December the 21st, 2024 – Investments in Croatian railways are now finally materialising, with one of the largest projects in this segment now complete.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, following several years of work, the completion of the project entitled: “The upgrading and electrification of the Vinkovci – Vukovar railway line” was celebrated in Vukovar.
This massive project is worth 61 million euros, 85 percent of which was provided by EU funds, while the remaining part was provided by the state budget. As part of the project, 19 kilometres of railway line between Vinkovci and Vukovar were modernised and electrified, which will reduce the duration of the train journey between the two cities to a mere 20 minutes.
investments in croatian railways and eastern croatia’s development
As part of this large project, the Vukovar-Borovo Naselje and Vukovar stations were also reconstructed, railway and road crossings were modernised with the installation of signalling and safety devices, and various necessary facilities were built. Owing to this, one of multiple investments in Croatian railways, this line now supports train speeds of up to 120 kmh. It was also emphasised that its launch is very important for the economic development of overlooked eastern Croatia, as well as for the higher-quality transport integration of Croatia as a whole into the European railway system, according to Večernji list.
“We’re currently in a large investment cycle in general in transport infrastructure. Most importantly of all, since we’ve mostly built road, motorway, air and maritime infrastructure, we’re pouring investments into Croatian railways and their infrastructure. In addition to the completion of one of the largest railway projects in Croatia, last week we also opened the renovated railway at the entrance to Zagreb. Just before that, we did the same with the Krapina-Zabok section.
an eib loan as well as eu cash
“In addition to EU funds, we’ll also have an EIB loan worth a total of 900 million euros at our disposal. That will mainly be used for the renovation of both local and regional railways,” said Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butković. He added that alongside investments in Croatian railways, new trains are being purchased.
Thus far, 21 trains have been purchased using European Union funds, and two new battery trains are also on their way to Croatia. The President of the Board of HŽ Infrastruktura (Infrastructure), Ivan Kršić, emphasised the importance of eastern Croatia’s proper development. He said that the modernisation of this particular railway line and other projects being prepared and implemented on the RH1 corridor, from the border with Slovenia to the border with Serbia, stand out in this regard.
“Over the coming decade, we’re going to invest around 6 billion euros and reconstruct and modernise approximately half of the railway network. It will take us around twenty years to reconstruct the entire railway network in Croatia,” said Kršić.
a boost for vukovar’s economy
Speaking about the project, Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava, stressed that the modernisation of this line is of great importance for the connection of Vukovar with Vinkovci, and for the rest of Croatia.
“This project is of exceptional significance because of the largest Croatian inland port – the Port of Vukovar – is of exceptional importance for the development of the local economy. It’s positioned along the railway line itself. We can therefore expect that the modern railway infrastructure will lead to the strengthening of the economic position of Vukovar in general,” said Penava.
