Croatia reports lowest European rail punctuality in 2024

According to the 14th annual railway market monitoring report by the Independent Regulators’ Group – Rail (IRG-Rail), Croatia recorded the lowest punctuality for both passenger and freight trains among 31 surveyed European countries in 2024. Only 68 percent of Croatian trains arrived at their final destinations within the permitted time threshold.

In contrast, Latvia reported the highest passenger train punctuality at 97.8 percent, followed by Lithuania and Estonia. While Croatia uses a five-minute threshold for punctuality, other nations apply different standards, such as Switzerland at three minutes and Romania at 20 minutes.

HŽ Putnički prijevoz identified several primary causes for these delays, including track maintenance requiring replacement bus services, infrastructure conditions necessitating reduced speeds, extraordinary events, and vehicle breakdowns. The use of replacement buses often exacerbates delays because road travel times frequently exceed rail travel times, impacting subsequent train departures.