Serbia’s Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic officially resigned on Tuesday. Vesic’s resignation comes after the visor at the station entrance in Novi Sad collapsed on 1 November. 14 people died in the accident. This was reported by the Serbian national TV RTS, quoted by BTA.
Vesic wrote on his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter) that he is “he entered his role as a responsible person who wants to show by his personal example that there is moral responsibility in today’s Serbia. the terrible accident“which happened in the department of which he is the head.
I resigned as the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure in the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
I submitted my position as a responsible person who wants to show by personal example that there is a moral responsibility in Serbia today as a result of the terrible tragedy that happened in … pic.twitter.com/QQyxEE1Ktj
— Goran Vesić (@sicveO11) November 5, 2024
“I am leaving this position with a clear conscience and proud of the results that are still behind me, as well as the team at the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure that worked with me. I worked with great respect and responsibility for the citizens, as and with faith only for the interest of Serbia”said Vesic.
He offered his resignation to Prime Minister Miloš Vučević on the day of the incident and expressed his intention to President Aleksandar Vučić.
In fact, Serbia’s Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure announced on Monday that he will officially resign within the next day. He said that he intended to be a responsible person, but that he did not accept the blame for the accident that happened.
“I cannot take the blame for the death of 14 people because neither I nor the people who work with me take the slightest responsibility for the tragedy that happened”Vesic said Monday.
Hundreds of opposition activists gathered in Belgrade on Sunday to protest the horrific incident that left 14 people dead and more than 30 injured.
Demonstrators blamed the authorities for what happened because of their “neglect and corruption”.
The criticism of the authorities comes because the incident took place after three years of renovation of the station building and the official opening just a few months ago (in July 2024).
Vesic was among the officers who were asked to resign after the visor fell at the city station. The united opposition in Novi Sad also demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, and the Mayor of Novi Sad, Milan Djuric.
Historic restoration of the station
The first train entered the new railway station in Novi Sad in March 1883. The railway was also the reason for the economic progress of the city at that time. In the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the number of passengers at the station increased. Traffic continued to grow in the years after the war and the station had to be extended and even moved.
In May 1964, the new station was opened on Osvobozhdenie Blvd. It is a masterpiece of brutalist architecture, built according to the plans of Imre Farkas and his colleagues from the Arhitekt studio. The saw shape of its roof is similar to the traditional houses of the area. The tracks are now accessed via underground passages to ensure maximum passenger safety and ease of travel. The aim is for 1,000 passengers to be able to get off the train and leave the station in just one minute, writes BGNES.
The bloody explosion of socialist Yugoslavia can be seen in the train station in Novi Sad. Due to the lack of maintenance, the building is gradually falling apart, and the traffic is decreasing significantly. The restaurant closes and the waiting rooms empty. Even the clock stops. There was also something to be desired regarding the cleanliness of the building.
The building was last renovated in 2022, when Novi Sad was named the European capital of culture. In March of that year, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited the city, together with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The two leaders, known for their closeness, welcomed Soko, the new high-speed train that will soon connect Belgrade to Budapest at an average speed of 200 km/h. This project, which is the responsibility of Chinese companies, has been significantly delayed, but should be completed eventually by 2025.
As part of this work, in 2023 and 2024, the renovation of the station in Novi Sad continued, which was officially reopened on July 5. The Minister of Transport, Goran Vesic, attended the opening ceremony together with the Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Region of Vojvodina, Maja Gojkovic, and the Mayor, Milan Djuric.
Less than four months later, the visor collapsed at the entrance to the station, killing 14 people.
