RAILROAD TRAFFIC RE-ESTABLISHED BETWEEN OSIJEK AND PECS

OSIJEK, Sept 2 (Hina) - The arrival of the first train from the Hungarian town of Pecs to the Osijek railway station (eastern Croatia) on Tuesday marked the reintroduction of railroad traffic between these two towns after six years. The train on the Pecs-Beli Manastir-Osijek line travels along a reconstructed railroad in the UN-administered Baranja region of eastern Croatia. Attending a ceremony at the Osijek railway station were Croat and Hungarian railways officials, Croatian Assistant Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Communications Dragutin Subat, Osijek-Baranja County prefect Branimir Glavas, Croatia's Ambassador to Hungary Zdenko Skrabalo, the state secretary for public administration at the Hungarian Transport and Communications Ministry, Sandor Gyurkovics, Hungarian Ambassador to Croatia Zsolt Szallay, and representatives of UNTAES. Assistant Minister Subat pointed out the reintroduction of traffic on the mentioned railroad was the result of the excellent cooperation between the two countries, their competent ministries and embassies. Subat in particular pointed out the significance of the said traffic line as a part of the pan-European corridor between Budapest and the south Croatian port of Ploce. Assessing the reintroduction of railroad traffic between Pecs and Osijek as another step in the reintegration of Croatia's Danube region, Hungarian Ambassador Szallay singled out the economic aspect of traffic connection between Croatia and Hungary. State Secretary Gyurkovics was confident the mentioned corridor would service both passenger and commodity transport. Prefect Glavas pointed out the train's arrival meant the end of Baranja's traffic isolation, and would enable the return of Croatian displaced persons to the area. The reintroduction of traffic between Osijek and Pecs was also welcomed by Hungarian Railways managing director Istvan Sipos, who expressed hope the line would soon achieve the pre-war level of passenger and cargo transport (20,000 passengers and 100,000 tons of cargo). Croatian Railways director Marijan Klaric recalled that direct war damage to Croatian Railways objects amounted to 350 million German marks. He thanked Hungarian Railways for their support. (hina) ha jn 021603 MET sep 97