Train travel in the Balkan region of Europe is no longer an exhausting journey, mainly because the century-old railway connecting Budapest, the capital of Hungary, with Serbia's capital of Belgrade is being reinvigorated with Chinese high-speed technology. 

A century ago, the route was used by the famous Orient Express, with main terminal stations in Paris and Istanbul and branches extending the service to Athens, Brussels and London. But the old rail line, a key access route to the Balkans and Greece, had not been redeveloped for 40 years, meaning the brand new high-speed railway will be the most modern rail route in the region.