The project for the design of the first section will be ready by November 2026, while for the second one is February 2026. The completion of the project is expected for 2036. The plan includes the construction of a rail depot, five stations, 17 viaducts and 14 tunnels. Once finished, the journey between Rijeka and Zagreb will be reduced by 56 kilometres, HZ Infrastruktura added.

Rail freight developments in Croatia

The future infrastructure will have a positive impact on rail freight to and from the port of Rijeka. Here, Maersk’s subsidiary APM Terminals recently inaugurated the Rijeka Gateway, a new multimodal facility with an annual throughput capacity of over one million TEUs.

Other than developing the infrastructure to and from Rijeka, Croatia is also carrying out projects to boost international rail services. One example is the upgrade line from Križevci to the Hungarian border, which will allow the passage of 30 daily trains compared to the current six.

The Rijeka Gateway

The multimodal facility at the Croatian port of Rijeka is owned by APM Terminals (51%) and ENNA Group (49%) and will replace an older one always owned by APM. The two companies invested around 380 million euros to realise the project. The new terminal, located on the western side of the port, will have an annual throughput capacity of over one million TEUs. Rail freight is expected to play a significant role, increasing Rijeka’s competitiveness with the other Adriatic ports Koper and Trieste.

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.

“This is precisely why HŽ Infrastruktura is the country’s largest user of EU funds in the transport sector,” the company said. “There are currently 17 EU projects being implemented, and there are also numerous projects from other funding sources.”

Freight to benefit most

It just so happens to be that the primary beneficiary of these projects is freight, according to the infrastructure manager. “Most of the capital infrastructure projects are carried out on two international corridors – RH2 corridor that leads from Rijeka, via Zagreb to Budapest, and RH1 corridor that stretches from Slovenia through Zagreb to Serbia. Both corridors are part of the core TEN-T network”, HŽ Infrastruktura said. “If we consider that most freight traffic in the country passes through the corridor from Rijeka to Hungary, then we can conclude that they”, that is, Croatia’s 18 rail freight operators, “will benefit the most.”

The investments are extensive, and will overhaul Croatia’s entire rail network. “There is almost no kilometre of railway lines that is not in some stage of reconstruction – either preparation of documentation, bidding for works or execution of works. Many projects have already been completed”, the infrastructure manager explains. It is also working to roll out ERTMS.

Funding from all over

There is widespread interest in Croatia’s rail works. The country can count on funding from various sources, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds, the Connecting Europe Facility and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. “In addition to money from European funds, projects are also financed with loans from development banks – the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development”, HŽ Infrastruktura says. On top of that, Croatia signed a 900 million euro deal with the European Investment Bank.

However, the works are also causing disruptions. Currently, the Križevci – Koprivnica line is closed until 6 November as part of the country’s largest railway project. Croatia is modernising the railway line between Križevci and the border with Hungary, and is aiming for completion by the end of the year. Additionally, the Koprivnica – Drnje – Gyekenyes border crossing section will be down between 26 November and 2 December.

Business has already started

On top of the activities mentioned above, Adria Rail also operates the Indija terminal between Belgrade and Novi Sad in Serbia. With the 51 per cent stake acquisition from the company in March 2023, METRANS basically became the terminal’s operator. This was the first-ever rail terminal operated by the HHLA subsidiary in Serbia.

Of course, a new terminal means opportunities for new connections. METRANS did not waste its time, and just a couple of months after taking over the Indija terminal, it launched a new service connecting it with its HUB rail terminal in Budapest.

Almost simultaneously, it started a service between the HUB terminal and the port of Rijeka while also linking Rijeka with Indija, creating a triangular network between Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary. As a result, the network was already there, but with Adria Rail’s complete acquisition, METRANS has taken a decisive step in becoming a leading transport player also in the Balkan region.

Despite the diversion route not being too long and the 24-hour operation regime benefiting operators in terms of efficiency and avoiding substantial backlog, rail freight companies still have to deal with some issues. For example, METRANS, which operates lines in the region via its subsidiary Adria Rail, explained that services through the diversion routes will be more expensive. As a result, the company was forced to implement a de-tour surcharge of 75 euros per TEU.

Also read: Croatia: rail accident causes issues to Rijeka and Mediterranean Corridor

Accident reasons still unclear

Information from the Mediterranean Rail Freight Corridor also addressed the conditions under which the accident occurred. For reference, the freight train involved in the accident was operated by Rail Cargo Carrier-Croatia.

RCC’s director, Milan Brkić, explained after the accident that the train lost control due to a brake malfunction. Commenting to Croatian media, he said that the train “simply lost its brakes and moved out of control” from Meja-Škrljevo onwards. He also mentioned that the train driver communicated the situation on time through the radio.

The Mediterranean RFC said the freight train was required to stop at the Meja station, but it didn’t “for unknown reasons”. The organisation also underlined that the accident’s causes are unknown and that the investigation has not been concluded.

RCC’s director, Milan Brkić, explained that the train lost control due to a brake malfunction. His comments to Croatian media spoke of the train “simply losing its brakes and moving out of control” from Meja-Škrljevo onwards. He also mentioned that the train driver communicated the situation on time through the radio.

A source from HŽ Infrastruktura underlined that, ironically, this was the second railway accident occurring in the same railway section between Rijeka and Zagreb. The source also explained that a worse development was avoided due to the heroic intervention of a railway worker who jumped on the moving train and pulled the “valve of the main airline” to stop it forcibly.

Substantial damage

Thankfully, there were no casualties or serious injuries reported. However, the source from HŽ Infrastruktura spoke of substantial track damages that could potentially cause further traffic restrictions. No official damage assessment is in place yet, nor is the line’s closure timeframe known.

It should be noted that the Zagreb-Rijeka section on which the accident occurred is part of the Mediterranean Corridor and of the railway line connecting to the port of Rijeka. Information from HŽ Infrastruktura highlighted that more than 40 per cent of the total railway freight transport in Croatia takes place on this line.

“Considering that there’s significant damage to the rail tracks and other railway infrastructure, a longer interruption of traffic is to be expected,” highlighted the information. Considering that the disruption affects both a major port and rail freight corridor, the impact on all stakeholders involved, including the port, logistics and transport companies and the Infrastructure Manager himself, could be substantial and extended in terms of time length.

The plan for this route is to connect Ukrainian and Croatian Danube ports. Grain will follow an upstream course in the Danube River from the ports of Reni and Izmail (Ukraine), possibly to the port of Vukovar (Croatia). From there, grain cargo will need to cross Croatia from East to West and reach the Adriatic ports of Rijeka, Zadar or Split.

Not many more details have been shared for this new grain export route, which was initially deemed inefficient and expensive and presented multiple capacity and transit limitations regarding the transport modes that would link the Danube and Adriatic ports. Both road and rail infrastructure in Croatia are very problematic, but the country’s essentially very old, slow and unmaintained railway network was the one causing most concerns.

In any case, Ukraine attempts to utilise every opportunity appearing on the table, which is why it has decided to try the Croatian route, probably for very specific and not too large grain export volumes. At the same time, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated that Baltic and Polish ports could contribute by transhipping 10 million tons of Ukrainian grain annually; however, no concrete action has been taken to implement this solution so far.

An interesting feature of the three services is that they create a triangular network between Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. That is because apart from Rijeka-Indija linking to Budapest, they will also have a regular service running between them. Consequently, cargo from Indija can transit directly to Rijeka without crossing through Budapest and vice versa. Indija can also receive trains from Koper upon customer request.

More terminals in Southern Hungary

When it comes to Hungary, the company is also working on the construction of two new terminals. One of them will be located in Szeged, near the borders with Romania and Serbia and is expected to start operations in 2025. One will be in Zalaegerszeg, near the Hungarian borders with Austria and Slovenia, for which construction has already started in 2021. This terminal is expected to be up and running within 2023, and METRANS will invest roughly 40 million euros in the project.

With these two additions, the company will be able to soon rely on three facilities in Hungary since it already operates one in Budapest. “Countries in Southeastern Europe are experiencing dynamic growth. Therefore, new logistics solutions are required”, METRANS CEO Peter Kiss commented.

InRail’s courses keep their workforce young

Every year, InRail trains around 100 people. “Each class is composed of roughly 20 students, and we have five or six classes every year”, he specified. The effectiveness of this initiative can be seen in the average age of InRail’s workforce: 35 years old. On the other hand, more than 50 per cent of Italian rail workers were over 50 years old already in 2016. One of the main issues in the country is that many rail workers will retire over the next few years but are not being replaced at the same pace.

Their certifications are recognised by the Italian Agency for Safety on Rail, Road, and Motorway Infrastructure (ANSFISA). Other than its independent course, InRail also collaborates with SerForm, a training centre based in Switzerland, that is recognised by ANSFISA. Moreover, the company offers programmes also in the so-called Superior Techinical Institutes (ITS), schools with specialisation courses to be attended after high school.

‘Training rail workers is basically charity work for a company’

As Porta pointed out, training rail workers is a long and expensive process that involves a relatively small number of people, especially when compared to truck drivers. Training truck drivers mainly includes getting a drivers licence, which in Italy costs a little over 1,000 euros and companies may be more eager to pay for it. Personnel training for the rail freight sector, on the other hand, is quite the long and expensive process, taking over one year. These costs oscillate between 500,000 and one million euros per year, making them the fourth largest expense for InRail, after salaries, rolling stock management, and infrastructure costs.

Many of the people trained by InRail, moreover, end up on the market and not employed at the company, especially with the programmes at SerForm and ITS. “For the internal InRail programme this happens less because we tailor it according to the company’s needs”, Porta said. For example, InRail trained seven or eight employees who were only working ‘on land’ (inspections, shunting operations, etc…) to become train drivers. “This gives an opportunity to grow to our workforce which thus become more loyal”. This, as Porta mentioned, leads to an impact on the company’s wallet because these employees get paid while they are being trained.

Another significant expense for InRail concerns the instructors, who are often employees with great experience. InRail has nine instructors and eight more for SerForm programme. “Becoming an instructor is sort of the last step in one’s career in this sector, therefore their costs is higher than an average teacher salary”, Porta explained. Moreover, they can often be the ones carrying out the exams as well, leading the costs to increase further. However, Porta embraces this project and hopes that more companies will follow suit to help rejuvenate the rail workforce in Italy and solve the labour shortage in the country.

How to become the only company to operate in Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia?

InRail is also the only Italian company that carries out services in Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. The adventure of InRail in Slovenia and Croatia started because the company was already operating two services there, via state-owned rail freight companies. With established branches in these countries, these collaborations are no longer necessary. Moreover, the company can count on their own fleet of locomotives. The branch in Slovenia was opened in Nova Gorica in 2014, with regular services being launched in 2019. Now, InRail does not need to rely on Slovenian Railways to move the train up to the Italian border.

“InRail Slovenia now operates most trains that InRail picks up at the Italian border with Slovenia with our own machinists and locomotives,” Porta claimed. After this was consolidated, Croatia became the next step, as he stated. InRail now also has a facility in Zagreb, the Croatian capital. This one is smaller than its Slovenian counterpart, and the services offered by Inrail are not regular ones yet. As he explained, entering the Croatian market was not easy mostly because companies in Eastern Europe tend to be more conservative and don’t always share services with outsiders.

Other than Slovenia and Croatia, InRail’s expansion is not only advantageous for services in Croatia and Slovenia. In October, the company recently launched a new service connecting the port of Genoa with Tiszaujvaros, in northeast Hungary, for the transportation of carbon black. Thanks to the new entities in Slovenia and Croatia, InRail can operate this service from the Ligurian port up to the Hungarian border.

Also read:

• ‘State support for rail freight personnel training is crucial in Italy’
• Italian rail freight associations urge minister to unlock subsidies
• Energy prices main concern in Italy, but there are other risks looming