A new railway line linking the Croatian and Hungarian borders is expected to impact freight traffic between the two countries positively. The recently opened railway section between Drnje, Croatia, and the border with Hungary also features a complex bridge construction crossing the river Drava.
According to Croatian State Secretary for Railway Infrastructure, Transport, Electronic Communications and Post, Žarko Tušek, the newly built railway track will “above all benefit freight transport”. When fully operable, the railway section is expected to accommodate 30 daily trains compared to six in the past.
President of the Management Board of HŽ Infrastruktura Ivan Kršić confirmed this statement, explaining that most of the line’s capacity will be utilised by freight trains running to and from the Croatian port of Rijeka. Apart from boosting capacity between Croatia and Hungary, the line will also benefit the Mediterranean rail freight corridor spanning from Spain to Hungary since it comprises a vital infrastructure puzzle piece that has been missing so far.
It is important to mention that the new bridge installed over the river Drava will play a crucial role in boosting freight capacity, considering that it carries two tracks while the old one was single-tracked. In this way, the increased number of trains arriving will be accommodated more smoothly on their way to and from Hungary.
Largest infra project in Croatia
For reference, the new line is part of the broader reconstruction plan of the existing Križevci – Koprivnica – CR/HU border line. In parallel with the reconstruction of the old line, the Croatian infrastructure manager HŽ Infrastruktura and Turkish contractor Cengiz Insaatare are building an entirely new line. Its total length will be 42.6 kilometres, with 38 of them, including the recently opened section, already fully constructed.
Four kilometres of track awaiting to be built to link Mučna Reka and Koprivnica will deem the project complete – a development expected in late 2025. When this happens, trains will be able to run through this railway section with speeds reaching up to 160 km/h.