HŽ Infrastruktura, the Croatian railway infrastructure manager, and the City of Split signed an agreement for a master plan study on the development of Split transport system including city’s metropolitan area.
The study, which forms the basis for the Split strategic urban planning, considers two major development areas which inlcudes the existing railway and bus station on the eastern wing of the City Port at the heart of Split’s Old Town and the possibility of a partial relocation to a new railway and bus station planned to be developed in the city’s suburbs and Kopilica located in the north of Split.
As part of the project, HŽ Infrastruktura will be involved in the preparation of the study and the technical documentation on the creation of a railway connection linking the city’s rail station, the ferry port, the Split Airport and construction of the intermodal junction of the new main station Split Kopilica, the new transport hub. Kopilica consists of 100ha of land and is zoned for transport and commercial mixed use. The site is owned by the HŽ Infrastruktura, Split Port authority and a number of municipal companies. Majority of the site is not in use. The Kopilica site would be developed as a location for the new railway and bus transport hub accompanied by commercial and industrial infrastructure, aiming to provide an integrated traffic solution for Split and Dalmatia.
Upon the finalisation of the Masterplan Study and consequent international architectural competition, the Downtown Site redevelopment would focus on the removal of a majority of the existing railway tracks and accompanied platforms, scaling down the operating station and creating a city-centre hub that would serve as a link to the new Kopilica-based transport hub via city trains. This move would free up approximately 130,000 sqm of prime land in the Old Town. A space of approximately 70,000sqm will be available for redevelopment by HŽ Infrastruktura and the municipality, with the participation of private sector.
According to the plans of Split transport system development, the Kopilica station will be designed as a passenger terminal where all urban and suburban trains, as well as intercity and long-distance trains will stop. For all these trains, Kopilica will be the final destination, while urban trains will run on the Split Predgrađe – Split route.
The masterplan study was funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a consortium comprising Austrian companies collected all relevant data, historical documents and expertise for urban and economic development of the city in accordance with UNESCO heritage in case of the Downtown Site (the Old Town). The city combines a rich cultural and architectural heritage with tourism and service industry as its economic base.
Split is the second largest city in Croatia and the largest passenger port on the Adriatic, as well as the main tourist hub on the Dalmatian coast. The port of Split usually carrying 20 million passengers annually to the surrounding islands and Italian coastal towns.
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