Covid recovery funds to aid Croatian rail

Croatia says it will implement a rail investment plan, with a number of key rail projects set to receive an initial €224 million boost from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

Rail infrastructure is set to receive significant investment in Croatia. Photo: Adobe Images

Josip Bilaver, the State Secretary for Sea and EU funds, said, “A large part of the funds is directed to the railway transport, in which, due to the development of motorways, no significant investments were made until a few years ago.”

The largest of these projects comprises phases 2 and 3 of the reconstruction and construction of the second track on the 72 km Dugo Selo – Novska rail line.

Another project expected to be financed under the RRP is the reconstruction of the M604 Oštarije – Knin – Split rail line. The scope of work will include the modernisation of three stations on the line connecting Karlovac County with the region of Dalmatia, plus track renewal and the installation of new signalling and interlocking devices.

The funding programme also includes a plan to remove bottlenecks on railway infrastructure.

In total, 146 investments and 76 reforms in Croatia will be supported by €6.3 billion in RRP grants. Of these, more than 40% will support climate objectives and approximately 20% will aid the digital transition.