A new diesel-electric train was put into traffic on Monday at Pula Railway Station with senior officials from the Hrvatske Zeljeznice railway company, Members of Parliament and Istria County, city and municipal officials riding on the first run from Pula to the town of Kanfanar.

The train, produced by the Koncar – Elektricna Vozila company, can reach a speed of 120 km/h and has a capacity of 167 seats.

It is a three-part low-floor train equipped with four pairs of double doors on each side. It has two ramps for wheelchairs, room for bicycles, and the entire passenger space is under video surveillance. Along with visual and audio announcements of stations and stops, passengers are provided with free WiFi. The train will run on the Pula-Pazin-Pula and Pula-Buzet-Pula routes.

Testing of the first battery trains in May 2024

“A major reform of the railway sector has begun and these are the first signs of it. This reform is not only reflected in today’s train but will also be presented in the major update of the railway infrastructure and passenger and freight traffic by rail on all routes in Croatia,” State Secretary for Railways Alen Gospocic said.

He added that this is the first of the fleet of diesel-engine trains that will come to Istria in the coming years. Gospocic announced the testing of the first battery trains on these lines next year already and that the locations for electric charging stations on this route have already been mapped out.

CEO of HZ’s passenger segment Zeljko Ukic said that this cycle involves the procurement of new trains and a new fleet and that by 2025 there should be around seventy new trains.

“Green technology trains will also be part of upgrading the rolling stock and renovation project. Battery-operated trains will be tested on the Istrian railways as well. This will raise the level and quality of the transport service, as 50 percent of the lines in this area will be covered by this type of low-floor train,” Ukic said.

He noted that in 2022 an increase of almost 70 percent in the number of passengers in Istria was registered compared to 2021.

Demetlika: The first step in the revitalisation of Istrian railways

Istria Deputy County Prefect Tulio Demetlika also expressed his satisfaction with today’s launch of the new train, underscoring the great importance of this project and evaluating it as the first step in the revitalisation of the Istrian railways.

MP Anton Kliman (HDZ) said that it was a great pleasure to see that train at the railway station in Pula. He thanked HZs passenger segment as well as HZ Infrastruktura, which intends to begin with the reconstruction of seven railway crossings, which will be a step forward in safety traffic.

“Our wish is for trains in Istria to run at 160 km/h and for freight traffic to develop. And also for the Istrian railway network to connect with the Slovenian railways, which would give us one Y-rail line, similar to the Y-road towards Divaca, Ljubljana, Vienna and Bratislava and on towards Eastern Europe, and on the other hand towards Salzburg, Munich and Western Europe. That is a vision,” said Kliman.