September 22, 2023 – The works on the renovation of the Osijek train station, worth four million euros, were completed after two and a half years. It was restored to the appearance it had 125 years ago, and it officially started working ten days ago.
As Index writes, the reception building of the Osijek train station is a protected cultural heritage object, so conservators were involved in its restoration.
The HŽ Infrastruktura board director, Ivan Kršić, reminded that the modernization of nine railway and road crossings in the Osijek-Baranja County will be completed this year. It’s all happening through a project that includes the modernization of 50 railway and road crossings in Croatia, financed by the World Bank.
Osijek Train Station Just One of the Projects
This year, a new contract was signed for the modernization of another 95 railway and road crossings, 11 of which are in Osijek-Baranja County, added Kršić.
“Last year, we completed a project that started two years ago on the Podravska highway Virovitica-Pitomača; this year, we are continuing from Pitomača towards Kloštar and Koprivnica. A tender for the Kloštar-Varaždin to Čakovec project is also being prepared, while in the spring, we are announcing a tender for the restoration of the railway from Osijek to Koška. The design phase for the railway from Našice to Čaglin has also started,” he announced.
This year, the tender for the largest project in Croatia will be announced, the stretch from Dugo Selo to Novska, worth 700 million euros. It is a reconstruction of the existing track and the construction of a second track with a length of 73 kilometers, financed from various European funds.
Finally, A Beautiful and Functional Building
“We are bringing Osijek closer to Zagreb; it will take some time,” said Kršić, noting that in the next ten years, the Osijek train station will be brought “to the level that the citizens deserve.”
The prefect of Osijek-Baranja, Ivan Anušić, recalled that for many years, the first contact of passengers coming to Osijek by train was the dilapidated building of the railway station. “Finally, passengers will be able to enjoy the view of a beautiful and functional building, in its original form as it was 125 years ago”.
“We are working on things that were neglected for years; in addition to this building, we recently opened an underpass on Čepinska, which was a pain for a long time,” added Anušić.
The mayor of Osijek, Ivan Radić, pointed out that works worth over 100 million euros are underway in the city and announced the opening of the reconstructed Vinkovačka road next week, which will further ease the city’s traffic.
There is a project to modernize the tram line; new buses have recently been acquired, and we are preparing for the arrival of low-floor trams in the spring of 2025.
