Last update for this page: 07 September 2003.
National railway system: Hrvatske Željeznice
Language: Croatian.
Currency: Kuna
UIC code: 78
Timetable: Vozni Red, published annually. This includes introductory material in German. Presentation is straightforward, with use of standard symbols. A fold-out route diagram shows principal stations.
Gauge: Standard
Electrification: 25kV 50Hz. Moravice to Šapjane via Rijeka is 3kV dc, but the section from Moravice to Rijeka is in course of conversion to 25kV 50Hz.
Rule of the road: Right
Private railways: None
Tourist lines: None
Metro: None
Trams: Osijek, Zagreb
Trolleybuses: None
Recent and future changes:
Not all war-damaged lines have been reinstated. No funding is available at present for re-opening the line from Osijek to Vinkovci and track has been lifted on the line from Karlovac to Sisak. However, passenger services have been introduced over two lines that were freight-only under JŽ, Bjelovar to Kloštar and Bizovac to Belišće.
Cross-border services to Jugoslavia have resumed between Tovarnik and Sid (on the Zagreb to Beograd main line). The line from Erdut to Bogojevo remains closed.
Cross-border services to Bosnia-Hercegovina have resumed between Volinja and Dobrljin, between Slavonski Šamac and Bosanski Šamac and between Drenovci and Brčko via Gunja. The latter two started in December 2002. It was reported that the line between Knin and Bihac opened early in 2001, but no passenger service has been advertised yet.
Cross-border services to Lendava, Sveti Rok ob Sotli and Imeno, all in Slovenia, have all been withdrawn.
Trains between Savski Marof and Kumrovec have been replaced by buses, due to poor track condition, apparently from June 2001.
After a year or so of closure, the Knin - Zadar route sees regular trains again from December 2002.
It has been announced that the line from Strizivojna-Vrpolje to Osijek is to be electrified and expresses between Zagreb and Osijek will run that way, instead of via Koprivnica.
There are plans to build a railway to connect the Pula line with Rijeka, but it is likely to be many years before finance can be found for this.
Corridor Trains:
None.
Special notes:
Under no circumstances should disused railway lines or installations be explored, because they may not have been cleared of mines.
The Buzet to Pula line is accessible by rail only via Slovenia. A bus service, on which rail tickets are accepted, runs between Rijeka and Lupoglav and is the preferred route from Zagreb to Pula. An international ticket, at a higher fare, is required for travel on a through train via Ljubljana and passengers are subject to passport and customs checks at both border crossings.
Maps: There is no published map of Croatian railways, except that in M.G. Ball's "European Railway Atlas".
Last complete update 17 August 1999; Corridor Trains moved from "Obscure Services" page (1 December 1999); timetable map details added (11 January 2000); electrification details amended (27 November 2000); general update (18 February 2001); language detail updated (1 July 2001); "Recent and Future Changes", "Corridor Trains" and "Special Notes" updated (16 October 2001); "Recent and future changes" updated (26 January 2003 and 7 September 2003).
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