Ex-Yugoslav republics Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia will start to reclaim the railway cargo traffic lost during the turbulent 1990s in October, as hostilities continue to give way to business ties in the Balkans.

The first Cargo X train, named after traffic corridor X that links Austria and Germany with Turkey, will leave from Slovenia for Istanbul on Oct. 1, Serbian infrastructure minister Milutin Mrkonjic said.

The joint railway operator, which Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia agreed to on Thursday, aims to reduce the transport time for goods shipped to Istanbul via the Balkans -- a route that has largely been replaced by those through Hungary and Romania.

"The main task of the company will be to speed up border administration procedures and cut transport time on Corridor X from Ljubljana to Istanbul," minister Mrkonjic said after meeting with the heads of the cargo departments at the three countries' state railway companies.

"We expect that cargo transport on the Corridor X will increase by 35 to 50 percent in the first year of operations," Robert Vuga, head of cargo at the Slovenian Railways, told Reuters.

He said transport on the Corridor X now amounts to some 2 million tons or 4 times less than before Yugoslavia's violent break-up.

"We can increase cargo transport significantly just by improving transport procedures and plan to reduce transport time from Ljubljana to Istanbul from 57 hours at present to 45 hours," said Vuga.

He said talks were ongoing with Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Bulgarian railways to join the venture.

Cargo X is the biggest high-level enterprise by ex-Yugoslav states since the end in 1995 of the ethnic wars that ensued after the communist federation collapsed in 1991.

The joint firm will have its headquarters in Slovenia, the only former Yugoslav state that has joined the European Union, which it did in 2004. Croatia hopes to join in 2012.

Countries of former Yugoslavia have recently launched a number of initiatives to form joint ventures and create a common market in the region. Regional cooperation is also vital to their hopes of joining the EU.

All seven of the Yugoslav successor countries started talks in the summer to form a joint lottery, while Serbia's flag carrier JAT has invited all regional airlines to form an alliance.

Montenegro Airlines has already agreed to an alliance while Slovenia's Adria Airways said talks were under way but no decision has yet been taken. (Reuters)