Croatia signs EUR 278.8m Zagreb–Karlovac rail contract

An HŽPP passenger train at Zagreb Glavni kolodvor, on a network where Comsa will upgrade 44 km of line to Karlovac under a EUR 278.8m contract. Photo: Falk2 via Wikimedia Commons.

CROATIA: HŽ Infrastruktura has signed a EUR 278.8m contract with Spanish contractor Comsa to upgrade 44 kilometres of line between Zagreb and Karlovac.

The contract, signed 17 April with transport minister Butković in attendance, covers track doubling, electrification and ETCS Level 1 installation on a section of the TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor, with completion targeted for 2029.

Contract scope and corridor role

The upgrade covers the section from Hrvatski Leskovac to Karlovac, raising line speed to 160 km/h on a route that currently operates as single-track and unelectrified. ETCS Level 1 will be installed as part of the works.

The project is co-funded under the EU Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme 2021–2027.

Gateway to Rijeka

The Zagreb–Karlovac section forms the first leg of the Mediterranean Corridor route toward the Adriatic port of Rijeka. Upgrading the section is a precondition for faster freight and passenger movement between Rijeka and Central Europe.