The Croatian Minister of Transport, Oleg Butković, the CEO of HŽ Infrastruktura, Ivan Kršić, and Tomislav Petric, the director of country’s Central Finance and Contracting Agency of of EU Programmes, signed an agreement to award EU grants for the Hrvatski Leskovac – Karlovac railway project.
The project has a total value of HRK 3.45 billion (EUR 462.2 million), of which HRK 2.72 billion (EUR 364.6 million), or which 85% is covered by the EU funds through the Operational Programme ‘Competitiveness and Cohesion’ for the period 2014-2020, from the Cohesion Fund.
The project envisages the modernisation of the 44-km Hrvatski Leskovac – Karlovac section as well as the construction of the second track, including the modernisation of the existing stations at Leskovac, Jastrebarsko and Karlovac. In addition, the Horvati, Zdenčina and Draganići stations will be transformed into stops, and the existing stations in Mavrači, Desinec, Domagovic and Lazina will be reconstructed.
The reconstruction of the railway line also includes the renewal and modernisation of the traction system, and the installation of the ETCS Level 1 and telecommunication devices and centralised traffic management system, allowing trains to run at speeds of 160 km/h.
The contractors for the Hrvatski Leskovac-Karlovac section are expected to be chosen soon and works to begin in 2020. Works on the Hrvatski Leskovac-Karlovac section are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
The Hrvatski Leskovac – Karlovac is the first section of Zagreb – Rijeka which is entering construction process. It will be followed by other two sections heading for Rijeka, such as Karlovac – Oštarije and Oštarije – Škrljevo. The tenders for the preparation of study and project documentation for these two sections are in progress, while for the fourth and last section on the Zagreb – Rijeka section, the Škrljevo – Rijeka – Jurdani section, a location permit has been obtained and the main project has started.
The Hrvatski Leskovac-Karlovac section is part of Zagreb-Rijeka railway line (the M202 line), situated on the Mediterranean corridor and on the European Rail Freight Corridor 6. The project will improve the suburban traffic of Zagreb and Karlovac and the railway transport to Rijeka port and its connectivity to the Central Europe. The project marks the beginning of the construction of the lowland railway line from Zagreb to Rijeka.
“This marks the start of construction of the lowland railway to Rijeka, while other sections are being designed. The absorption of European funds for the Hrvatski Leskovac-Karlovac section means the European Commission will also finance the rest of the railway to Rijeka,” the Transport minister said.
For the next ten years, Croatia is planning to invest EUR 3 billion for the implementation of 85 railway infrastructure projects.
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