employed people per their core activity (as of 2017): Railway significance The first railway line to pass through Lajkovac was a 760-millimeter (Bosnian gauge) line from Obrenovac to Valjevo which became operational on 14 September 1908. Two years later, Lajkovac got another line to Mladenovac. Just before the outbreak of World War I, the Serbian government started construction of line to Čačak, but the early war operations halted the development. In 1914, Dual Monarchy army stormed the city and destroyed much of the infrastructure; shortly afterwards, however the same force continued construction of a line to Čačak. After the end of the war in 1921, Čačak line was completed, connecting Lajkovac with Sarajevo and the Adriatic seaports of Dubrovnik and Herceg Novi. In 1928, the Obrenovac line was extended to Belgrade, which promoted the town into a railway hub of major importance. The lots around the railway were quickly urbanized and mostly turned into the kafanas. In the late 1930s there were 11 kafanas in Lajkovac, as people had to make connections in Lajkovac since it was a crossroad from all four sides (Belgrade, Aranđelovac, Mladenovac, Sarajevo). Especially popular was the Železnička restoracija ("Railway restaurant"), which is still operation as of March 2018. Among notable frequent guests were politician Mehmed Spaho and mathematician Mika Petrović Alas. The town prospered greatly becoming a major railway crossroads and this period is today considered as the Lajkovac's "Golden Age". There were 41 railway tracks in town itself, with one train arriving every 10 minutes. At one point, there were 1,500 railwaymen working on a railroad. The first train using the standard gauge reached Lajkovac on 7 July 1968. The decline of the Yugoslav Railways narrow-gauge network in 1960s led to a decision that all narrow-gauge lines should cease operation during the 1970s. At the same time, the Belgrade-Bar standard gauge line passed through Lajkovac. Much of the narrow-gauge infrastructure remains in the town today, such as a water tower (nicknamed Buzometar), turntable, roundhouse and many rolling stock sheds. All that infrastructure except for the water tower still serves standard-gauge locomotive stock. There are plans to convert these facilities into a railway museum. Trivia The traditional song Ide Mile Lajkovačkom prugom (Mile walks down the Lajkovac railway) is about the town; it is a staple of Serbian folk repertoire, with versions recorded by Tozovac, Lepa Lukić, Šaban Šaulić, Braća Bajić and many others. Gallery