CROATIAN infrastructure manager HŽ Infrastructure has signed a contract with Comsa to upgrade the 44km Hrvatski Leskovac - Karlovac section of Line M202 from Zagreb to Rijecka. According to HŽ Infrastructure, the contract is worth €278.8m excluding VAT, and is co-financed by grants from the European Union’s (EU) Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme for 2021 to 2027.
The contract was signed on April 17 by Damir Lončarić, president of the management board at HŽ Infrastructure, and Pedro Miguel Rivero Moya, director of procurement at Comsa. Signing took place in the presence of Croatia’s deputy prime minister and minister of the sea, transport and infrastructure, Oleg Butković.
Work is expected to begin this summer for completion in 2029. The project includes complete reconstruction of the existing track, construction of a second electrified track, and replacing signalling and telecommunications systems. Station buildings at Hrvatski Leskovac, Jastrebarski and Karlovac will be refurbished.
Increasing the maximum speed to 160km/h, the upgrade will increase capacity, improve reliability and enhance safety between Hrvatski Leskovac and Karlovac.
“This is one of the largest investments in Croatian railway infrastructure and a significant step towards modernisation and harmonisation of Croatia’s railway system with European interoperability standards,” Butković says.
“The railway has been neglected for a long time, but in this 10-year period we plan to invest almost €6bn in its reconstruction.”
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