Croatia - General Information
Country Name
Croatia (Hrvatska)
National railway system
Hrvatske Željeznice
Official Website
Language
Croatian.
Currency
Kuna
UIC code
numeric 78; alpha HR
Timetable
Journey Planner
Downloadable Timetable
Downloadable timetable leaflets are available on the official HŽ website for International Trains, Domestic Trains and Local Trains.
Printed Timetable
Vozni Red, published annually. This includes introductory material in German. Presentation is straightforward, with use of standard symbols.
Engineering Information
Not known.
Maps
Timetable Map
A fold-out route diagram shows principal stations.
Infrastructure
See the HŽ Network Statement
Other Maps
There is no published map of Croatian railways, except that in M.G. Ball's "European Railway Atlas".
Gauge
Standard.
Electrification
25 kV 50 Hz. Moravice to Šapjane via Rijeka is 3 kV dc, but the section from Moravice to Rijeka is undergoing conversion from 3 kV dc to 25 kV 50 Hz.
Rule of the road
Right.
Private railways
None.
Tourist lines
None.
Metro
None.
Trams
Osijek, Zagreb.
Recent and future changes
It was reported early in 2010 that HŽ plans to withdraw over 200 passenger trains, resulting in a number of lines having no service at weekends. No definite dates have been given but the proposals include complete withdrawal of passenger trains over the following routes:
- 32 Bizovac - Belišće (whose passenger service has only recently been introduced)
- 71 Knin - Zadar
- 90 Lupoglav - Buzet (and presumably across the border to Slovenia)
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.
The following routes were reinstated in the 2008/2009 timetable (the first two were casualties of the 1990s Croatian war of independence):
- Vukovar-Borovo Naselje - Vukovar [but only one train per day each way]
- Vinkovci - Osijek direct
- Savski Marof to Harmica (trains between Savski Marof and Kumrovec via Harmica were replaced by buses, due to poor track condition, in 2001)
- Ogulin avoiding line (after a gap of some years, again used by fast services between Zagreb and Split)
Track has been lifted from the war-damaged line from Karlovac to Sisak, but passenger services have been introduced over two lines that were freight-only under JŽ:
- Bjelovar to Kloštar and
- Bizovac to Belišće (though the latter now has a restricted service).
The line from Erdut to Bogojevo (Serbia) reopened to freight traffic on 8 August 2008 following rebuilding of the river bridge damaged by bombing in 1999.
Cross-border services to Bosnia-Hercegovina resumed in 2001/2002 between Volinja and Dobrljin, between Slavonski Šamac and Bosanski Šamac and between Drenovci and Brčko via Gunja. 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, though Lendava still sees freight traffic.
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.