Route modernisation procurement progress in Croatia

CROATIA: HŽ Infrastruktura has launched a €620m tender for the modernisation and double-tracking its 83 km Dugo Selo – Novska line. The project is co-financed by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility and the Competitiveness & Cohesion Programme.

The project will lift the maximum line speed to 160 km/h, allowing significant acceleration of schedules over the current best time of 2 h 1 min. The stations at Dugo Selo, Ivanić-Grad, Popovača, Kutina, and Novska are also to be modernised.

Prior to 1991 the line’s maximum speed was 130 km/h, but a lack of maintenance has reduced this to only 40 to 60 km/h.

The deadline for bid submissions is April 8 2025. Construction is expected to be complete within five years from the start of work.

• Swietelsky has won a €189m contract from HŽ Infrastruktura for renewal of the single-track Kloštar – Koprivinica – Čakovec line, with work set to start in April. The project covers reconstruction of 86·5 km of track, eight stations and seven smaller halts. Work is due to take 40 months for completion in summer 2028. Swietelsky plans to use Plasser & Theurer PM1000-URM ballast renewal and SMD-80 tracklaying machines.