Sarajevo put 6.4 km of new double-track tramway into service on September 27, ending a 64-year pause in tram expansion in the Bosnian capital. The line, the first extension of the network since 1962, runs southeast from Ilidža to a new turning loop at Hrasnica and adds 20 stops on what will operate as Route 11.

The route number pays tribute to Edin Džeko, the Sarajevo-born striker who has worn the number 11 shirt throughout his international career.

Džeko was due to captain Bosnia and Herzegovina against Sweden on October 2 in what is set to be his final international appearance, capping a campaign that began with Bosnia's presence at this summer's World Cup in the United States and Canada. The line opened five days before that farewell fixture.

Trams will follow the new alignment as a standard timetable service rather than a commemorative run, embedding the number into the network's permanent nomenclature.

What infrastructure did the project deliver?

The contract scope included reconstruction of the existing Ilidža terminus and turning loop to accommodate the extended service. The Turkish-led joint venture also installed:

• 251 overhead electrification masts along the new alignment
• Two traction substations to feed the catenary
• Signalling integrated with Sarajevo's road traffic management system

The alignment runs at grade throughout, sharing parts of an existing transport corridor southeast of the centre. Across the 6.4 km, mast spacing averages roughly 25 m — a standard figure for modern tramway overhead — with the two substations positioned to feed both the extension and the rebuilt Ilidža section.

Who built the line and at what price?

A €26·2m plus VAT construction contract was awarded in May 2023 to a Turkish joint venture of Yapı Merkezi İnşaat ve Sanayi and Yapıray Demiryolu İnşaat Sistemleri. A separate €904,000 contract covered works supervision, awarded to a consortium of Yüksel Proje, PPG and local consultancy Saraj Inženjering.

The headline construction figure does not include the €904,000 supervision engagement. The EBRD's €5m top-up loan was drawn down after the contract had been let, meaning the original €25m facility covered only the bulk of the civil works as tendered.

How was the project financed?

The funding came through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's Green Cities Framework 2, structured as a sovereign loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The package began as a €25m facility, with a further €5m released once construction costs and additional works pushed spending above the original envelope. The EBRD has not disclosed final outturn figures for the project.

What does the extension change for passengers?

The Hrasnica branch restores a growth pattern that stalled in the early 1960s. For more than six decades, the suburb has been cut off from tram services and served only by buses running into Ilidža for interchange.

The new line gives Hrasnica a direct, single-seat ride into the centre and adds capacity on a corridor where road congestion has worsened with suburban housing growth. The 20 new stops also give intermediate neighbourhoods their first fixed-rail boarding points.

What comes next?

The September 27 opening gives the EBRD and the city a baseline for ridership reporting under Green Cities Framework 2, with passenger data from the new section feeding into the bank's next monitoring cycle on the loan.