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(train times are added at the bottom for those who don't want to read) 

Serbia is not impossible, it is awkward but if you are determined to go it's fairly cheap and easy once you are in. 

My experience

So the trains are a mess here. Nothing is traveling internationally except the BAR train in Montenegro. Most likely you are coming from Sofia, Budapest or Sarajevo. You will want to get a bus into Novi sad, Belgrade or Nis from there the trains rún semi frequently but delays are common and you will crawl through the countryside. The Belgrade to Nis train travels at 30km per hour. The Novi sad line is not much better. 

No ticket vendor will help you, just don't bother asking anyone behind a desk. The locals are more friendly though. Buy a coffee and ask your questions there. Luckily the information is pretty easy to find and is reliable. If you leave yourself plenty of time you should be fine. 

Now i knew things were a mess before I left Budapest for Belgrade and since this info was not online i wanted to take photos of the timetables so others can plan around it. However planning is not easy for Serbia giving the delays. My advice would be if you are experienced at traveling and know how to change your plans then Serbia is doable (not sure if it's worth it) . If you need to have everything pre planned leave Serbia untill they fix the lines. The up side of this is no one is traveling in Serbia right now. Busses were half full and i only met two other traveling groups. So your hostels are cheap and empty. 

 

The timetables 

So yellow means departure and white is arrival (taken from Belgrade central station)

 

 

Nis station

Hope this helps you, safe travels. 

Hvalo, then you, finally someone who gave back. And does not seem to suffer from that strange thing to always praise any train in whatever state it was.

Just 1 minor addition: the first part of the line northbound toward HU-Budapest IS that section as far as Novi Sad-and this has been upgraded and opened and got the for Serbije extreme good service of every hour on the hour-with als brand new trains. It was a national achievement and any Serb wanted to try out. There were a few reports here that even passholders had to pay the normal fare-as it included the RES-it was half price of normal.

On seat61.com there are some hints on how to bridge the gaps by bus/taxi to where trains start again in next country, like toward Sofia or Budapest.

There used to be also a link to Timisoara/RO, but this has ceased long ago, no plans to reopen and the only now available is a prebooked minibus (marshrut) that collects/sets down pre-arranged.

In Beograd the old station in the centre-beside the still existing BAS=bus station, is demolished and the trains now use some out of town stop, even without direct bus/tram to it.

Not sure if there's a question here but with your last paragraph i did see buses running to the station (34/36) and multiple close to it, but yes the central station hasn't been demolished but it's locked and unused. The track may also have been lifted. 

The new station is here

Railway Station Beograd Centar
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gW3Sanbzu1PMz2mp7

 

To 'bridge the gap' The best site to use for me was omio or flixbus. Pretty much the standard. The best way is to ask at a station for the bus however as it's more reliable.

I honestly didn't see the Novi sad train as being much better but i did just come from central Europe where the trains are very good. 

Serbian timetables can be found online here:

https://www.srbvoz.rs/en/timetable-kurir/

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