The Croatian rail infrastructure manager, HŽ Infrastruktura, launched the tender for the reconstruction and construction of a second track of the 83 km long Dugo Selo – Novska railway line. The estimated value of the works is EUR 620 million and is co-financed by the EU through the Connecting Europe Facility and Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme.
The deadline for submitting bids is April 8, 2025, and the expected duration of the work is 5 years from from the start of construction.
“This is the largest tender for a rail project in the history of Croatia,” HŽ Infrastruktura says.
Under the project, in addition to the complete reconstruction of the existing and the construction of a second track of the international railway line, the works include the reconstruction of eleven stations and the reconstruction of other five stations which will be converted into stops (Deanovec, Moslavačka Gračenica, Lipovljani, Novoselec and Ludina stations) and the construction of a new stop in Okešinec and closure of Prečec station. In addition, almost all crossing levels will be eliminated.
The contract also includes the installation of new devices and other elements of the traffic-control and signaling andsafety railway infrastructure subsystem and the reconstruction and construction of new elements and devices of the electric power railway infrastructure subsystem.
Upon completion of the work the speed on this section will be up to 160 km/h.
The project covers upgrading, reconstruction and renewal of the existing single-track railway on the 26 km Novoselec – Kutina and 25.5 km Kutina – Novska sections, and the installation of signalling and telecommunications systems. In addition, the construction of the second track on the 32 km Dugo Selo – Novoselec, the 29 km Novoselec – Kutina and 11 km Lipovljani – Novska and 10 km Kutina – Lipovljani sections is also included.
In september 2024, the preparation for reconstruction of the 36.5 km Kutina – Deanovec line started.
For the first phase of the Dugo Selo – Novska railway project, in June 2011, HŽ Infrastruktura signed a design EUR 5.4 million contract with a consortium of DB Engineering & Consulting, Željezničko projektno društvo d.d. and Granova. The consortium was responsible for the design with associated studies for the reconstruction and renewal of the existing railway track on the Dugo Selo – Novoselec subsection. These works have been completed in December 2019.
Under the second and the third phases of the project, in November 2013, HŽ Infrastruktura signed a design agreement with a consortium consisting of Técnica y Proyectos, Egis Rail, Ingeneria y Economia del Transporte and Inženjerski projektni zavod. EUR 11.5 million was the value of the contract of which EUR 5.2 million representing 45% of the eligible costs were co-financed by the EU through the European Regional Development Fund, while EUR 6.3 million representing 55% was covered by Croatia’s state fund.
According to HŽ Infrastruktura, the development of project documentation for phases 1, 2 and 3 creates the basis for the construction phase. Funds in the amount of EUR 140.7 million have been secured for the Kutina – Novska section from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021 – 2026 (NRRP), which is divided into five components, and the Kutina – Novska section is part of the “Economy” component, the subcomponent of “Development of a competitive, energy-sustainable and efficient transport system”.
The Dugo Selo – Novska railway is an integral part of the international mainline M103 on the RH1 corridor and is an integral part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
In February 2024, the Croatian Government and the European Investment Bank signed a EUR 400 million loan to support rolling stock renewal and modernisation and the reconstruction and development of 500 km of railway lines.
Part of the development of strategic rail infrastructure projects which enhance connection with the EU’ rail network and provide increased capacity are the Zaprešić – Zabok line, for which a 16 km section has been completed, the Vinkovci – Vukovar line which has been also completed, the Leskovac – Karlovac line, Dugo Selo – Križevci, Vinkovci – Vukovar, Križevci – Koprivnica – state border.
Share on:
