schieder, the head of the Austrian Social Democrats’ EU delegation, condemned the train stoppage as a sign of panic. “Heute zeigt das Regime von Aleksandar Vucic und seiner Serbischen Fortschrittspartei (SNS) erneut, wie groß die Angst vor den eigenen Bürgern geworden ist,” Schieder said. “Wenn eine Regierung Züge stoppt, um Bürger von Demonstrationen fernzuhalten, dann ist das kein Zeichen von Stärke mehr. Sondern von Panik.”

The train stoppage caused immediate disruptions to international connections. The overnight train from the Montenegrin coastal town of Bar to Belgrade was forced to halt its journey in the city of Požega, the newspaper Danas reported.

Voices from the Streets

At the protest, demonstrators made their voices heard. Architecture student Andjela told the AFP news agency: “Das Ziel des Protests heute ist es, dass wir uns alle wieder versammeln und den Menschen klarmachen, dass wir immer noch hier sind, dass wir kämpfen und arbeiten, dass wir nicht aufgehört haben und nicht aufhören werden.” Pensioner Zoran Savic said the rally conveyed “eine klare Botschaft” that Serbia must become “ein demokratischer Rechtsstaat” (a democratic state governed by the rule of law) and part of the European Union.

Previous protest gatherings have drawn more than 100,000 people, underlining the scale of public discontent. The movement, triggered by the Novi Sad tragedy, has grown into the largest challenge to Vučić’s decade-long rule.