The European Investment Bank has approved a EUR 55 million loan for Croatia’s Leskovac–Karlovac rail project which has a total cost of EUR 409 million.
The bank’s funding will support the upgrade of the railway section from Hrvatski Leskovac to Karlovac, part of the M202 Zagreb Main Railway Station – Rijeka railway line, as well as the construction of a second track.
The project involves the reconstruction of the existing railway line and the construction of a 44.02 km second track to adapt it at a maximum speed of 160 km/h, excepting in the areas of Mavračići, Jastrebarsko and Karlovac where trains will run at speeds of 120-140 km/h due to spatial constraints. The line will be 25 kV AC 50 Hz electrified.
Three new stations will be reonstructed Hrvatski Leskovac, Jastrebarsko and Karlovac, while other three stations will be converted into stops, and four existing stops will be reconstructed.
The completion of the Leskovac–Karlovac rail project will enhance the competitiveness of the Port of Rijeka by improving its transport links with the markets of Central Europe and will also contribute to the improvement of the suburban traffic of the cities of Zagreb and Karlovac.
In December 2019, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, the Central Agency for Financing and Contracting of EU Programmes and Projects and the railway infrastructure HŽ Infrastruktura signed a grant agreement of HRK 3.45 billion (EUR 457.4 million) to support the project. HRK 2.7 billion (EUR 360.3 million) was the value of the eligible costs. The project is has received a 85% EU funding under the Operational Programme “Competitiveness and Cohesion” from the Cohesion Fund.
The M202 line is a 229 km long railway connecting Zagreb with Rijeka. It is part of the TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor, branch Rijeka – Zagreb – Budapest. The line is also part of the Rail Freight Corridor 6. JASPERS have been involved in the project’s preparation and the subsequent Independent Quality Review.
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