Will Split really have a new metro from next summer?
From next summer, the Split bus and train stations will be temporarily moved to Kopilica until a major project is realized which will ultimately connect the Split Ferry Port to the Split Resnik Airport, reports Dalmatinski Portal on December 12, 2018.
Today, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban, Split Mayor Andro Krstulović Opara, President of the County Chamber of Split Mirjana Čagalj, and associates and representatives of Croatian Railways, signed contracts that will enable the realization of this highly anticipated project.
“We have signed contracts that will put the bus and train stations into function at Kopilica at the beginning of the tourist season to reduce crowds and pressure in the very center of Split. We ultimately need to reach the airport and we will work in cooperation with the County and City on documentation so that this great project could be funded from EU funds. There are funds, but we have to work quickly on the documentation. In 2019, we expect a tender for the part from Mravince to Stobreč, as well as for Omiš,” said Minister Butković.
Mayor Andro Krstulović Opara said he believed that he would receive support from the budget counselor in which 4 million kuna would be provided for the project.
“Next summer, the Kopilica area should look completely different. The contracts signed today have allowed us to rent the premises in Kopilica to create a temporary station with 19 locations and with all the necessary infrastructure, as well as modernizing the railway line. The goal is to connect the Airport and Ferry Port. This year, the airport in Split had three million passengers before Zagreb, and the Ferry Port recorded 5.5 million passengers by September. So, we are talking about nine million people who fluctuate between the ferry port and the airport, and they do not have a quality solution. When we consider Kaštela, Solin and Trogir, it is 300,000 people who will use this line. The Sv. Duje Bridge, as I like to call it, is in the phase of announcing a visibility study that should give us answers to questions of how much it will cost, whether it will be a bridge or a tunnel. As for the tunnel through Kozjak, it is clear that it does not make sense if there is no further extension to the Ferry Port,” said the Split Mayor and noted that the Ferry Port is the most important infrastructure point of the Split area.
The master plan for the final project, Krstulović Opara added, could be adopted in March.
“The Master Plan envisages the reconfiguration of the East Coast of the Split City Port, Kopilica and, in fact, all of this urban area. It will take some time for citizens to become accustomed to this new mode of transport because this train, which will operate like a subway from June next year, every ten minutes, is not made for tourists. Having a metro in Split from the summer will become a fact. Through the spring, the construction of three stations will be underway: Dujmovača, Solin and Sv. Kajo plus renovating the station at Kopilica and Trg Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice,” announced Opara.
Prefect Blaženko Boban thanked the government for providing 870 million kuna in the budget for the road project from the Vučevica exit, including the Kozjak tunnel.
“I believe that we will have a construction permit for this second entry into Split in the next 18 months, which will contribute to further relieving traffic jams. I hope that this agglomeration will look completely different in 3-4 years. True, such projects had to be done 15 or 20 years ago and then this would look like Zadar or Rijeka, but it is what it is. I believe we will be like them in 4, 5 years,” Boban concluded.
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