Croatian Railways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hrvatske željeznice | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Government-owned |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Industry | Rail Transport |
| Products | Rail Transport, Rail Construction, Services |
| Website | Official website (English) |
Croatian Railways (Croatian: Hrvatske željeznice, (HŽ)) is the national railway company of Croatia, formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and JŽ.
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[edit] Railway network
The Croatian railway system consists of 2.974 km of rails (of which 248 km is double track). 1.228 km is electrified - 41.3%. (End of 2004).
There are several major railway routes in the country:
- (coming from Ljubljana, Slovenia) from Dobova via Zagreb, Slavonski Brod, Vinkovci to Tovarnik (and on to Belgrade, Serbia)
- from Zagreb to Osijek via Koprivnica
- from Zagreb to Rijeka
- from Zagreb to Split
- from Zagreb to Sisak - the shortest but very important
- from Zagreb to Varazdin - getting less and less important over years
There are also other routes to Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
The railways are in urgent need of modernisation. Following the break-up of Former Yugoslavia, there has been minimal investment into railway infrastructure right across the country. Many important routes are still not electrified, are single track, and are windy causing slow speeds. The aforementioned routes have been in constant renovation for the last ten years, with the result of increased maximum speed: on the Zagreb-Novska-Vinkovci line, there are sections where the limit was raised from 80 km/h to 120 km/h and even 160 km/h.
[edit] Dobova-Tovarnik line (International corridor X)
The railway line between Dobova and Tovarnik, operating the length of Croatia from east to west via Zagreb, presently is the country's most important rail line, and part of the Pan-European corridor X. It is also the most advanced and busiest, being completely electrified and consisting mostly of double tracks. In a longitudinal manner it crosses Croatia's northern regions Slavonia, Posavina and the Greater Zagreb Region, connecting the most developed towns in Croatia with each other. The route is as follows
- Dobova (Croatian border with Slovenia)
- Zagreb
- Sesvete (track split towards Sisak (electrified))
- Dugo Selo (track split towards Botovo (electrified)) (This is planned to be the future corridor 5b)
- Ivanić Grad, Kutina
- village Banova Jaruga (again track split towards Virovitica (non-electrified))
- Novska (track split backwards towards Sisak (electrified))
- Nova Gradiška
- combined villages Nova Kapela-Batrina (track split towards Požega, and via Pleternica towards Našice (non-electrified) )
- Slavonski Brod
- combined villages Strizivojna-Vrpolje (two track splits: towards Osijek (currently non-electrified) and towards Slavonski Šamac (electrified, Croatian border to Bosnia and Herzegovina))
- Vinkovci (four track splits: towards Osijek (currently suspended), Vukovar, Županja and Brčko in Bosnia and Herzegovina, before the Croatian war of Independence, this was one of the biggest East European junction stations, for both passengers and freight)
- Tovarnik (Croatian border with Serbia)
At Vinkovci the track splits and branches towards: Županja, Vukovar, both non-electrified. A connection towards Osijek which was severely damaged in the recent conflict is yet to be fully fixed, and is likely to be reopened again as branch line.
[edit] Ogulin-Knin line
The Ogulin-Knin line, also known as the "Lička pruga", or Lika line is part of the railway connection between Zagreb and Split. As of 2007, this line is being heavily upgraded with many sharp bends and grades removed in order to allow tilting trains to travel at nearly full speed on most parts of the track, and reducing travel time from Split to Zagreb by around a third to 5-6 hours. This track was never the shortest distance between Zagreb and Split - however the line via Martin Brod which forms the border with Bosnia has not been reopened to passenger traffic since the recent conflict.
The problems faced were that as the line was constructed a long time ago and contained many curves (often in difficult terrain), services were slow and speeds severely restricted. The modernisation has involved rebuilding complete sections of track, straightening many curves, by repositioning and and by renewing track and enabling for higher speeds. Electrification for the line is not scheduled in future.
[edit] International corridor V
International corridor V has two branches in Croatia, the "b" and "c" branch.
Coridor Vb is entering Croatia in Botovo, and runs to Zagreb. The part from Zagreb to Rijeka should also become the part of this corridor, as soon as the extension towards Rijeka is built.
Corridor Vc is a Pan-European railway line, running north to south within Croatia. It enters Croatia in Beli Manastir at the border with Hungary, and runs through Osijek to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina in Slavonski Šamac. It enters Croatia again in Metković, in the very south-east of Dalmatia, where it ends at the Ploče harbour. The line crosses the Dobova-Tovarnik line in Strizivojna-Vrpolje. The line is currently being heavily modernised in order to revitalize Ploče's harbour.
The part from Strizivojna-Vrpolje towards Slavonski Šamac is fully electrified, and recently the modernised catenary has been put into operation. The passenger traffic scheduled from Vinkovci to Slavonski Šamac (now performed by electrical power) is still scarce. The remaining part from Strizivojna-Vrpolje to region of Osijek (heart of the region Slavonia) is scheduled to be electrified, as soon the general overhaul of the line track is completed, after which operating speeds will finally be raised to 160 km/h. The line will stay single track.
[edit] The Vinkovci-Osijek line
The Vinkovci-Osijek line was, before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, one of the most prospective and most heavily used branch lines of Croatia, linking two region hearts. The line allowed speeds up to 120 km/h. After the war, only about 10 km of the roughly 35 km long line remains preserved. Most of the tracks were stolen by the aggressor, destroyed and used as barricades and for other war purposes.
Finally, after 15 years, the reconstruction of this once most used route (11 passenger and also so much freight train pairs per day) is finished. Test driving with a measuring vehicle has fully successfully been performed in whole line length with 60-80 kph. Regular traffic start date is of yet not really clear. Many rail with street crossings must be upgraded, in order to satisfy the standards and be able to raise the speed limit, due to security concerns.[citation needed]
[edit] The "Unska pruga" route
The "Unska pruga" route between Knin and Novi Grad was once an integral part of the Jugoslovenske Zeljeznice railway system. Today, this route remains largely unused, since the route virtually runs over the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, crossing it multiple times.
Although this route is overall well preserved and electrified with 25 kV/50 Hz (making it compatible with the Croatian electrification system), administrative problems concerning the many border crossings cause this route to be exclusively used for backup freight traffic services. The designated border crossing along the line between the two countries is at the town of Martin Brod.
[edit] Network connection problems
There are some rail network connection problems, which have historical causes. When Croatia was part of Yugoslavia, the rail network was consistently connected. As Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro and Slovenia were torn apart from Croatia, important rail links were completely lost for Croatian authorities.
Istria has no direct connection through Croatia. Only a rail link through Slovenia is possible.
The Dubrovnik broader Area is again a special case. Dubrovnik is legally a part of Croatia, but Croatia is divided by a small area near Bosnian Neum sea district (international waters). There is no direct rail link through Croatia toward Dubrovnik. If needed, the rail traffic must be made rerouted via Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only freight traffic is done. There is no rail connection between Dubrovnik and the rest of Croatia. Historically, the number of rail routes in this area is not dense, and very slim. Air traffic and ship traffic is much more developed in this area. The south located Croatian harbour of Ploče is connected to the railway network of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
[edit] Power systems
The original decision in former Yugoslavia was to use 3 kV DC electrification for the railway network. This was performed on the Rijeka-Zagreb line, which due to the mountainous Gorski kotar region had a need for more powerful trains than the traditional diesel powered ones.
Beginning with the modernisation of the Zagreb-Belgrade line an electrification system of 25 kV/50 Hz was used. Electrification on other lines in Croatia was then made exclusively with the 25 kV/50 Hz system. Later, the majority of the Zagreb-Rijeka line was re-electrified to 25 kV/50 Hz, but there still remains a part that is 3 kV DC powered. As a consequence a power system break still exists at Moravice. HŽ now seriously thinks of purchasing dual-voltage locomotives, as an alternative to full re-electrification of 3 kV DC tracks.
All railway power systems in Croatia are exclusively of type overhead catenary.
[edit] Rolling stock
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.JPG/180px-7122_series_train_(12).JPG)
- 3 kV electric locomotives
- HŽ 1061.0
- HŽ 1061.1
- 25 kV electric locomotives
- HŽ 1141.0
- HŽ 1141.1
- HŽ 1141.2
- HŽ 1141.3
- HŽ 1142.0
- Diesel locomotives
- Shunting diesel locomotives
- HŽ 2132.0
- HŽ 2132.1
- HŽ 2132.2
- HŽ 2132.3
- Leased for testing: Dispolok ES 64 F 4 Siemens four-voltage locomotive
- HŽ 1241.0
- Electric trainsets:
- HŽ 6011.0
- HŽ 6111.0
- Diesel trainsets: 3 classes (including ICN)
- HŽ 7121.0
- HŽ 7121.1
- HŽ 7122.0
- HŽ 7123.0
Due to lack of passenger train garnitures, sometimes some endorsed classes are still used, like 7021.0 (two left) and 7221.0 (as branch-line or backup garniture).
[edit] Tilting trains
In 2004, 8 modern Bombardier RegioSwinger tilting trains called "ICN" (short for InterCity Nagibni; Tilting InterCity) from the German branch of Bombardier Transportation were delivered to Croatian Railways. These trains are normally deployed on the mountainous route between the two largest Croatian cities, route Zagreb - Split, but are also sometimes on the InterCity routes in the continental part of the country. In the case of the Zagreb-Split route, this offers passengers a much more comfortable and time-saving journey with regard to previous trains whose journey took 8 hours, whereas the tilting trains take less than 5 and a half hours, and are more quiet and better equipped as well.
In the future ICN trains should link all major cities in Croatia: Pula, Rijeka, Osijek, Varaždin, Split, Zadar, Šibenik and Sisak. If ever done, the link to Pula will be most difficult to master, since after the dissolution of Yugoslavia Istria is technically cut of the rest of linked Croatian rail network. All direct traffic to Istria must currently be made over Slovenia. One tunnel, which would link the Istrian rail network to the rest of Croatia must be drilled. This tunnel project is already postponed for more decades, although the project already has began and work was stopped.
As of 2007, there have been some major incidents with ICN trains colliding with people, as people were not used to trains running high speeds. At least two trains are seriously damaged, and it is uncertain whether they ever will resume service.
[edit] Renumeration
In 1993 HŽ renumerated all their vehicles. This results in some confusion to the relation to their previous numbers. All other companies, which have been formed after dissolution of JŽ have kept the original numbers.
[edit] Croatian speed record
The current speed record for a rail vehicle in Croatia is 185 km/h. The record has been set on the railway track between the towns of Novska and Nova Gradiška. This record run was performed in order to demonstrate the possibilities of the first unit of the JŽ 1 442 train class (now HŽ 1 142 train class). The train class that did this is still the fastest class of electric locomotives in Croatia.
This part of the railroad track was built to withstand 200 km/h, which is the technical limit of class 1 142. However, for safety reasons, the maximum speed of the HŽ 1 142 in regular service was set to 160 km/h.
[edit] Future developments and projects
- Suburban rail traffic around Zagreb is to be fully renovated and reorganised. Some local lines previously shut down will be reactivated, and a link to Zagreb airport has been approved and announced by Zagreb authorities. Part of this plan is to buy brand new suburban electric trains, probably produced by a Croatian manufacturer in cooperation with an outside partner (most likely Siemens).
- 2009 or 2010 will see the opening of a newly-constructed line to Samobor though following a different route to the previous line. The line will use new rolling stock and help serve many of the transport deficiencies currently between the two neighbouring cities.
- Suburban rail traffic around Split is to begin (has already begun on a small scale). See: Split Suburban Railway
- Corridor 5c will be upgraded to allow an operating speed of 160 km/h. This has been done already on the track between Osijek and Slavonski Šamac.
- Corridor 5c will be completely electrificated (date still unknown)
- Dual power engines will be purchased. Some tests with trains from various manufacturers, mostly Siemens Eurosprinter electric engines, have been performed already.
- The Rijeka-Zagreb line will have a common power system
- Revitalization of the Osijek-Vinkovci line recently started, and the line will support maximum speeds of 120 km/h (100 km/h in practice). Since this line was in a badly damaged state the reconstruction will be done in 2 phases. Phase 1 is only the necessary signalling (track crossing signalling through traffic signs only). Due to this fact and the current corresponding Croatian laws, traffic must commence very carefully, and probably trains will have to stop on every crossing and then speed up again. Due to excess costs in phase 1, phase 2 will be deploy automatic track-road protection devices on all crossings, which will finally allow full nominal line speed.
[edit] High-speed rail line
A fully electrified line connects Rijeka with Zagreb (though with power system break from 3kV DC to 25kV/50 Hz AC at Moravice), and onwards towards Koprivnica and the Hungarian border, as part of the European 5b corridor. A transportation bill, to be passed by the Croatian Parliament, will see the start of construction of Croatia's first high-speed rail line, following the aforementioned 5b corridor, enabling theoretical speeds of 200 km/h, with an average journey speed of 160 km/h. The last economic indications (new signalling system beyond 160 km/h would be to expensive) show that 160 km/h will probably be used in practice (at least in the beginning). The plan consists of updating the existing track between the Hungarian border and Karlovac to a double track line and building a completely new track between Karlovac and Rijeka. The line's complete length will be 269 km, 61 km shorter than the current line. Construction on the new line will start in Autumn 2007 and will be completed by 2013. The speeds of this line will enable a trip from Rijeka to Zagreb in an hour, as opposed to the current four hours.
The initial route plan is described on this link: Initial proposed solution
Initially, the planned maximum operational speed of the line was to be 250 km/h, but was cut down to 200 km/h in later stages in order to save several billion kunas. Signalling will be brand-new and the line will be entirely devoid of level crossings. The line will be built primarily to serve the huge amount of goods that enter Europe in the port of Rijeka and are then distributed all over Central and Eastern Europe.
In the end, 160 km/h will most probably be used after all, at least in the beginning. Signalling systems for higher speed will be too expensive and cross the available budget. If this line itself shows to be promising, the signalling upgrade to higher speeds will happen. As of now, Croatian Railways does not possess any vehicles which could drive beyond the speed of 160 km/h. Only one locomotive class can originally go 180 km/h by specification (test-run passed at this speed), but it is limited to 160 km/h, due to security reasons and regulations. In order to really have some speeds greater than 160 km/h in future, leased stock or new purchases are necessary. For freight transport, such speeds are unnecessary. Only passenger transport can benefit on long term from this.
[edit] Unofficial long term projects
- More usage of the flagship ICN trains (the newest HŽ stock acquisition), also on Zagreb-Našice line (over Nova Kapela-Batrina and Pleternica), additionally to currently running Zagreb-Osijek over Strizivojna-Vrpolje train and to Varazdin. This is the latest news, as announced. Ridership on existing ICN lines proved to be full success. The ICN Zagreb-Osijek, Zagreb-Varaždin and Zagreb-Split ICN lines are almost always at 100% ridership capacity.
- Reelectrification and bringing back the destroyed catenary and signals on Novska-Sisak and integration in the full pre-war length and conversion to former known Zagreb-Novska alternative route, also speed increase.
- A new, just few long kilometers long connection route (branch line) connecting two rail routes around Bjelovar is planned a long time, and, when build, will shorten travel times from Bjelovar to Zagreb (now done over Virovitica). This will be the first entirely original railroad line in Croatia in many years.
- Plans to upgrade the Dobova-Tovarnik (Corridor X) to double track at the full length (if the freight traffic increases to pre-war amounts or above that) and higher speeds (above 160 km/h) (talked about since long time). Most of the track damaged sections between Novska and Tovarnik is completely renewed after the Croatian war of independence. This route is the most probable candidate for a track above 200 km/h in the current status, as it is the most modern route, and double track in mostly excellent condition exists currently between shortly before Zagreb and Dugo Selo, and between Novska and Vinkovci. The part of double track existing after Vinkovci to Tovarnik is still being reconstructed, though only one track is currently functioning at reduced speed. This route is protected by security systems (St. Andrew's crosses and ramps) in the whole length. Near Zagreb, and Vinkovci there are even fully separate level crossings with roads. The rest is also mostly separate level crossing. Only the signalling system and overhead catenary would need some adaptations.
- The Osijek-Vinkovci line is planned to be electrified after reopening, if justified. Before the war related closure and heavy damage in 1991, it was one of few profitable branch lines. With new changed circumstances (this is now a direct and shortest connection between European corridor Vc and corridor X), it would be economically justified to electrify it, as shortest link between the two corridors towards eastern Europe.
[edit] Some technical data
- Currently maximum allowed speed on parts of the network: 160 km/h
- Train protection system used (where applicable): INDUSI (a stripped down derivative of German system)
- Signaling system: at sight only, automatic block protection (on mainlines and where applicable)
[edit] See also
[edit] Rail links with adjacent countries
- Transport in Slovenia
- Transport in Hungary
- Transport in Serbia
- Transport in Montenegro
- Transport in Bosnia and Herzegovina
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] External links
- Official website (English)
- Map
- Map with all railway stations
- Forum about Croatian Railways - also with an English subforum
- Croatian stock list
- Croatian withdrawn stock list
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