JASPERS helps understanding the “vision” behind the project development, the famous “bigger picture”. EU funds gave us a push, JASPERS helped realising the possibilities.
The background
Imagine a Europe where goods flow seamlessly from one country to another. This is the vision behind the new intermodal corridor stretching from Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, to Krk—a Croatian island connected to the mainland—and onward to Central Europe.
At the heart of this story is the Port of Rijeka, Croatia’s logistic and freight hub. The central position of the port has its drawbacks: it hinders the city of Rijeka from having a direct sea exit and restricts continous operations, thus constraining efficiency. Besides, the single track railway line to the port runs through the city, requiring a lengthy detour to overcome altitude differences. Building a second track? It’s complicated, costly, and would halt operations for years.
But here’s where the plot thickens. The Croatian Ministry of Transport, with JASPERS’ support, launched a strategic study - the National Logistic Concept. The game-changer? Moving the port’s development to the neighbouring island of Krk, a natural deep-sea port, close to Rijeka. This move should lead to a gradual decrease in Rijeka’s port activities and free up space for the city future development.
The challenge
A new dawn for Croatian logistics
For this to work, a reliable railway connection to Zagreb and Europe’s main centres is crucial.
In a recent development, the National Logistic Concept has drawn an important conclusion that is set to change the logistics landscape of Croatia. Zagreb is poised to become the main freight and logistic distribution centre of the country. This strategic shift is expected to bring significant development opportunities to the wider Zagreb area, including a substantial push for reindustrialisation. Freight arriving in Zagreb from various ports, specially Krk, will be distributed towards key destinations, primarily Central Europe, and the Balkans, and vice versa. This is expected to streamline the logistics process and enhance the efficiency of freight distribution.
The action
JASPERS: A catalyst for railway infrastructure development in Croatia
The success of Krk and Zagreb as logistic hubs hinges on the performance of the entire national railway network. For over a decade, JASPERS has played a crucial role in supporting Croatia's railway infrastructure.
Starting in 2012 with the upgrade of the Dugo Selo to Križevci line, we have worked together with Croatian managing authorities on several key projects. These include modernizing the Hrvatski Leskovac to Karlovac line and upgrading the Križevci to Koprivnica line under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Our experts are currently supporting the modernisation of the remaining section of the corridor between Karlovac and Rijeka/Krk, along with the implemention the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) throughout the network.
These initiatives are significantly enhancing Croatia’s railway infrastructure and connectivity.
Strengthening railway connections towards Central Europe
JASPERS expertise at the EU level ensures sharing best practice examples from various European countries. Our experts contribute to an efficient railway connection to Central Europe from Zagreb, particularly through our cooperation with Hungary. JASPERS has supported the development of the Western Hungarian railway network through Szombathely and Sopron. With these investments, a modern and reliable railway connection will be established between Rijeka, Vienna, and Bratislava via Zagreb. This connection will bypass the major mountain ranges in Central Europe, greatly enhancing connectivity and rail freight transit among EU member states. JASPERS contributed to the project's design, helped overcome delays, and coordinated the different phases of the railway corridor's renewal.
JASPERS is also supporting the Hungarian authorities to solve the existing railway bottlenecks in Budapest. This is crucial to ensure a reliable railway connection to the Northern Adriatic ports, including the Port of Rijeka.
Enhancing cooperation for infrastructure development between Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia
In addition to infrastructure developments, JASPERS is also boosting cooperation between Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia. The aim is to identify operational and organisational measures, such as improvements in the customs procedures. These measures are necessary to utilise the full potential of these logistic corridors.
The results
The future looks brighter for the logistics sector in Croatia. These strategic developments aim to establish Zagreb as a central hub and to improve Croatia's links with Central Europe and beyond.
Once finished, Croatia is expected to enjoy a modern and reliable rail freight transport that will link Zagreb, Rijeka and Krk internally, and stretch out to Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia, meeting TSI standards.
In addition, this work is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by enhancing intermodal transport, leading to a reduction in truck congestion and promoting greater use of rail and sea transport.