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4 clusters · 17 sources · 30 days · First seen · Last updated

Croatia railway infrastructure and modernization efforts

Overview

Croatia is addressing significant railway infrastructure and service reliability challenges through a massive modernization program. Following reports of the country having the lowest punctuality among 31 surveyed European nations in 2024, the government has committed to investing approximately six billion euros in the renovation of the entire network by 2035.

Led by HŽ Infrastruktura and the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, the initiative aims to increase speeds and track capacity. Once completed, the upgrades are expected to enable passenger train speeds of up to 160 km/h on international lines, 120 km/h on regional lines, and 80 km/h on local lines. Key projects include reconstructing existing tracks and constructing second tracks on major corridors, such as the Križevci - Koprivnica - state border and Dugo Selo - Križevci sections.

A major milestone has been reached with the signing of a €900 million contract for the reconstruction and doubling of the Dugo Selo – Novska railway line. This project, part of the trans-European transport network, will be executed by the Indian company Afcons Infrastructure. Funded through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility and cohesion funds, the work is expected to last approximately five years and ten months, with the goal of increasing speeds to 160 km/h on the 83-kilometer section.

Officials note that current investment levels represent the highest in Croatian history, with 2025 seeing investment levels nearly five times higher than in 2017.

Entities

Hrvatske željeznice · HŽ Infrastruktura · Croatia · IRG-Rail · Zabok

Timeline

  1. [BUSINESS] 3 sources
    Slovakia and Croatia advance major railway modernization projects

    Slovakia's ZSSK has contracted new 200 km/h electric trains, while Croatia signed a €900 million deal to modernize the Dugo Selo – Novska railway line.

  2. [BUSINESS] 8 sources
    Croatia to invest €6 billion in railway modernization by 2035

    Croatia plans to invest six billion euros by 2035 to modernize its railway network, aiming to increase passenger train speeds on international, regional, and local lines.

  3. [BUSINESS] 6 sources
    Croatia reports lowest European rail punctuality in 2024

    A report by IRG-Rail shows Croatia had the lowest passenger and freight train punctuality in Europe in 2024, with only 68 percent of trains arriving within the permitted time threshold.

  4. [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Zagorska railway modernization to reduce travel times

    Croatia plans a 200 million euro modernization of the Zagorska railway to reduce travel times to under an hour and improve reliability for commuters.

Sources

borba.me · capital.ba · financije.hr · index.hr · jutarnji.hr · lider.media · mobilitate.eu · monitor.hr · n1info.hr · nezavisen.mk · ogportal.com · oslobodjenje.ba · poslovni.hr · scm.hr · sjevercg.me · vecernji.hr · vijesti.hrt.hr

This summary has been updated 1 time: see revision history